OK People, I know you all must do this ( I hope I’m not the only one ) Tell us of looking at animals and wanting there fur or feathers.
I started doing carpentry work on a friend of mine old farm. Well he has CHICKENS !! and one really nice looking rooster ha ha. You know where I’m going with this. Grizzly ( a lot of it ) Sooooo I asked him if I could reap the benefits of Mister Roosters passing. He said SURE and actually would like me to do the deed, when he decides it’s time, ( which isn’t much longer ).
I also have another friend that does a lot of walking in the mornings,( 5 miles a day ) and he brings me tails and feathers, that he finds on the side of the road and such. In return I tie him some flies.
Am I the only one that does this ???
A couple of years ago my wife and I took our niece and nephew to the San Diego Zoo. Of course, we had to visit the petting zoo. There were some angora goats in there with some really nice hair, which I examined closely. My wife asked me for the car keys. Why the car keys? Well, I have a small Swiss Army Knife with scissors on the key ring.
Pretty much you stand with a very small group of unstable people. If I were you, I would be looking for professional help for this “unnatural” behavior.:shock:
Joseph the Stable
One of my two dogs is a Springer Spaniel, red and white. I can’t help but look at him without about the originally tied Trude. The Springer Spaniel’s red hair was used for the hair wing on the original Trude.
Yeah, RIGHT! I don’t HAVE any “stable” friends! :rolleyes:
BTW, after you take the feathers, send me the bald rooster & I’ll deep fry it & Joe will make the bread! 
Mikey
Photdoughgod
I have made the No-knead Bread, and love it.( thanks for the recipe ) I think that a chicken sandwich on your bread in the stream fishing a fly with roosters feathers, would be a really good day.
There is a dead blue-jay in the front yard this morning. I wonder what I should do? I bet it has nice “soft hackle.” Not that I would ever do anything like skin a dead jay. No. Not me.
Godspeed - to you all and the jay,
Bob
BE carreful with this one guys and gals. Those of you picking up feathers stand the risk of a hefty fine and mayby even some jail time. If you are collecting protected species, and most birds are protected, you are in violation of federal law. Just not worth the hassel to pick up feathers.
fishbum
Here kitty kitty !!
Folks,
Song birds, hawks, eagles (really bad), owls, herons, egrets and lots of other birds can be very costly to kill or possess. It doesn’t matter how the bird met its demise, possession of the feathers is still illegal even if it’s just a small portion of the feather tied to a hook. Please be very careful even if your car or kitty does the dirty work! 8T 
Roadkill brings to mind CHILI much more than tying materials. But, then again, I don’t tie.
Mark
Thanks for the info eight. Glad I disposed of the jay properly. But here’s a question. I have seen soft hackle patterns using jay feathers. Where do they get them? I have never seen them for sale. Or is this just a hoax?
Bob
Of course, I would never use feathers I found from some dead bird…
As for the cats, how many ways are there to skin my neighbor’s cat? I bet the underfur would make great nymph dubbing. A new creation from the inventor of the Hairy Weenie, the new Calico Nymph.
Jeff
They are probably from the European Jay a different looking bird which can be purchased and brought into this country legally from several sources. Same goes for other birds that are obtained from sources OUTSIDE of the US.
As usual, Bam. is right on. One source I’ve used personally on more than one occasion is cookshill in the U.K.
Steve, the owner, is a super fellow to deal with and his skins are top-notch, speaking from my few purchases.
http://www.cookshill-flytying.co.uk/gsr.htm
Jeremy.
Ditto on Cookshill & Steve! Great service, product and price; even with the unfavorable exchange rate and overseas shipping.
I buy all of my stuff direct from him in the UK after searching in vain for Cookshill at local fly shops. I have examples of most of what he offers and the quality is superb.
If you want the right feathers for traditional Spiders and don’t want to do your tying in a jail cell; buy Cookshill and leave the roadkill on the road. It just isn’t worth it to save a few bucks IMHO.
Cats on the other hand are expendable and worth the risk…
Blue Jays are a protected bird ??? and Egrets also ?? Is this federal ? or just in your area ?
We beat this topic to death in some old posts but for the most part; U.S. song birds are protected Federally. U.S. Waterfowl on the other hand are covered by other sticky rules regarding how they were obtained etc. Then of course there are all of the various state rules.
Since I don’t hunt and my brain is already full of other junk; I find it whole lot simpler when I’m in need of Snipe, Waterhen or some other weird critter to just buy non-US stuff from sources outside the US since that is legal regardless.
Just talked to Wildlife Dept in Maine and you guys are right. they are songbirds, and don’t have any feathers in your possesion. All I want is that rooster LOL
We have a large long haired white cat that has a big chunk of hair missing out of his tail, I have no idea what happened to it.:roll: