Preserving Feathers

[mybadhabit 0]

How does one go about preserving turkey wings to store or is it best to just pull the feathers off and throw away the rest? I received 4 turkey wings in the mail today from my Dad and they are still in tact, but one of them had maggots, I pulled all the feathers out and tossed it but need to know what to do to save the others, any advice?

[utyer 0]

Rotting turkey is one very smelly bird. It is best to cut the quills off the wings and save them. I never save the wings intact. Try and keep the left and right pairs matched up for the secondary (more round quills.) I will usually use some masking tape to pair up my left and right feathers. Then wash in soapy water, rince and air dry. I then run mine through the microwave for a bit. Two shots of 15 seconds in the microwave will kill off a lot of bug larvae, and eggs. Store in ziploc bags with some mothballs.

[mybadhabit 0]

Rotting turkey is one very smelly bird. It is best to cut the quills off the wings and save them. I never save the wings intact. Try and keep the left and right pairs matched up for the secondary (more round quills.) I will usually use some masking tape to pair up my left and right feathers. Then wash in soapy water, rince and air dry. I then run mine through the microwave for a bit. Two shots of 15 seconds in the microwave will kill off a lot of bug larvae, and eggs. Store in ziploc bags with some mothballs.

 

 

Thanks, what about the tails?

[utyer 0]

I would cut the feathers off the skin and treat the same way as the wings.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

I second what utyer said, cut them off, pair them up and bag them. I used a heavy kitchen scissors to cut feathers from a bird someone gave me this year. Also, remember that after you use the material off the quill, to save the quill to make floating minnows; they float like foam.

 

Kirk

[Guest]

Get a copy of Eric Leisers Fly Tying Material get it at Abebooks, amazon, alibries wherever you can find it cheaper, or another book is from Field to Fly http://www.amazon.com/Field-Fly-Scott-J-Seymour/dp/1571882057

 

They go into great detail on how to clean the meat out of the wings so you can store them whole.

 

There are many threads right here on FTF do a search on preparing wild animals. Between Leisers book and the folks here they've saved me some really nice feathers and furs that I otherwise would have had to throw away.

 

Here's a good video on how to prepare the tail and wings http://wn.com/turkey025 go down to video #13

 

Hope this helps

 

Fatman

[Arkansas Mike 0]

I basically use Utyer's method. After washing in Woolite and air drying, I pair the feathers, stick them

in the freezer for a couple of weeks, then store them in an airtight ziplock for another week or

so with a paradichlorobenzene moth packet. Then, and only then, will I store them with the rest of

my materials. I go through and inspect all my material containers once a month and toss in a fresh moth packet.

 

 

Mike