okay i did end up buying my tying stuff and i ordered a value pack hackle but i was wondering what the difference is between saddle hackle that you buy and just buying a chicken and eating it and using the saddle from that i read an article on flyfisherman.com about genetics and everything but i just was thinking for wooly buggers.i talked to my buddies and i have like 7 buddies who would sell me 10 chickens for the price of one bronze whitting saddle. lol
I don’t use road kill or any animal that I have to “preserve”. I don’t want to go to that much work nor do I want to risk getting some “bug” into my tying materials. Some here do use self-preserved things and I am not saying it’s bad, I just don’t.
For wooly buggers, I buy something called a bugger pack. It’s lower quality hackle suitable for wooly buggers and costs no where near the price of a Whiting Dry Fly saddle. Save the Dry Fly hackle for Dry Flies. There are other options for other flies. I will admit that feathers and the different types were the most confusing thing for me to get started.
Hi Deon,
The saddle hackle from a barnyard chicken is likely fairly short, a large hackle size, webby, soft, and have a stem not as good for wrapping, as compared to a genetic saddle hackle. However, if you are just tying fairly large buggers, it might do just fine. In fact if you are tying really large buggers, some (but not all) of the above charasteristics are actually desirable for bugger hackle. It probably won’t be good for dry flies, but for buggers you might find some pretty desirable stuff. Also, it sounds like the cost is not going to break you.
Folks have been selecting chickens for selective breeding for fly tying feathers for almost a century, I believe, so the genetic saddle hackle that we buy today is radically better for tying dry flies than the hackle from a barnyard chicken.
If you go that route, let us know how well it works for buggers.
Regards,
Gandolf
well i can buy a chicken for 4 dollars and it gives me a meal. i go to college and so that sounds like a good deal. and i can try the feathers. i will tell you how it works compared to a normal saddle hackle that i bought. i kow the difference between dry hackle and others geez. lol . anyways. i will put a report once i get to it.
Years ago I actually bought & raised a rooster & hen (grizzly-ish) in my backyard for months. I thought the necks & saddles might be OK to use for tying. After I made the coop, fed 'em & raised 'em all that time, I probably could have bought some #1 Metz capes for less money. Turns out the cock got his head stuck in the chicken wire & died, after ruining all of his neck feathers trying to get unstuck. The hen died a few weeks later (lonely, I guess). But she did lay some pretty good brown eggs a few times a week… True story… By the way, the feathers were good for nothing but wets anyway…
this chickens are already raised my buddies raise them and then sell them for a few more bucks then what they got every year they buy a new rooster for mating so there isnt inbreeding and they get tons of eggs. he also has some chickens hatch and eats the others. this kid has like 15 or 20 chickens. like a flock of turkeys. he said he has actually made money now. so i dont have to raise it. i just hate spending all this money to get alot of something i aint going to use that much of. d oyou guys know what i mean.
Hi Deon,
Yep, I know what you mean. I figured up how much dry fly hackle I have the other day, and thought that it would last longer than I am likely to. I hope you get some good bugger hackle out of the bird. You should at least get a good supper or two out of it.
Regards,
Gandolf
Deon,
I don’t mean for this to sound flip but it’s penny wise and pound foolish to expect the same level of performance from all chicken feathers. If you want quality dry flies you’re better off investing in quality hackle. If you’re bound and determined to use your friends chickens and all you really want to tie is some woolly buggers, by all means go for it. When I first got into tying a friend kindly bought me a chicken at auction for the feathers. We did the skinning together, I thanked him for the thought. The skin is still in my basement. I’ve used it for beards on some wets and tied a few streamers with it but it’s not going to see any action on dry flies 'cause it just isn’t up to the job. I look at it the same as me taking my '97 Chevy Lumina over to the Indy 500. It’s an automobile just like everything else out on the track, but it’s far out classed and just can’t perform at the same level as the serious folks out there.
If your concern is spending the money on a lot of feather, might I suggest you consider a supplier who has half necks or saddles or buy the “100” pack in the size and color you prefer? Careful shopping should get you what you need at relatively low costs. Remember, it’s not necessary to get everything in the first few weeks, months or even years. Bugger packs are generally pretty cost effective. I recommend getting them from a shop that will let you open the pack and check the feathers as I have found the quality (from a size perspective) to be pretty variable pack to pack. Again, if you’re primary interest is in Buggers you could get away with tying most patterns with a good Grizzly hackle and fore go the need for a variety of colors, at least in this beginning stage.
Good luck with the experiment. I sincerely wish you the best.
Maybe there are feathers all over the ground at the coops and your friends would let you pick them up.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
I like a guy that understand a connection to his food. So many people these days think chicken is something that comes wrapped in plastic from MacDonalds or the grocery store.
Having said that, you can buy some chinesee rooster type feathers in a craft store for $5, you don’t have to skin anything or preserve it. These might work fine for you too. Go look at the hobby type big box stores and see what they have to offer. Recently bought some nice ostrich from Hobby L in different colors. I was able to pick the feather that I wanted and there was no shipping costs.
Rick
yeah i figured i would try it and see how it does for buggers. i am also going to buy the normal hackle just to compare them. i will always buy a reall thing of dry fly hackle, i want them to stay high lol but yeah i wAS JUST WONDERING THANX
dEON
A friend from work gave me a few feathers off their Road Island Reds chickens. The primaries make great wing slips in a wonderful rich brown colour. Some other feathers have made good soft hackle collars for spiders and wets. For wet flies, they have been great, and the colour is richer than any of the bought feathers I’ve got. Mind you, not many Road Island Reds produce a badger or grizzle, so perhaps I’m not buying the right packs! 
Seriouisly though, for tying up a few wets and such, your friends chooks will be fine. For dries, well, the breeding that’s been done to produce top quality dry hackles just can’t be beat by Brooster. You’ll get some usuable feathers, just not top quality ones.
- Jeff