Homestead
BDN’s Homestead section is a celebration of rural life. Our writers cover small farms, animals, DIY solutions and fascinating Maine people who find unique ways to live simply. Read more Homestead stories here.
Lauren Prinkey’s small farm in Plymouth is home to a range of animals: livestock with special needs, roosters that their owners didn’t want, and a small flock of rare chickens whose skins she tans herself so they can become fly-fishing ties.
Known as the Genetic Hackle or the “fly tie chicken,” the type is hard to find and expensive to buy.
But if you can get them, they supply feathers well suited for tying flies. The skins of these chickens and other birds can be cured into leather with the feathers intact through simple at-home processing.
Prinkey has raised chickens for years, and long hoped for some Genetic Hackles of her own. She was drawn to their long, thin, elegant feathers and colorful barred patterns, which have been developed by breeders over the past 60 years to be better suited for tying flies.
Hackles are the feathers on the back, neck and shoulder of the bird that are tied into lures that imitate insects in order to attract fish. Feathers from different types of birds, different breeds of chickens and male and female birds all have unique uses, said Don Corey, a longtime fly-tyer and owner of Annika Rod and Tackle in Brewer.
About 80 percent of the feathers he sells come from chickens, which can be used for many types of flies; the store also carries turkey, duck, guinea fowl, ostrich and even peacock feathers.
Corey learned to tie flies 50 years ago, and he’s seen the materials change greatly in that time, partly because of breeding changes in birds such as the Genetic Hackles. Their feathers are typically used in light “dry flies,” which imitate insects on the surface of the water to attract freshwater fish such as salmon and trout.
Some breeders have developed genetic lines to have longer feathers and longer legs so the feathers won’t drag on the ground. Prinkey, for her part, is working to introduce new colors to her flock and make it so only male birds have barred feathers so she can tell the sexes apart from birth.
Prinkey runs a Facebook group dedicated to them, and has had a small flock of her own since late 2022, when a family asked her to help find them a new home.
They were descended from a line raised by Alvin Theriault, Maine’s legendary innovator of fishing ties. She’s found the bloodline “fantastically healthy,” hardy in hot and cold weather, inexpensive to feed and great layers of many cream-colored eggs. The birds are good, alert mothers, she said, though not particularly snuggly with humans.
Curing the skin instead of plucking it preserves the feathers and lets the fly tyer see how they lie naturally, making it easier to choose the right one for a project. It also protects the feathers from damage.
Prinkey doesn’t tie flies herself, sharing them with friends or people who want to try fly-tying, but she has experience preparing the pelts — though she warns she’s not an expert.
The fat is scraped from the skin, which is then stretched feather side down and pinned flat on wooden boards. It’s left to dry underneath a layer of salt or borax, which is refreshed until the hide is clean and dry. Finally, Prinkey washes the skins with unscented soap and blow dries them.
Corey buys his hackles professionally prepared from distributors, but visitors to the shop sometimes ask if they can use feathers from their backyard birds. It’s very possible, he said, though they won’t have the same characteristics as prepared ones and might be frustrating to work with.
Some other chicken breeds used in fly tying include Rhode Island Red and Plymouth Rock.
Philip Turner, a homesteader in Buxton, turned to Facebook recently to learn how to preserve the skins. He’s raised chickens and other poultry with his wife and young children for about five years and wanted to find a way to use all the parts on processing day in order to honor the lives of the birds.
He’s not a fly fisherman, but knows others who might use them. Raising birds as a family teaches his kids about the cycles of life; his 9-year-old son is excited to learn the process and display a chicken skin on his bedroom wall.
Other feathers can be used for different fly parts, brooms or decorations, and the skin on the birds’ legs and feet has been used in glovemaking.
