If someone would be so graceous as to enlighten me to (in your opinion) the best method of standing a strutting turkeys feathers up.......Please!? Ive mounted bird, but never strutting. any other turkey tips would be much appreciated.
Return to Beginners Category Menu
But it is how I have done it for years. Go to the fabric department of your local Walmart and buy a bag of Polyester fiberfill. It is used for making pillows. Pull off clumps of the fill and place them between the feathers. I start at the tail. and work my way forward. Paying close attention to feather alignment. Add what you need where you need it until you have achieved the desired results. When the mount is completely dry. remove the fill.
The method I use is as follows...see archives for others' techniques.
When mounting the bird, I put a good layer of caulk on the back of the form. After the bird is mounted and posed on a base, I take my hands and gently begin "raking" the feathers forward. The I take a bunch of cotton balls and pins and begin placing a pin with a cotton ball in front of it directly behind a feather....this is very tedious. After a day, I move the pins and cotton to new locations. As the mount dries, you have to keep moving pins/cotton and keep pulling feathers forward. That's why I charge $500 for a strutting turkey. Hope this helped..
that takes and hangs the turkey upside down, letting gravity do the work.
i take some leftover wire bend it into a U that will go from one side of back to other. then but about 4-5 rolls of them with a group of feathers inbetween them. let set for a day them do it all over for the next 3-4days. to get the back bad to "single" it takes time to do it .
is a piece of plywood screwed down on 2-2x4's. The plywood is centered on the 2x4's, leaving about 6 inches of 2x4 showing (confused yet)? On the exposed 2x4's, I screw a brass hanger on each. On the plywood I drill holes to put the wire through that is coming out of the birds feet. Take the wire and bend it back up around the plywood towards the brass hangers and staple or screw it down on the top of the plywood to support the bird. (Make sure that the back of the tail is facing the brass hangers). Position the bird, wings, neck, head, ect. I leave the tail on when I mount (unlike many)so I make sure it's wired in place even though it's bonded in the tail slot. Measure the distance of the holes in the brass hangers and put 2 screws in the wall. Hang it up and gently work the feathers how you want them. Keep checking it daily and work the feathers forward more if you have to. Sounds confusing, but works great for me. Questions? I'll check back tonight.
Shawn, I use a similar method to Tenbears. I buy the hollowfill sheet type (used for quilting). Staple a layer or two on the breast and back of the form. Mount your bird, pose on the base and each day for a few days work the feathers forward on the back and up on the breast. When the skin starts to dry a bit the feathers will stand as much as you want them to. This is really very simple and easy to do. Enjoy, Aaron H.
am i understanding you here? you but a layer our 2 of the hollowfill onto the breast before mounting it ?sounds like it would work , i fill mine with polly fill by going down the neck, but it is a pain in the A**. have use the caulk but if all holes not sewed up good it will find the ones not sewed up good.
this is what I also do on the breast. I guess I had tunnel vision and just pictured the feathers on the back.
SO the bird is "standing" on the wall facing down right?
ALL the advice was excellent, and much appreciated. Thanks to all!
that's why it's important to bend the wire like I said and anchor it well to the plywood, so the feet stay in place while it's hanging.