Hey guys,
I shot a turkey last Saturday, and I want to use the wing and tail feathers for fletching. How do I keep the bugs off of them for as long as possible? I was originally going to preserve my tail fan, but then I didn't put borax on the fleshy part that the tail feathers are naturally attached to, nor did I put the tail fan in the freezer to stop that fleshy part from rotting and attracting flies, that laid their eggs, which hatched into maggots. It was stupid of me. I endeavor not to make that mistake again. I pulled the tail feathers out of that fleshy 'knob'. I didn't notice any maggots eating the feathers yet, so I put them in a garbage bag with my wing feathers and put them in the freezer for the time being. What would you do with the feathers if you were me? Do I need to do anything special to them before I put them on an arrow? Do I do it after I fletched an arrow? Do I need to do something before I put them on an arrow and after? Your replies are greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Aaron