How do I prepare my pheasant for fly tying?

[martin_b]

A friend of mine asked me if I wanted some feathers, since he was going pheasant hunting. I of course said yes, but to my surprise he had left two whole pheasants at my office today

I managed to get both of them skinned (first time I ever had game in my hands) and now I'm sitting here with all the feathers (most still on the skin) from two birds; a hen and a cock.

What should I do with it when I have fly tying in mind? I heard something about putting them in the freezer for a couple of weeks, but that's pretty much all I know, so suggestions would be appreciated

Cheers
Martin

[gelert]

if i intend to eat the game, which i alway do, plucking is the best method, simply take your time and collect your feathers,pheasant seem more robust feathers that duck, but the skin breaks easily.ie bronze mallard and such need a little more gentle prep.
you can cut around the "parsons nose" with a pair of scissors ie the bum and use the tail feathers.
you can also follow the wings close to the bone leaving only the feathers.
breast feather come off quite easily just by pulling towards the neck.
hope this helps

[martin_b]

Thanks, but should I do anything with the feathers before I start tying with them? Ie. disinfection, putting them in the freezer etc? Or should I just hang them to dry for a while?

[gelert]

i seperate mine into nylon stockings and leave in warm soapy,
rinse with cold water, but do not squash or wring the feathers out you'll damage them then i put them in paper bags and a few seconds with the air dryer.

[sage fan]

Martin you was on the right line in you original post, I,d take off the feathers you want to keep (saves keeping the skin) then place in a polly bag and put them in the freezer for a few hours to kill and bugs. Then dry them out a bit and then to protect your own tying gear get some nepthaline crystals( check that spelling or moth balls) and place with your newly aquired feathers. Job done.

[neil26]

im have dried a cock pheasant skin a few months ago and it has turned out excellent- but it is a bit of work-

put the skin feather down flat in a newspaper change the paper daily and move from feather down to skin down each day. it will start to dry after few days, then add borax- sprinkled over and continue drying ( i tried salt first which wasn't good esp in a dampish garage it absorbs moisture from the air) then i sneaked it inside a airing cupboard to dry better- excellent. make sure there is newspaper on skin side as a lot of fat comes out of them,
then when dry i scrappe doff any remaining fat and gave it a rub down with acetone to degrease, then a glycerine/alcohol mix to keep supple then store,

ps dont forget freezer or microwave to de bug.

ps partridge and hare/squirrel were done the same but are much easier.

[clydestyle]

get acetone and with cloth rub away all the fatty stuff on inside of skin make sure to cover every bit of flesh get a small board of mdf or ply wood or chip board to get skin ready for drying you will also need salpetre from chemist and rub this into bared skin once done stretch skin out flat on to board pin down at various points to flatten out leave until bared skin turns hard once this is done transfer to freezer bag sealable and keep in freezer for at least a week transfer onto blotting card and store in a resealable freezer bag with some crushed up moth balls wee drop crystals pre bugb prevention
crash coarse on taxidermy

[neil26]

saltpetre is prob unavailable now due its alternative uses, even borax has been withdrawn from retail sale due to reclassification by EU

[martin_b]

Thanks for the replies guys. Seems like a bit of work, but I'll give it a go and see how it turns out

[stevekale]

see here:

Elliot's Pheasant