Outragous Saddle Hackle prices

[jeffro]

How much is the most you would pay for a Skin of a Chicken?
Where would you purchase this pelt ?
From a sponser here on FAOL or if you could get the same Bird from another more reasonable place,
would you feel guilty and go ahead and pay more from a sponsor here from FAOL?
I have another question?

Where do these people come up with these prices?
Thanks

[WarrenP]

I highly recommend that you contact Denny at Conranch Hackle and tell him what you are going to use the hackle for and let him come up with what you need. He is very easy to talk to and he will treat you right and is honest. You can contact him through a PM on FAOL and he goes by "Denny" on here. He has a lot of his time invested in breeding good hackle and I know that you can purchase other hackle at less cost than his, but, the ease of using his hackle is at the top of the list of quality. The hackle stems are perfect and they palmer so easily. After using his hackle and comparing it to others, you will notice the difference immediately. I think you will fine that there is very little difference in price when you compare good quality hackle and the extra couple bucks for Denny's hackle is well worth it. I spent many years tying with other hackle and thought all hackle would "fight" you when using them until I tried Denny's hackle and what a joy it was to use it.

Send a PM to Denny and talk to him. I think you will be pleased with the conversation and once you try his hackle you will be impressed.

Just my recommendation and nothing more.....

[jeffro]

Thanks WarrenP but a chicken is a chicken a rooster is a rooster.....I priced a bunch of different Saddles over the past 8 years or more and they are all Way too much for the average buyers.

I think that denny has his lowest price at $150.00 isnt it? when I can get the same skin for $50. to $80 bucks almost anywhere.

My question was How Much would you or the average buyer pay for your full skins.....a chicken is a chicken

[rainbowchaser]

Jeffro, are you sure your not comparing apples and oranges here? There is a considerable difference between good genetic dry fly hackle and ordinary chicken feathers. If you want feathers for streamers and wooly buggers you can probably come up with something in any barnyard though a lot of the feathers will be damaged. The feathers on a quality cape are not only suited to use for dry flies but the birds have been raised so as to have mostly unbroken feathers with few missing barbules. If you have not been tying for a long time you may not appreciate how unnatural those birds are. If you are paying $50 to $80 dollars for barnyard chicken skins you should call me and I'll get you all want for $40. If your paying $50 to $80 for full skins of quality dry fly hackle call me. I'll be buying.

[jeffro]

Im not talkin about barnyard chickens I'm talkin about good quality TYING feathers ...they simply charge way too much!
My question is>>>>How much would you pay and where would you purchase it?

[CharlaineC]

This is an easy answer for me and I'll explain why. When I look at hackle I first look as what flies I can tie with that one skin, then I look at the different size of hooks you can use out of the skin. I also look at what like to call the breakage factor when tying; I have had hackles that break with barely any pressure on them. I also look at how many flies i can tie from one hackle strand.


The next Factor for me that is I believe the most important is how they are bread and how they are cared for. To me this is a huge factor. That?s why there?s only one place I will get my hackle (maybe I'm biased) but its Denny Conrad and Conranch hackle all the way.
Just talk to Denny and you will see why. He is full of a passion when it comes to his birds and hackle that by itself proves it's not a money making opportunity but a labor of love. Then theirs fact that he keeps the tier in mind not the wholesaler is huge. You go ahead and ask him how rich he is from doing this and you will soon Find out that for Denny it's not about the money it?s about his love and passion for what he does.


He doesn't just breed the birds theirs an art to what he does. The time he takes with his birds to bread them just right, Denny even keeps genealogy records on his birds and uses this to produce some of the most beautiful colours i have ever seen. Even his "2" or "B" grade hackles are by far superior then others "1" or "A" grade hackle.

Now take all that I have just said and turn around and look at his prices for full skins, or just capes and saddles, Full Mature, Or Juvenile (JV), and tell me that his prices are not more than fair. Hell honestly I believe he is under charging after everything I have learned and the sorry state of our current economy. That makes Denny Conrad And Conranch Hackle The only place I will buy Hackle.







I hope this wasn't too much.

[Royce]

Hey Jeffro! Not trying to start a fight here but in one post you say "a chicken is a chicken a rooster is a rooster". Then in another post you say "...I'm talking about good quality TYING feathers". I guess I don't understand your question. If you are talking about "good quality TYING feathers", then a chicken ISN"T a chicken.

[jeffro]

Thanks WarrenP but a chicken is a chicken a rooster is a rooster.....I priced a bunch of different Saddles over the past 8 years or more and they are all Way too much for the average buyers.

I think that denny has his lowest price at $150.00 isnt it? when I can get the same skin for $50. to $80 bucks almost anywhere.

My question was How Much would you or the average buyer pay for your full skins.....a chicken is a chicken

Ok when I posted this I did not see the Lower priced Saddles only the $100 to $200. skins ....
When I 1st posted the thread I only wanted ya'lls input on Where they are purchased and How much you're willing to pay for em.

I have only purchased about 10 or so necks , saddles etc., and they will last along time as long as I take care of em....and they for the most part serve their purpose.

Does anyone here buy from canada or another country or maybe Cock fighters or maybe J.Stockard, Stone River , Bearslodge , Fly Tying Dungeon,etc.,
Or only from your sponsors here?
Dont be scared ...speak up....lolololol Denny aint gonna cut you off will he?

[NJTroutbum]

Here is what I have found. The highest price is not always the best feather for a particular task. I have found each line at some point to have the perfect feather for a given application. But there is no breeder (in my opinion), that has the perfect hackle for all applications. My alltime favorite hackles on my bench are the old Hoffmans. Though Whiting has made great strides in hackle length and smaller sizes, they in turn lost a little from the original line in my opinion....the stems are not as supple as the older Hoffmans. I am a fan of Collins hackle for pure dry fly hackle. But admittedly, I prefer to pick through them. I don't care to order them sight-unseen. I think Conranch hen hackle is quite possibly unmatched. I have not seen anybody come close to Whiting in dry fly smaller than #16 for usable hackle count. Keough in my opinion has THE BEST saltwater and streamer saddles out there. In necks....all of them have a niche in at least a particular color if nothing else. Metz suffers in quills...but have gotten better in recent years. Keough has gotten much more consistent in neck grading it seems. Basically, I don't by hackle for any particular name. I sort through them prudently....and buy the best one for the particular application. Regardless of price or who's it happens to be.

However.....I do agree with Jeffro....the prices are outrageous across the board....for durned chicken fedders.

Ralph

[Longs for Cutts]

Jeffro:

All of those places you mention might conceivably have hackle branded under their name. This will without exception be hackle raised by Whiting, Metz, Keough, or another large breeder that does not quite match the breeder's quality or even "line" standards. I primarily use saddle hackle I buy wholesale from Hareline or at a discount from a guy who has a "Fly Co" here in Montana and won't mind if you "slide on in" to his establishment. Both sources have confirmed their hackle is essentially a cross between two hackle lines of a major hatchery.