Was it name changing

[Ray Kunz]

Whiting had Brahma Hen with Chickabou. Then there was Whiting Coq de Leon Hen with Chickabou. Then there is Soft Hackle with Chickabou. Are these all the same ?
Or is there something going on with the genetics? Thanks.

[Bruce Norikane]

Old feather, new recognition.

ASFAIK, marabou comes from turkeys. Chickabou is the same feather from a chicken. So hen chickens always had chickabou, but it used to be trimmed off. Now growers are starting to include it

It may be a name change. I first heard of chickabou when Whiting put the name on their Brahma hen packages.

[Ray Kunz]

Thanks Bruce, but my question was directed at the words , "Brahma Hen", "Coq de Leon Hen" and simply "Soft Hackle".
It would seem that packages labeled "Soft Hackle" could either or neither of the others.
Are any of these three the same thing? What is the one labeled simply "Soft Hackle"?

[Bruce Norikane]

Thanks Bruce, but my question was directed at the words , "Brahma Hen", "Coq de Leon Hen" and simply "Soft Hackle".
It would seem that packages labeled "Soft Hackle" could either or neither of the others.
Are any of these three the same thing? What is the one labeled simply "Soft Hackle"?

Now I get it. That labeling is confusing. You want to know which chicken stock is used in Whiting Soft Hackle with Chickabou packaging.

After reading the Whiting product pages and Feather Emporium's more extensive information, the information is ambiguous. The packages labeled "Soft Hackle" could be Brahma Hen, Whiting stock, Hebert Minor stock, American Hackle stock, or anything. Feather Emporium says that Whiting Soft Hackle with Chickabou is Whiting or Heber-Minor genetic stock which is different from Brahma Hen stock and Coq de Leon stock. Should be explained by Whiting somewhere though.

Here's Feather Emporium's photo of the different Whiting hen lines which you've probably already seen:

feathers350.jpg

[whatfly]

Three different lines, similar applications, but not quite close enough in my mind to be interchangeable. Majority of my experience with the saddles (never thought the capes of much use), but I have all three products, so here is my take.

Coq de Leon is descendant from the European line of that name, and a fairly new introduction to US. Large saddle feathers that make great nymph legs, but a bit too much for anything but very large soft hackles (think big Indian hen saddle).

The Brahma line has similar coloration to CDL, but is a smaller feather and bit more useful for tying soft-hackles for me in reasonable sizes. Not sure exactly the origin of this line, but I believe this is a long-standing domestic strain that has been reintroduced.

Finally the so-called "Soft-Hackle with Chickabou" is descended from the Henry Hoffman line/product of the same name (although FE says they are also from the Miner line, which I cannot comment on). Hoffman worked with Whiting to develop this line, then finally sold the line to Whiting a time ago (you can still find Hoffman's original product around if you look hard) and it is a saddle with the "chickabou" attached, which as Bruce pointed out is just the chicken equivalent of turkey marabou. The large-feathers of the Hoffman line are "soft" but not really as useful for soft-hackles as say as a Hungarian partridge (closer to the Whiting American Hen Saddles by comparison than either of the other two products). The chickabou is essentially a light marabou substitute, and useful for bodies and such.

I cannot speak to the nature of the CDL or Braham chickabou because none of the commercial saddles I have came with it attached, so I'm not sure if this is a new product, or something that Dave at FE has exclusively, due to an arrangement with Whiting. Probably best to email him directly (very helpful guy) if you need further clarification, Ray.

[NJTroutbum]

Ditto to Whatfly.

Brahma, Coq-de-leon and "Softhackle" is an identification of 3 seperate genetic strains that are very different in certain ways. Although the general term "softhackle" can be used to label your genetic chiicken hen of most US strains as well.

Chickabou is just the term/brand label that identifies a specific area of feathers found on all chickens.