What Breeds are considered for Fly Tying

[snugglepup]

I believe the famous "grizzlies"(?) are a variant of the barred rock. the eggs/birds from that and similar strain are veeerrrrry expensive.

 

[muddler6]

By variant do you mean selective breeding of barred rocks or a cross with another breed?
THis is all great info, one of my fly fishing friends has a relative that doesn't fish but ties amazing flies, and has the patience to tie the itty bitty ones. So when I can get them some feathers, I already have offers to get me free flies!!
SO any regular breeds that have good hackle would be where I would probably need to start.

 

[therealsilkiechick]

my father in law is a profesional tier. if u decide to raise them i can let him know and he'd give ya a good price for the roos and tell ya what breeds to raise. he taught mike how to tie flies but it has been years since he has done any. big mike would even do flies for ya if ya wanted in trade for them or whatever. he makes about a hundred dz all custome ordered every spring.

from what we remember, grizzle is from show quality barred rocks or dominiques. roosters r culled at about 2 years old when feathers r prime. blue dun is blue andilusian, red jungle fowl is a great one people pay very high for. he also uses india blue peacock feathers when i can find them for him. he makes many different kinds of flies. i'll get ahold of him and ask him for a list and if ya want i can talk to him and pm u his # and u can talk to him about it also. he lives in stumpcreek about 10 min from me so he is not far from u.
silkie

 

[patandchickens]

Here is the Must-Read Thread on the subject:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=24918

I used to flyfish and tie flies (turns out I am far better at the latter than at the former

), and my father used to be BIG-TIME into flycasting and tying although at 86 now he doesn't do much anymore, so I found it really interesting.

(edited to add: look at this thread too: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3544)


Pat

 

[Bluedun]

Yes, good grizzly was developed from show lines of bantam barred rocks and you can get good hackle from the top lines today. The feathers however are not very long. If you want nice long feathers you have to cross them then go back to the barred side. It is much easier to buy genetic hackle stock and eggs can be had from Alvin Theriault for about $55.00/doz. That is very inexpensive for these lines when you consider it would take you a lifetime of breeding in mass quantities (read 1,000's of birds not 10's) each year to get to where they are now. Follow the link in the last post to read more. The birds are called "Genetic Hackle"

 

[muddler6]

Wow, great info everyone, thank you very much.

Therealsilkiechick, I should have known that you and Mike would have connections.

I would love to raise a few hackle birds, but holy expensive batman!!! At some point I would love to raise some, right now though ain't the time for me. My life needs to slow down just a bit, but I will still research this. And who knows, maybe end up ordering some eggs one day. But everyone's input has been helpful.

 

[Bluedun]

Quote:
These breeds are what started the genetic hackle lines, but you have to remember this was well over 60 years ago, many of these breeds have absoluty no value to the average fly tyer these days with the avalibility of good hackle.

Muddler,

I understand where you are comming from, if you compare the price of eggs to "normal" chickens they SEEM expensive. However until Alvin started selling these eggs there were about 6 people in the US that controlled all hackle stock and they were never avalible to the public. There was a time in my life I would have gladly paid over $1,000.00 for eggs of these lines. Small price to pay for such and extrodinary bird. IMHO

 

[kstaven]

When you consider the YEARS of work that goes into any good stock $55.00/doz. is probably less than a penny for every hour devoted to careful selection.

 

[keystonebantams]

Quote:
These breeds are what started the genetic hackle lines, but you have to remember this was well over 60 years ago, many of these breeds have absoluty no value to the average fly tyer these days with the avalibility of good hackle.

I just talked to my dad yesterday about that and what he told me is that any rooster can make excellent hackles for tying flies. he was naming a few breeds but did not say anything about the genetic hackles you speak of. My dad is one of the best in the fly business. he gets orders from around the world from the big names in fly fishing. so ordering eggs that cost $55/doz just isn't neccesary. as long as you can get good quality stock in the right colors you can meke some great material. You need the bird to molt at least twice before culling to get the good quality featers for flies. My dad did mention a few breeds like Barred Rock, Blue Andelusian, New Hampshires, Buff Orpington and a few others I don't remember right now.

mike

 

[muddler6]

Mike, I will definately pick your brain next time we get together to chat and trade. Has your dad raised his own for tying? Seeing some of the birds on the links the others sent, I would love to have some with those great saddle and neck feathers, but I know I have cut a lot of waste off when I tied in the past with hackle that long.
Everyone, I appreciate the info, I am storing it away for when I can get started on that project!!