theflywizard 0 Report post Posted February 14, 2013 Howdy Evan, I used to raise alot of hackle birds many years ago. I had the Keough strain Grizzlies and some of Charlie Collins Brown neck strain as well. As time went on, moving around from place to place. making bad choices, I lost my birds but am wanting to get back into the swing of it. One year alone I harvested 988 roosters and hens. That was alot of work .............. too much for one guy. So now I just want to raise enough for myself and my friends and have fun doing. Please put me on your egg list for at least one dozen eggs........... if you have enough to go around. Thanks , good luck and hope to chat with you later on . Kevin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ebrant10 0 Report post Posted March 16, 2013 Well, here is the first bird skinned out. There is every feather on these except for the wings which i gave up on after 20i minutes of trying to debone! The tail (not shown) will be included, along with the skins. You will find dry fly hackle on these (necks go down to 18-20 some smaller and saddles range from 10-14 with a few 16s in there also. All in all im pretty tickled with how it turned out, there is still 2 more birds to skin for now and i will be contacting people on my list. As far as curing the skins go, after talking (and prying) with a few breeders the picture shows how they do it just skin remove fat and press against a piece of cardboard for a week or two. It gives them the soft tan like on metz and whiting birds. I know this isnt as pretty as whiting or metz necks but im pleased with it. Thanks a lot for everyones support! Evan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piker20 0 Report post Posted March 16, 2013 That looks great. I like the sides left on, too many suppliers chop those bits off but there are some really useful feathers on there too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riffleriversteelheadslayer 0 Report post Posted March 16, 2013 great looking skin Evan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1hook 0 Report post Posted March 17, 2013 Nice, great thread Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ebrant10 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2013 Hey all, Wanted to post this here and let you know this is will be available via Trading floor as soon as they put it through but in the meantime any questions on it PM me! I wanted to try this out on this bird, so instead of doing a full skin I did the traditional neck and saddle on it and the buyer I had lined up for it didn't reply so...its now available. Its LOADED with the small neck feathers down to size 22 and maybe smaller, the saddle is very full also. He was going to be a secondary grizzly breeder originally but a foot injury at about 6 months kept him from ever breeding. Im happy to say Lykos33 aka Murray is buying the full skin I had previously, Utyer if you read this I have your name down next for a full skin with Larger feathers and I have just the bird for you if you are still interested. I will be harvesting it this weekend most likely and will be PMing you closer to the time. Thanks for looking Evan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riffleriversteelheadslayer 0 Report post Posted April 2, 2013 that is an awesome bird Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1hook 0 Report post Posted April 3, 2013 That's sweet. Thanks for the updates Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piker20 0 Report post Posted May 10, 2013 I am the lucky new owner of the cape pictured above. First off I wish to say that my only real experience of 'decent' capes is with whiting pro grade or bronze. I am going to give my review based on a prograde brought in 2013. Oh and I wish I had taken the saddle too now when I had the chance! Have to say Evan you're too cheap. This cape is, as you said, very full. I estimate twice the feathers that are on my Whitings Prograde dry hackle cape. The feathers are also very uniform size along the length of them, at least to my eyes. There are a lot of small hackles, far more than on the whiting. I am waiting for you to produce some Cree birds next!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ebrant10 0 Report post Posted May 11, 2013 Hey Colin, glad you liked your cape and thankyou for the kind words! Evan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riffleriversteelheadslayer 0 Report post Posted May 11, 2013 did I hear cree? count me in for one of those also Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Termite 0 Report post Posted June 20, 2013 Great looking birds and I'm glad you are getting some support on the forum! I've been raising hackle chickens for a long time and it is a great hobby. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ebrant10 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2013 Hi Termite, Glad you like the looks of the birds, im basically just peddling right now with the few birds I have. Im a dairy farmer and have fallen in love with the cattle genetics and specific matings, taking that into accound with a full blown obsession with fly fishing and everything that goes along with it and the space and resources needed to raise birds led to me buying some eggs last year. nice to hear from you and ill be sending you a PM. Evan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mybadhabit 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2013 So how many birds are you up to now Evan? Blane Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piker20 0 Report post Posted June 22, 2013 And when will you start filling what appears to be a gap in the wooly bigger hackle market??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
