Imping

I read an interesting article in the Herald about Imping, an ancient practice where injured birds are helped to fly again, by grafting on feathers from dead birds. It sounds sort of strange, but it is really quite practical and straight forward. Wings from dead birds are kept in a freezer, and when an injured bird needs a replacement feather, there is one ready.

Basically, the old feather and replacement feather are cut in half, the shaft drilled out, and then a tooth pick or kebab skewer stuck in to the tube. Join the two bits together, whack on some Araldite (seriously), and viola, the bird is ready to fly again. How good's that? Here's some imping in action.