Preparing Your Bird for Taxidermy

In the field

Take a few extra minutes on the bird before you head back to the truck. Lay it out flat, smooth the feathers, admire your gobbler, take photos with the beard fanned out and the tail spread — those photos are useful later when we're choosing a pose. Handle the bird by the legs and body, not by the neck or the tail.

Photos to take before you freeze

• Full side profile with the tail fanned.
• Head-on shot showing wattles, snood, and beard.
• Close-up of the beard hanging naturally.
• Both spurs (one photo per leg).
• Wings extended, if you can get a helper.

Send these photos with your quote request. They help us give you a real, accurate quote and pose recommendation without needing to unfreeze the bird.

Cooling the bird in warm weather

Texas spring weather can be brutal on a bird. If temperatures are above 70°F, get the bird into a cooler with ice as soon as you can. Keep the bird itself dry — sealed in a plastic bag on top of the ice, not submerged in melt water. Don't let the bird sit in a hot truck for hours.

What not to do

• Don't gut the bird.
• Don't wash it.
• Don't remove the beard or spurs.
• Don't hang it by the neck for photos.
• Don't leave it in the truck bed overnight.

Getting it to the studio

If you're local to DFW, drop off is by appointment at our Plano studio. If you're farther out or out of state, see Shipping Your Turkey for our step-by-step shipping instructions.