A friend from work gave me a few feathers off their Road Island Reds chickens. The primaries make great wing slips in a wonderful rich brown colour. Some other feathers have made good soft hackle collars for spiders and wets. For wet flies, they have been great, and the colour is richer than any of the bought feathers I've got. Mind you, not many Road Island Reds produce a badger or grizzle, so perhaps I'm not buying the right packs! Seriouisly though, for tying up a few wets and such, your friends chooks will be fine. For dries, well, the breeding that's been done to produce top quality dry hackles just can't be beat by Brooster. You'll get some usuable feathers, just not top quality ones.

- Jeff