Thanks Tree now all I need is a test subject.LOL

Frozen tail
 

This is the part that the lady of the house hates
 

Boil the tail for about 20min and then pull the feathers out of the meat in order
 

Take a piece of styrofoam and mark out the numbers 1 thru 18 for the tail feathers
 

Lay out the secondary feathers mark them abc how ever many upi need
 

Then lay the tail feathers the same way to dry
 

After the feathers boil for 20 or so min they will pull free from the meat. I pull the secondary tail feathers first from left to right. Then I pull the main tail feathers next from left to right. It wouldn't matter which way you pull from but you have to lay them in the same order. I used to tape each one with a piece of masking tape and write the number on it so it wouldn't get mixed up. I now mark the numbers and stick each feather by the quill into the corresponding number so I don't lose track this is very important when putting the tail back together. The next pics will explain better I let the feathers dry for a day as the quills are soft right now and don't stick into the Styrofoam board very easy when soft.

Insert feathers in order I have never saw a Tom with more or less that 18
 

Secondary tail feathers mark with letters so not to confuse