how do you preserve a pheasant cape to keep feather's fresh for fly tying?

Answer 1

If you're harvesting the cape yourself, you want to tack it out on a hard surface, skin side up. Scrape all of the fat and meat from the skin, then treat it liberally with Borax. Let it sit for a couple of weeks, scraping off any moist areas and reapplying Borax as needed. If the cape is from a wild bird, a couple of cycles through the microwave and the freezer to eliminate any bugs is probably a good step to take as well.

If you're wanting to have best storage for a purchased cape, keep it in a cool, dry location. Keep it away from your dogs and cats. If you're concerned about the quality of the cleaning on the cape, put it through a couple of freeze/thaw cycles, or store in a ziploc bag separate from your other tying materials for a couple of weeks. Observe the bag for signs of infestation, then store with your other tying materials.

Tight lines!

Answer 2

the straightforward way is to purchase a bag of salt, pour a layer about a million inch deep in a field that the pheasant elements will slot in, then cover thoroughly with salt. go away it like that in a dry component of the living house for see you later as you want it preserved. the beef will draw interior the salt and that is going to dehydrate it and seem after it. you'd be in a position to inform even as its ‘performed’ even as the flesh is demanding. you may also upload Borax to the salt 50/50 this can help seem after all of it the more effective. And it gained’t change the colors of the feathers. A feather by technique of itself might want to correctly be dried out by technique of miraculous it on a string. do no longer wash them or that is going to harm the feather be conscious its more effective perfect to get rid of the feathers you want to apply earlier you dry out the flesh with them in. because after the beef dries its VERY frustrating to tug the feathers out. So i might want to easily pluck the feathers out and enable them dry and throw the beef and flesh away. That way you do not ought to clutter with the salt except for the feet.

Answer 3

i would just pluck some of the feathers and put them in a ziplock and put them in the freezer