Chickens

[Bruno]

Ok I was reading the paper this morning and saw that there is a new trend of people rasing chickens in pittsburgh and other cities around the country. Got me thinking that it might be fun to have a chicken or two.

Now what kind of chickens do they use to get dry fly capes ? There must be a breed.

 

[tomgamber]

Bruno's new feather organizer in his tying room...

 

[jaybo41]

Now that's funny!

 

[hammertime]

Each color is a different breed.

Grizzly=Barred Rock

Brown=Rhode Island Red

I can't think of any other breed names off the top of my head. I have a catolog somewhere to order the chickens from. It has a listing of probably 50+ breeds and variations of the breeds. I'll look for it.

I can't think of what its called either, or I'd tell you and you could google it.

 

[tomgamber]

Here you go Bruno...eggs for breakfast and all the Grizzly Hackle you can handle...

spoke too soon...check this out..."fly tyers special" Now don;t all jump up at once you overwhelm the poor farmer....

 

[Bruno]

Alright, tom that is some funny stuff. Now the down side is that they sell in lots of 25. So who wants to go in ? I figure we can split them four ways.

Can chickens fly ?

 

[Acristickid]

Will the chickens need red or blue bandanas? Not to mention all the omelets you could whip up. Ummmm.

 

[troutbert]

hammertime wrote:
Each color is a different breed.

Grizzly=Barred Rock

Brown=Rhode Island Red

I can't think of any other breed names off the top of my head. I have a catolog somewhere to order the chickens from. It has a listing of probably 50+ breeds and variations of the breeds. I'll look for it.

I can't think of what its called either, or I'd tell you and you could google it.

In addition to the breeds, the serious flyfishing hackle raisers have done some heavy duty selective breeding to get the kind of dry fly hackle available today. It is has taken a quantum leap since the 1970s. If you just buy some random Plymouth Rocks, you will not get Hoffman grade hackle. The birds will be the same breed, but not exactly the same genetics as relating to hackle quality.

The "regular" chickens do not have the very long feathers with the very short fibers, that the chickens bred specifically for fly tying have.

You can raise birds that probably have similar hackle to what we used back in the 70s. But that is not close to what's available today.

 

[Bruno]

Paul

Were a crip set in dis part of the Norside.

aightz

 

[flyfishingNZ]

To stop the chickens from flying you can clip one wing so they fly in a circle.

 

[tomgamber]

All you have to do is let just one chicken fly in that neighborhood. When the shooting is over the rest will never want to leave the coop.

 

[flyfishermanj]

Mmmm, now I'm hungry for some City Chicken like Grandma use to make!! :-D

 

[sandfly]

I have over 30 birds, i don't raise them for dry fly hackle any more. It takes years of selective breeding to get a decent bird with dry fly hackle. I raise them for hen backs and soft hackle now. I breed for color. trying to get some partridge hackle.Have some good wing material to mottled for winging material.I sell the eggs and eat the meat after skinning. If you want some eggs and have some free hackle for wets then go ahead and get a few. Just make sure you can have fowl in your area (town) also rooster tend to disturb the neighbors..I can hear mine 1/2 mile away..any ??? feel free to call me for breed selections. Iv'e been raising birds all my life...

 

[tomgamber]

flyfishermanj wrote:
Mmmm, now I'm hungry for some City Chicken like Grandma use to make!! :-D

City chicken is pork...not gonna get any hackle from this...

 

[sandfly]

Yeah but bristles make good legs,tails, and antennnae

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Here's Sandfly getting ready to harvest some feathers:

 

[flyfishingNZ]

that is classic...

 

[Chaz]

We've had egg layers for years now, chickens are a bit difficult to keep healthy, not that they get sick easily, but they are susetible to illness. I've used the feathers for tying when they molt, but I don;t raise them for the capes. They have specific breeds of chickens for the different capes, I haven't gotten into that. But I have a very nice Barred Plymouth Rock or Barred rock. She's very gentle and likes to be picked up, though not during molt. The feathers make great grizzly soft hackle.
Chickens usually can be raised anywhere, but some towns and townships have restrictions, which to me is stupid. If you don't like crowing though, don't get a rooster, they will be wkaing you as early as four in the morning. You don't need a rooster to get eggs.

 

[dryflyguy]

A few years ago, I was talking to a guy who raises hackle chickens at the cabin fever show .
I asked him if those birds are good to eat. He told me that he eats them, but they're not as good as regular food chickens

 

[sandfly]

Depends on the breed, feed, and whether they are in a paen or free ranged..All mine are preatty tasty..