How to skin birds for fishing lure material????

[Whimsical Farming Wife]

I am so happy to have a growing flock of barred rock cross birds for my laying hens. The problem... 50% (or so) are roosters, and I suspect this trend will continue through the years! I have explored selling them, but they don't seem to be terribly desirable for any purpose.
Now- luckily- we are in the fishing lure industry, and could sell the feathers locally, and to tackle stores. If this works out, I might even start hoping for roosters!
The problem: I have NO IDEA where to start! The only local kill guy I know uses a setup for meat birds, where the feathers are plucked off with a machine. I don't have the stomach to skin them, but if I knew what was required, I could maybe source someone out.
We would need the feathers to be on the skin.
Please help with any information! Thanx in advance

 

[GreenGoddess]

Here is a good youtube video on how to process a chicken with keeping the skin/feathers intact...

Hope this helps..

Goddess

 

[pdpatch]

The fishing lures would only use the feathers. So any plucking would work, wet or dry.

Fishing bait might use the skin.


Downy type feather for jig's and larger feather would be useful for fly tying.

Tom

 

[gaeamama]

Well, I know the feathers and fur my dh gets for tying flies do come on preserved skin, it's an intact piece.
We're currently experimenting with doing out own. The last time we processed a chicken, he just cut off the hackles he wanted complete with skin. He then put that piece in a lidded bowl filled with rock salt and that's where they're sitting now. So for now it looks good. He did it before without any salt and kind of forgot about them... that was not nice.