I find the Indian necks most useful for tying larger flies like Hex's. It takes several hackles for one fly. They usually won't tie down below a 12 or 14 and there won't be many of those. The cost of hackle per fly is greater than buying genetic necks because you get a lot fewer useful feathers for each dollar. I would not mail order them at all. The quality varies too much. An alternative for a practice neck would be to find someone who breeds bantams or better yet fighting cocks (Some of the people involved with the fighting cocks may be dangerous) and buy a carefully chosen rooster. My experience is that the meat is only good for dog food but the cape is comparable to the Indian necks