When it comes to deciding what kind of animal you want to hunt to make into a trophy, remember that bigger is not always better—although bears, deer and mountain lions would indeed be impressive trophy room mounts. Let’s say you have limited space to display your taxidermy in Cody, WY. Where are you to display a towering bear, or an outstretched lion? Maybe a bird is a wiser choice for your allotted space, or it’s about time you added a feathered creature to your collection, like a plump turkey!
Depending on the pose, turkeys can either take up quite a bit of room (although not as much as, say, a bear mount) or just a little space on the wall. Here are a few popular ideas for posing your wild turkey mounts.
The strutting pose
For a Tom, the strut is said to be the most lovely and magnificent pose to consider for a mount. You’ve got the full strut, the three quarters strut and the half strut, and all these poses are secured to a sturdy base depicting a natural scene, including things from their natural habitat like rocks, dirt, moss and leaves. No matter the strut category you choose, they all showoff the Tom’s exquisite feathers in a puffed up and out fashion, which is how they typically look when trying to impress the females or look larger to other Toms.
The standing pose
Unlike a strutting pose that may need a sizable area to accommodate its puffed up feathers and broadened posture, the standing pose doesn’t demand much floor or mantel space. In addition, a standing pose, also called the walking pose, is ideal for both Toms and hens alike. It’s especially popular if there’s noticeable damage to a turkey’s tail or wings, because the pose calls for setting the wings down to the sides and the tail angled downward.
A tail and beard display
Whether due to a lack of display space or limited finances, there are many reasons why a hunter might ask a taxidermist who practices wild turkey taxidermy in Cody, WY to only mount parts of a wild bird—for example, only mounting the beard and fanned out tail to a wooden plaque. Another good reason for this is if the body has damage or if the wings are mangled.
The flying pose
If you have a large enough wall space and openness at the ceiling, go for a natural looking flying pose: wings and feathers spread, tail fanned wide and neck outstretched. The illusion of an airborne turkey in your trophy room is a great way to impress your guests. You can also choose to mount it to the wall with or without a finished wooden panel.
Whether you are interested in a flying, standing or strutting turkey pose, or want a certain type of display made, a professional taxidermist has the talent to make it happen. For questions about wild turkey taxidermy in Cody, WY, don’t hesitate to contact the team at Nature’s Design Taxidermy.