Oh City CHICK....eeen

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
The quills on the feathers break down when naturally moulted. What you do is slaughter the cockerel and then, instead of plucking, you skin out the neck and shoulders feathers intact.

That's then tanned and dried. Flytiers would then pull each preserved feather from the skin as they wanted to use them.

I can remember my dad tying flies, but he got his capes and hackles by ordering them from suppliers.

I do remember the silver hackles (the very long feathers from a rooster's neck and shoulders) as being extremely expensive.

One then makes soup or fricassee or similar slow cooked dish out of the erstwhile owner of the feathers.
 
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