Washing Natural Materials Feathers and Pelts for Fly Tying Materials

In this video Mike demonstrates how he cleans and dries pelts and feathers in the shop. Too often our customers tell us they had to throw away some of their natural materials due to a rancid smell or insect infestation. In our fly shop we have thousands of natural products, yet no odor can be detected at all. This is because Mike takes great care in the processing and cleaning of his natural materials. When you receive materials ordered from our shop they come clean and sterilized, but many tiers have a stash of natural materials acquired from a variety of sources in a myriad of conditions. Perhaps a hunter friend has gifted you with some buck tails, or you wish to recycle the pelt of a beautiful bird or animal that fell victim to road hazards or death by natural causes. In this video you can learn how to clean your materials and store them properly!
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whitetailflytying.com

[@kenkrueger9764]

Thanks for the info. FYI for all, Mike and Nancy are always very helpful, Mike is always willing to share has vast knowledge. A great place to buy fly tying materials.

[@matteoveneruz9096]

I just did this using lose feather from partridge that I shot yesterday. I cleaned them last night and I let them dry naturally and just got home from school. The feathers aren’t as pretty and are a little roughed up but they are definitely in usable condition so that’s all that matters. Thanks for the helpful video! I don’t know anyone else who has a video on cleaning feathers so this was very helpful.

[@joeduca8582]

That was very helpful. Thanks!

[@mazman8343]

great video as they say in ireland the old dog for the road and pup for the ditch 👍👌

[@williamparadis3058]

very informative, thank you

[@avalupo1300]

This was very helpful thank you. I am about to attempt this with goose feathers!

[@jameswood3461]

Amazing, thank you!

[@fishduckdog]

Thanks for sharing!

[@phillipimsdahl3563]

Whiting Feathers suggests you only use mild soap as you want the natural oils left in the feathers as it is what preserves the feathers and keeps them from drying out.

[@veronika8904]

Sir,What type of bag do i use for full skin birds for storage?How to prevent bugs during storage?Thank you very much.Jack

[@johnsimpson2704]

Thanks for the info. I was told before to just use natural shampoo and conditioner. I think you method with using borax would be better as it help with the skin. Lastly if you have dyed feathers and pelts I gather that they would all have to be washed separately as you would not want the dyes leaching into the other feathers and furs?

[@gaylewatson6013]

How do you store the single feathers? I'm thinking of a plastic bag, but do the bags need to be open to the air or not?

[@kaidenanderson1019]

Could i do the same thing with a section of whitetail hide? I have a few pieces in the freezer

[@acoupleofcakes]

Please let me know what to do with the feathers and cape shortly after removing from the bird? I’ve rinsed them under hose water. I have them sitting in the cooler on the way home. I heard to cover with borax and let it dry. Is that your process too before the soak in the video?

[@Mushroom.Madness.]

That's what I've always seen people doing my dad used to dry his turkey fans that way 20+ years ago. Just helped him move recently and those fans and beards are still in perfect condition after all these years

[@carefulkev9246]

I have some beautiful pheasant tail feathers. They have been sitting in a bin in dry borax for several days. Would you recommend washing them using this method? They are extremely long and nice, and I don't want to damage them. I also have 2 pheasant pelts, and a bunch of wing feathers that I plucked, but I'm more worried about the tail feathers. Thanks for the very helpful video!

[@acoupleofcakes]

Did you get a response? I’m looking for what to do with the feathers and cape shortly after removing from the bird? I have them sitting in the cooler on the way home.