j43jacko 0 Report post Posted March 17, 2011 Hey, I was wondering if any of you guys on here know anything about which common chicken breeds have good dry fly hackle? Im getting some chickens this summer and I was wondering what species to buy that produces nice hackle. Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Al Beatty 0 Report post Posted March 17, 2011 Hey, I was wondering if any of you guys on here know anything about which common chicken breeds have good dry fly hackle? Im getting some chickens this summer and I was wondering what species to buy that produces nice hackle. Thanks Hi j43jacko, If you are looking for a good quality hackle raising you own may be a bit of a challenge. The current hackle producers have raised many generations of birds to get the quality they currently sell. I know some of those breeders get SOME of their hackle birds from Murray McMurray hatchery in Iowa. You might do a Google search for them and see what they have to offer. Take care & ... Tight Lines - Gretchen & Al Beatty www.btsflyfishing.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trez 0 Report post Posted March 17, 2011 There really are no common breeds for GOOD dry fly hackle as the breeders of the top dry fly hackles have been selectively breeding for decades to get what they have now. Most of the common breeds are going to have nice hackle for wet flies, woolly buggers and the like. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gaeronf 0 Report post Posted March 18, 2011 Yea, you are better off hoping for wet fly hackles...I found that I have become "attached" to my chickens, although if I find a feather here or there I will take it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steve P 0 Report post Posted March 18, 2011 Hey, I was wondering if any of you guys on here know anything about which common chicken breeds have good dry fly hackle? I'm getting some chickens this summer and I was wondering what species to buy that produces nice hackle. Thanks There is a place that you can buy some genetic birds from but it's a straight run of eggs and you have to hatch them yourself, and they are not the best genetic birds i have seen to date but they are decent for bigger flies and awesome for flatwings. Other than that you can pretty much forget about it, they have been so bred into what they are now and the control over the breeding stock and eggs is so closely guarded you would have a better chance of find out all of the NASA secrets........ If I can find the link to the guys site about the eggs I will post it, I was just looking for it after I saw your post here. Also there is a guy on here by the name of Termite from time to time that knows a bunch and can tell you way more about the legal stuff you can get involved in if you get too into the genetic stuff. He once told me it nearly cost him his house and everything else he owned for the birds and flock he has in legal fees and such. Your much better off getting some interesting barred rock hens and just harvesting the saddle and cape for dying some killer soft hackle stuff or get some semi-exotics for pretty much the same purpose. I'm speaking from a sorta experienced point here so if you have any further questions I would be more than glad to lend a hand as best I can. Steve Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kirk Dietrich 0 Report post Posted March 18, 2011 Hey, I was wondering if any of you guys on here know anything about which common chicken breeds have good dry fly hackle? Im getting some chickens this summer and I was wondering what species to buy that produces nice hackle. Thanks Looking to get in to the hair extension business? Kirk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rockworm 0 Report post Posted March 18, 2011 The genetic bird has been bred to have feathers with a very thin rachis (stem.) This makes these feathers superior for tying hackle collars and palmers. But they are nearly useless for quill bodies. You might consider raising Rhode Island Reds for their red quills and one of the white breeds for quills to be dyed. Just a thought. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Parker 0 Report post Posted March 19, 2011 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
perchjerker 0 Report post Posted March 19, 2011 Harry Darbee, the FATHER of all major lines of genetic hackle produced in the US, never killed a rooster! He did not believe in killing the 'goose that was laying the golden eggs'. He had an annual 'rooster round-up', at which time he plucked all of the feathers in the size range that he and Elsie used in tying their flies. He put the plucked birds in a chicken house for quite sometime to keep the plucked birds from getting their naked necks sunburned! He an Elsie would sort all of the plucked feathers into the various sizes, and store them in properly labeled envelopes. Meanwhile, back at the Chicken Ranch, the birds were busily producing another crop of feathers. The birds that did not produce good quality feathers made great pots of chicken and dumplings, by his own account. Having grown up with chickens, you can safely have more than one rooster in the yard, and not have dead ones laying around as victims of their fighting, as someone stated. Just like the hens, they establish a 'pecking order' and that settles things. They will occasionally get into minor scraps, during which time a few feathers may get damaged; but nothing serious. "Fighting-to-the-death" is a feature of a very select breed of chicken, just like the 'genetic hackle' birds, and they are highly trained 'fighters'. They are also typically feed certain things to enhance the inclination to fight, according to an acquaintance some years ago who was a practitioner of the 'sport'. As someone who, for four years during my professional career, paddled around on the ragged fringes of Patent and Copyright Law, I cannot for the life of me see how anyone could be prevented from developing their own line of genetic hackle if they started from 'scratch', and as long as there was no 'brand' infringement. I have to agree with those who have advised against the venture. HOWEVER, if you want to have a few chickens around to 'snatch' the occasional feather from, have an occasional bird for the table, an occasional egg for breakfast, and to help control bugs in the garden, then get some bantams of your preferred breed and GO FOR IT! Wish my Homeowners Association would permit me to have a few in MY backyard! perchjerker Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Fly Bob 0 Report post Posted March 21, 2011 Most of the finer hackles come from bantam Cochins bred just for that. You can get some cochins with very fine hackles but the feathers are not nearly as long as the finely bred birds but still worth having some. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gaeronf 0 Report post Posted March 21, 2011 When plucking feathers, does it hurt the chicken (when alive)? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tidewaterfly 0 Report post Posted March 21, 2011 When plucking feathers, does it hurt the chicken (when alive)? No, but they don't particularly like it! I raised chickens for several years, primarily roosters for their feathers. The bird's I had were big White Rocks & Barred Rocks (grizzly) and the feathers were very good for my tying needs, which was for tying bass & saltwater flies. I sometimes had 100 roosters at a time, and they would fight sometimes, but as perchjerker said, they had a pecking order, and seldom did much damage. I usually also kept about 50 hens for eggs & some feathers. When I started out, I killed & dressed them, but that was messy, and time consuming, so I went to just plucking the feathers. They didn't like it when I plucked the feathers, and I did have to keep them away from the other roosters for awhile, because they would attack them after I had plucked the feathers. It may have been that the plucked rooster appeared weakened to the others, but I'm really not sure. The roosters didn't bother the hens if I plucked them. The feathers grew back, so I had a pretty good supply most of the time. Usually I would pluck about 10 birds at a time, this way I always had feathers to tie with & more available. If you kill the birds you have to do it when the feathers have all "matured", otherwise you may end up with a lot of under developed feathers. By plucking I got the best feathers from each bird and always had a new crop growing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Johny Utah 0 Report post Posted March 21, 2011 I wouldnt mind raising some of those euro roosters like whitings got. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gaeronf 0 Report post Posted March 21, 2011 I don't have nearly that many chickens tidewaterfly, and I don't have any roosters either. I just have a couple hens and was thinking about plucking them a time or two. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rodd Gunn 0 Report post Posted March 21, 2011 I once raised some dun Orpington's that produced some real great dry fly quality feathers. The feathers are not as long as the specialty birds, but they were good. In fact I still have some I am using. You might have to use two hackles for a standard dry fly. They are also good layers. Google Orpington to get some information about the breed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
