Called hackles in fly-fishing circles, the feathers from specially bred chickens are used to make lures. Pictured above is the Barred Dark Ginger variety of The Hoffman Hackle . When Thomas Whiting left the University of Georgia in 1982 with his master's in poultry science, few knew how high he would let his education fly. Today, Whiting is president of Whiting Farms in Delta, Co. where more than 100,000 chickens pass through each year. But none make it to the processing plant, and he doesn't raise them for eggs.
Whiting raises chickens just for their feathers.
And fly fishermen across the world are glad he does. Called hackles in fly-fishing circles, the feathers are used to make lures. The farm raises specially bred chickens for their fly-tying feathers. He also raises a few black-meated meat chickens, some Junglefowl and about a half dozen pheasant species crosses. Through breeding, selection and other scientific methods, feathers are created that resemble the colors and textures of insects that attract fish.