Preparing feathers for tying

Hello all. My neighbor gave me a bag of pheasant feathers. Have a good stink to them and I'm sure bugs. How does one prepare these for tying ? Borax? Thanks, KW

What do you do with the Borax?

Thanks FlyGuy. Not on the skins. Just a bag full of feathers. Think I'll do the freezer first and then let them air out like you said.

Not 100 percent sure what you mean by stink but if its just a bird smell I suggest just lying them out in the air for a while. For the bugs I suggest a week or two in the freezers. Takes care of any problems Ive ever had. If they are on the skins borax has worked for me.