Cock capes??

[JJ O Malley]

Howdy all

Just a wee question regarding capes..

My uncle has lots of hens, and he just informed me today that they are going to kill a couple of cocks this evening, may they rest in peace.

The question i have relates to their capes. Would it be worth my while getting these capes off him for flytying? I had a look at the cocks and they seem to be kind of red in colour, but they have all sorts of colours going on.

Do the capes need to be treated, etc ?
Are they generally dyed to get the colours you see in shops, online etc?

Basically, is it going to me more work than its worth? (Keep in mind that i am not too flush with $$$ and can't go and buy capes for 40euro at the moment. (damn the recession)

Should i just take all the feathers and fill a bag and pull them from it as i need them and if they are good enough?

Sorry for all the questions, but i am not that experienced in flytying, and any capes i have were all bought from shops etc, and i have no clue what work was done with them..

Cheers
JJ

[morayflyfisher]

They will without doubt need to be cleaned and dont put them near any of your tying materials untill they are ,otherwise you will lose the lot.You will wake up one morning and bsee them walking past you out the door.

Most of the unnatural colours ,such as chartreuse,orange,etc are dyed before they are sold in shops from suppliers.

Well worth bagging them and cleaning them first rather than waste them.Clean them well with Venpol,from veniards,scrub them clean and rub and get most of any skin and blood off it.,otherwise it will smell ,BAD,then dry it off with a clothdabbing feathers.Then use a hairdryer to thorughly dry the cape /feathers,and place into a sealed bag with napalathene crystals and put into a freezer of at least 6 weeks which will kill anything you may miss.

This my way of doing it and Im sure others do it theirs ,but works for me.
Hope this helps you out

[Fishtales]

Not all relevant but quite a lot of information here.

http://www.uky.edu/~agrdanny/flyfish/petti.htm

I haven't done capes but have done a few deer skins. It is hard work and takes a while. The capes should be worth the time and effort though.

[mayflyjunky]

Hi JJ
What kind of cocks are they??. I would use alot of game cocks in my tying and dying but the only capes I would dye are the badger because the other shades are generally too strong and would involve some sort of bleaching.

You would be safer running your fingers through the feathers to see if they can be used.

If you decide to use them I would pluck first the feathers in a line from the base of the neck, along the wing, to the tail and back up again. Then get a sharp blade and skin, basically cutting the saddle off him. Place the saddle in between a newspaper for a few weeks and store inside. Wash the saddle using conditioner, dry fully, and to get rid of the mites freeze for a few days.

Heres a few I done a while back the quality of the photo is poor but believe me the colours are all natural. Proper Irish traditional colours

[arkle]

Freezing them for 6 weeks is NOT always 100% successful in killing ALL infestations. After scraping as much loose material i.e. fat/blood etc of the skin, pin the capes to a flat board, feather side down & air dry them for a week, Rub salt & or other material well into the skin. THEN microwave it for 30secs, that WILL kill anything & save time/freezer space etc. Then re-salt them & bag them individually with naptha/cedar chips etc. When you wash them, in a shampoo/whatever don't do it to hot & rinse with a hair conditioner before air or blow drying.

[JJ O Malley]

Thanks a lot guys.. Well the birds have had it... They had a good innings (15 weeks )

My girlfriend will kill me if she finds a cape in the microwave and then another in the freezer.. she has just stopped giving me grief for finding 4 hares masks on the kitchen table.. She still thinks i am evil...

I will get back to you on the name of the birds mayflyjunky...

cheers
JJ

[The Bear]

Originally Posted by JJ O'Malley

Thanks a lot guys.. Well the birds have had it... They had a good innings (15 weeks )

My girlfriend will kill me if she finds a cape in the microwave and then another in the freezer.. she has just stopped giving me grief for finding 4 hares masks on the kitchen table.. She still thinks i am evil...

I will get back to you on the name of the birds mayflyjunky...

cheers
JJ

She won't be too happy if you use her conditioner and hair dryer either