heronwheels 0 Report post Posted November 28, 2015 An aunt of mine sent me a message the other day asking if I could use any feathers. She raises some fancy bird varieties and one of her Tragopans was spooked and broke its neck. My uncle plucked it and cut off the wings and gave me them at Thanksgiving. Man, are they stunning! I've gone through the fly tying database and it looks like the main use for these feathers is Atlantic Salmon flies. Probably blasphemous but I don't yet have patience to tie those beautiful flies. Any suggestions for other uses of these feathers? The other thing is, the wing are a little ripe, and since the feathers were in with them, they are stinky also. I separated the wings from the loose feathers and have them sitting in Borax. Any suggestions for destinking the loose feathers? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted November 28, 2015 soap and water? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fisherboy0301 0 Report post Posted November 28, 2015 You could tie them in the head of large flies, glue them down and leave the white spot or put a black dot in it for a bad to the bone eye. Maybe wrapped as a soft hackle or collar hackles? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jokey 0 Report post Posted November 28, 2015 I love that bird. The small eye feathers are a great jungle cock sub when trimmed down. I especially like the church window feathers with the bright orange edges and pale dun centers. Tails and wings are very much like turkey. There are plenty of long rump fibers that are awesome for spey patterns too. If you got one for free then that's a win no matter what as they are not a cheap bird. I know Feather Emporium has/had some. We are one of the only manufacturers that I know of that sells whole skins as a regular item to dealers. By the time you see it in a store it's probably around $125 so a free bird like that is a real score. J Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
