This is my first bird. my "host" called it in an then took me through the process...
1) Spread out the fan and pinned to cardboard like others here did
2)Scraped off meat from base of fan
3) covered in Borax... removed and repeated daily for a week.
4) When dried hard, I coated "meat area" with polyurathane varnish to ensure no bugs get in it.
I found a guy that had cut up a wind-damaged cherry tree and already had cut the big round trunk base into halves. I got him to cut me a 1/2" thick half-round.
I put satin polyurathane on the front of the half-round... used a pin vise to drill tiny holes at the head end of the check cracks as it was still semi-green wood.
Varnished (poly) the bark edge on both sides and surface to adhere so no bark came off.
Mounted the fan, beard and the feet w/ spurs pointed up after they dried as well.
Found some industrial grade velcro 2" square and mounted it to the plaque and the fan base...figuring if I have to move it, I can more easily remove the fan from the plaque and pack it separate.