I saw rooster wings pairs being sold for $2.00 each. Are the feathers on them suitable for fly tying?
Thanks
Bruce
Never used them myself, but I imagine they could be used like game bird wings. The primary feathers would make nice wet fly wings, either as slip wings, rolled or folded wings. The feathers around the shoulder and the upper and lower covert feathers would probably yield some nice soft hackles.
REE
Actually the spade hackles come from the tops of the wings all the way across between the saddle and cape. They are THE thing for dry fly tailing.
Sometimes when we are processing I see an outstanding color in the wings. Being a tier I know the value of them. Like both REE & Hap stated above, the wings do have the covert (smaller spades) because we leave the larger ones on the cape and saddle as we process, they are too tempting to me so I go through the extra effort and skin them out. I do remove the bones (very time consuming) and eventually find some one that wants them. I normally sell them as a pair (that way you have rights & lefts), price them at $5 per pair + SH. These are not an inventory item for us. I can and do keep a watch for a few customers for some color or another they want. When I find them I notify and mail them off. They are useful to some tiers as are every feather on any bird. Think outside the box and let the fish be the judge/jury on your ties.