Quote Originally Posted by EdD View Post
Farming is a risky business. Remember that it wasn't too long ago we were afraid that we might have some of our hackle producers put out of business by avian flu. I acknowledge that having so much hackle taken off the market is inconvenient today. But the influx of cash might help secure supply for tomorrow. If the demand continues, then supply will likely increase. This won't happen today, it takes months to run up the supply of hackle. But again this is a point on which we can be thinkful for the breeding work done for us. I believe that it currently takes about 10 months to get a rooster from egg to prime condition. It used to take 2 years. We shall see what happens in the future. Since one can mail-order day-old chicks of (lesser) fly-tying strains surprisingly cheaply (cheeply?), we might see a whole slew of new hackle producers flooding the market. We worry about Whiting remembering us, maybe THEY are worried about us remembering them.

Ed
As one who also raises chickens (but not for feathers), I am surprised that you could get quality, long saddle hackle in 10 months. I would think it would take longer than that, based on my limited experience.

Brian