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Post by Jagungal on Mar 19, 2004 21:03:27 GMT -5
Hi, This forum is an interesting little forum - people talking about fly tying and chickens - something I have tried to talk about in other forums but it does not go far.
Some questions ....
1. Any chance of getting into the genetic hackle forum. I am in Australia and think I would find it interesting.
2. What strains of chicken are best for fly tying. I don't mean to have the best but I would like to develop the chickens I do keep in that direction - just for the fun of it. I have had some light barred plymouth rocks but the hackle on the roosters seemed to be almost non-existant. Should I still try to look for light barred roosters or try something better.
3. How old does a Rooster have to be before the hackle is useable ??
And many other questions I am sure .. enough for now.
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Post by Kickingbird on Mar 19, 2004 22:58:24 GMT -5
I private messaged you on one of your questions.
As for the strain of chickens used for fly tying, there are several developing into their own stains now but most, if not all, originated with the Harry Darby line of birds nearly 80 years ago. Harry shared his birds with several ppl including Andy Miner who brought the birds to a new level of quality.
To make a long story short these birds are now in the hands of only a few breeders and most, if not all, will not sell birds.
Your best bet with your own birds is to look carefully at the attributes you want to achive and strive for them. If you are raising barred rocks you will need to add length to their feathering in order to use them for wet flies. You can see some of my long saddled barred roosters in the "longtails" forum. These birds would make great wet flies but are far to soft feathered for dry flies.
As far as age goes, feathers can be used at any time but most roosters will be about 1 year old to have a full cape and saddle suitible for tying.
I hope this helps.
Welcome to the forum.
KB
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Post by Jagungal on Mar 20, 2004 2:08:24 GMT -5
Thanks for the info about the age of the roosters.
Looks like I am still looking for the best kinds of roosters to use. I am looking at a nice line of Andalusions .. but thats another story.
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Post by Kickingbird on Mar 20, 2004 7:09:37 GMT -5
If you follow some of the history of the birds the lines started out with barred rocks, Andalusions, pit games and others. It is realy a mixed bag, furthermore there is realy no written record of the birds first used so I believe that we will realy never know for sure. As a breeder you must use your eye to pick out the charicteristic of the feather that you want, this is far more important that what breed you choose. Like I said the current birds used for the purpose bear little resemblance to the original breeds used to create them. KB
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Post by Kickingbird on Mar 20, 2004 8:44:02 GMT -5
One thing I forgot to mention. To the casual observer in the poultry world a feather is a feather. If you go look at or purchase some genetic hackle and realy compare it to the hackle of standard birds that are freely avalible to purchase you will notice that the feathers are RADICALY different. A person can't even begin to understand unless they realy study and look at every aspect of the feather. It is a very interesting study KB
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Post by Jagungal on Mar 20, 2004 15:57:03 GMT -5
Being a fly fisherman, I know what you mean about looking at the feathers.
It is funny though, that not all hackle available is as good as the genetic hackle. In the good old days thats what I used to use and be happy with it.
It is interesting what you say .. that they came from different breeds. I suppose it is all about keeping your eyes out for a bird with the characteristics you are after.
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