the old red rooster drew the short straw yesterday and is going to the chopping block this afternoon. I would like to preserve his cape for tying flies. I thought I had read here before a how-to of some sort but couldn't find it in the Archives. so...how to? I would imagine layering it in salt or something like that but would appreciate any tips or specific info you might want to toss my way. thanks!

-- B. Lackie - Zone3 (cwrench@hotmail.com), February 16, 2002

Answers

Peel it, scrape all of the fat off of it, and rub it/fill it with borax.

Oscar

-- Oscar H. Will III (owill@mail.whittier.edu), February 16, 2002.

scape all the fat off that you can...tack flat skin side out and dry...store sprinkled with Diaotomaous Earth...I store most of my feathers pulled from the skin and rubber banded in bundles...have dried the occasional wing"fan" to use to fan up embers while camping

-- Bee White (bee@hereintown.net), February 16, 2002.

Scrape what fat and tissue that you can and then rub down with lots of salt. Roll it up and let it set for a couple of days and then scrape all the salt and tissue off again. Repeat salting, and wait a couple more days if you think necessary. After removing all salt and tissue that you can, tack it to a board with flesh side out and let it dry completely. After drying it is ready to use. This method is what you call rawhide. No pickling necessary since you are not going to be using the skin for anything. As long as the skin remains dry it will last long enough to tie a lot of flys.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), February 16, 2002.

B. L. , Use any or all of the above (borax works for me), but substitute a hoe handle for the chopping block. Have ready a stout stick and a piece of baler twine, gather the bird's feet and wingtips in one hand and lower him toward the ground, belly toward you. He will stretch his head forward. At which point,place the stick across the neck behind the head, put a foot each side, pull steadily until you feel the neck break and then a little more to break the blood vessels, then hang the bird by the feet to flap. This bleeds out the bird just as efficiently as the other method and you don't have to hose down the real estate to avoid a fly problem, the blood stays in the head. Also works for turkeys, ducks and - if you're a little younger than I, geese. Best of all, it keeps the hackles clean.

-- Griff (dgriff@hangnail.com), February 17, 2002.