Article: WHITING FARMS RAISES VERY PROFITABLE HACKLES.(Brief Article)

HOW A DELTA-BASED FEATHER DOMINATES THE WORLD FLY-TYING BUSINESS

When Tom Whiting was about 7 years old, he discovered fancy birds and chickens at the Denver Zoo. By the time he was 10, he had his own flock of chickens, and they have dominated his life ever since.

But, oh, what chickens.

Whiting Farms chickens are raised for fly-tying feathers, and a rooster's cape (neck feathers) and saddle (back feathers) -- collectively called "hackle" -- can cost up to $200. But that's not much when a good fly-tier can get a couple of thousand flies out of a single cape or saddle.

Whiting's hackle is used to tie flies all over the world. In his 11 ...

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