One fly shop manager knew feather hair extensions had spread to his area when more hair stylists started coming to his store than his usual fishing customers.
"[A woman] brought a bunch up to the counter and asked if I could get them in pink," Jim Bernstein told the Associated Press. "That's when I knew."
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These hackles, or long skinny feathers taken from select rooster breeds, have soared in popularity among girls and young women. Some credit Aerosmith's Steven Tyler for promoting the trend on the TV show American Idol.
Usually, the feathers are tied in shapes to lure in would-be catches during fly fishing. But the array of dyed feathers also caught the eye of fashionistas this past spring, increasing the demand of roosters sporting them.
Whiting Farms, Inc., one of three large producers of the feathers, relied on Plymouth Rock barred rooster breeds for producing the trendy tufts over the years. Thomas Whiting, who currently owns the Colorado-based business, selectively breeds the birds for ideal fishing plumage, which ironically, also helps them withstand the brunt of modern hair styling.
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It takes each animal between 45 and 60 weeks to fully develop the feathers, according to the farm's website. As of 2000, nearly 125,000 birds were harvested each year for fly fishing.
But questions arise about how the feathers are harvested and whether the demand for their cosmetic use influences animal welfare. Some might not know taking the feathers requires killing the roosters, which has traditionally been the case for fly fishing markets for years.
But what happens to other parts of the bird after the feathers are plucked?
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Whiting told Discovery News the rooster meat cannot be sold because it's too tough and not USDA-inspected. Instead, he said the best option is using the remaining carcasses for composting. For years, he said he's tried expanding the applications for the feathers with no luck.
"Then this thing came along on its own -- it's a great infusion of business and diversification," he said, noting that his business has increased production by roughly 20 percent to accommodate the trend. "The fashion world is very demanding. I frankly think it's interesting and good."
But misinformation about the animals' welfare irks Whiting the most, he said. As highly damageable assets, these animals are the "most pampered commercial chickens in the world," he said, crediting their existence and long life spans originally to the fly fishing markets.
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With more than 35 billion pounds of poultry raised each year, Whiting said it's surprising that people take more offense at his business than those that supply dinner plates. "I'm not saying that to deflect attention," he said, "but they [broiler chickens] don't get the type of life my birds do."
Some organizations are even sporting the feathers for ovarian cancer fundraising, making one wonder why wearing rooster plumage isn't met with similar skepticism as someone selling fur coats to raise money.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed a suit against one feather seller called Fine Featherheads, according to a CBS article. PETA took offense when the company claimed its feathers were produced in "cage-free" settings, which might not be entirely the case at Whiting Farms, where the feathers originated. PETA advocates disputed the legitimacy of the claims and filed a false advertising suit.
Photo by Upstate Options Magazine/Flickr.com
Second photo by Steven J. Dunlop, Nerstrand, MN/Wikimedia Commons
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