On our new property my dad wants to raise some different species of birds. Since most of my money goes to tying, he wanted to know what species of birds would be good to raise for feathers for me to use? The birds have to be fairly easy to obtain and maintain(so i guess emu and ostrige is out of the question). Anybody have any suggestions?
Thanks a lot,
-Zac
The way to a flyfisherman’s heart is through his fly
How about pheasant , chucker , or hungarian partridge ?
Life is like a fly swap…You never know what your going to get.
A friend and I raised some Bobwhite Quail for dog training purposes - we bought day old chicks and raised 'em up - they were inexpensive and raised easily - lots of tying material,and the dogs got some good flushing practice! Alec
Guniea hens while very good for fly tying have just one little problem , they are noisy and can at times drive you nuts . They do however make good watchdogs as they alert noisily . Peacocks are quite easy to raise and produce lots of feathers but are a tad large they can be left out loose if you have a big enough yard . Geese , Turkeys , and even some Common Roosters can be quite aggressive at times . Chickens are fun to raise and give meat , eggs and feathers and are the easiest to raise . I once had 20 young pheasants crowd into a corner with over 50% death rate.
scared by a low flying aircraft . You learn to have a round pen with no corners and such tricks of the trade . I’d suggest starting with something easy and working your way up to the more exoctic birds . Ducks are easy if you have a pond . If it were me I’d raise chickens , sell the eggs and meat , use the money to buy feathers . IMHO
The midwest game bird breeders group that my dad used to belong to before he sold all my tying material sources for the freedom to live in Florida half the year has several sales each year in Schipshawanee(SP?)Indiana. If your anywhere near there you’ll find every kind of bird you could want for sale and guys who’ll talk your ears off about how to raise them. One word about the birds suggested above; avoid chuckar until you have a lot more experience with birds. They are very territorial and kill off or maim each other as well as other birds if they get the chance.
all leaders tangle; mine are just better at it than most. Jim
Check with local and county authorities, about zoning restrictions, before you get in too deep!
~Parnelli
“Ignorance, is no excuse, in a Court of Law!”
That bird breeders thing sounded like something we should check out. The only bad thing is that when i did a search on it, i found its a 6 hour drive. Ill try and talk my old man into it. Is it difficult to raise pheasant?
Thanks alot
-Zac
The way to a flyfisherman’s heart is through his fly