Cheap feather hair extensions quickly have become the hair accessory of choice for high school girls and white collar women. These hair pieces, which can be securely clipped advisable for the office.
Feather exentsions for hair exclusively for the fashion industry-as seen on American Idol and in celebrity magazines. We service the feather extension trend globally with top quality feathers, large variety of colors both vibrant or nautral feather hair extensions wholesale and easy application tools.
These beautiful feathers can be treated like your natural hair extensions because they are natural. Wash, blow dry, flat iron, hair products, swimming--anything your hair can take so can the feathers. Young girls to baby boomers love feather extensions. They are fun, playful and an easy way to create texture and added visual intrest to hair.
These Feather Hair Extensions for sale were designed for easy application. The thin designed feathers flow beautifully in hair. This plume has a Kartin wax tip holding the feathers together for quick and easy application. Comes with one black and blond crimp bead. When applying choose the crimo bead that blends in most. They can be washed, curled, straightened, and blown dry.
Feather Mania True Blue consist of 5 feathers. Blue grizzly and solid color combined to make a unit. These are high quality Whiting feather. The-I tips have been with prepared with keratin protein to prevent fraying of the feathers and also to ensure an easy installation process. The feathers range from 8 -13 inches in length. Feathers hair extensions are natural and will vary in length and width. No two feathers are the same. These feathers can be shampooed and conditioned, blow dried and flat ironed together with your hair. Treat them with care just as you would with your hair. These feathers would last for months when properly treated.
The Feather Hair Extension sale was designed for easy application. The thin designed feathers flow beautifully in hair. They can be washed, curled, straightened, and blown dry. There is easy to follow instructions and all the right tools for application of the feather extensions wholesale . The feathers are real and very in length 3\”-12\”. There are six feathers all together. 1 Hot Pink, 2 Black Grizzly, 1Black. They last for months and you can un-crimp the bead with the crimper tweezers and pull the extensions up as your hair grows out. These are professional salon grade all colors will very in shade from feather to feather. The article resource from http://www.hairfeathersextensions.com/
Friday, July 1, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Flocking To The Feather Hair Extensions
Jon Widboom, who runs a fly-fishing shop, never thought he would get calls from posh hair salons that line trendy Rodeo Drive in California's Beverly Hills.
But he does -- regularly.
"I get a daily call from a salon somewhere wanting feathers," said Widboom, who owns FlyMasters here.
And not just any feathers. They want the same ones that gained popularity this spring when "American Idol" judge Steven Tyler appeared on the Fox reality show with a mane accented by long feather hair extensions.
Feathers' popularity isn't the only thing increasing. So is the price.
Before the plume boom, a skin containing 400 to 500 rooster feathers would run $80 to $100. Earlier this week, bidding on eBay for a skin of Whiting Farm saddle feathers reached more than $500.
Why are they so special? Known as saddles, the feathers come from roosters bred specifically for the long plumes on their back side; the primary producer is Whiting Farms in Delta, Colo.
Fly-fishers prize Whiting saddles because they have a pliable center shaft and can be wound around fly-fishing lures. When
put in the hair as an extension, the often-colorful feathers can be styled just like hair and last for several weeks.
The trend originated in Colorado, where fly-fishing is popular, spread to California and is moving across the country.
Widboom and sales associates at Wildcat Creek Outfitters in Zionsville, Ind., and Orvis in Carmel, Ind., said they get calls daily from hairstylists across the country searching for saddle feathers.
Unaware of the budding trend, Widboom received his first call about the feathers in March from a fellow fly-fishing shop owner in Orlando, who was wondering if he had been selling a lot of Whiting saddle feathers.
"I said, 'We haven't heard anything,' " Widboom said. "Right after that, a lady walks in and asks, 'Do you have any feathers?' She bought $600 worth. She bought just about everything I had."
That customer was Jaime Zentz, who owns Geneva Hair Salon in Irvington, Ind.
"We are very fortunate," Zentz said, "and have a friend and client who visits Colorado regularly. She tipped us off to the trend."
Lindsey Springer Nierman, an instructor at Circle City Pilates in Indianapolis, likes the extensions' whimsical, summery look and has received compliments from her clients on the turquoise blue-and-tan feathers.
"I like that it's really low maintenance," she said. "You can straighten it and curl it, and it's not permanent."
Feather extensions cost $15 to $50. The feathers are bonded with an extension bead and clamped into hair. They last for six to eight weeks and easily are removed by a professional, adding temporary color to hair.
But the growing demand has quickly outstripped the supply. Because the roosters are euthanized at 18 months old to harvest their tail feathers, Whiting Farms and the handful of other producers haven't been able to increase the supply yet.
"Our feather company stopped returning our phone calls and our emails," Zentz said. "Their website shut down when the craze hit."
Not everyone is as thrilled with the fad. Animal-rights activists have started to condemn the trend because the roosters are killed for their tail feathers.
And fly-fishing enthusiasts are complaining about the dwindling supply and increasing cost of the feathers they use to make lures.
Mike Exl, store manager of Wildcat Creek Outfitters, said he gets about three calls a day from hairstylists across the country searching for saddle feathers. He doesn't turn down their requests, but he's talked to other shop owners who hide their stock of saddle feathers behind the counter -- reserving it for fly-fishermen.
"I'm hoping it will definitely be a fad," Exl said. "Our main goal is serving the fly-fishing customer. When we have a loyal customer and he can't get what he wants, it's frustrating."
But he does -- regularly.
"I get a daily call from a salon somewhere wanting feathers," said Widboom, who owns FlyMasters here.
And not just any feathers. They want the same ones that gained popularity this spring when "American Idol" judge Steven Tyler appeared on the Fox reality show with a mane accented by long feather hair extensions.
Feathers' popularity isn't the only thing increasing. So is the price.
Before the plume boom, a skin containing 400 to 500 rooster feathers would run $80 to $100. Earlier this week, bidding on eBay for a skin of Whiting Farm saddle feathers reached more than $500.
Why are they so special? Known as saddles, the feathers come from roosters bred specifically for the long plumes on their back side; the primary producer is Whiting Farms in Delta, Colo.
Fly-fishers prize Whiting saddles because they have a pliable center shaft and can be wound around fly-fishing lures. When
put in the hair as an extension, the often-colorful feathers can be styled just like hair and last for several weeks.
The trend originated in Colorado, where fly-fishing is popular, spread to California and is moving across the country.
Widboom and sales associates at Wildcat Creek Outfitters in Zionsville, Ind., and Orvis in Carmel, Ind., said they get calls daily from hairstylists across the country searching for saddle feathers.
Unaware of the budding trend, Widboom received his first call about the feathers in March from a fellow fly-fishing shop owner in Orlando, who was wondering if he had been selling a lot of Whiting saddle feathers.
"I said, 'We haven't heard anything,' " Widboom said. "Right after that, a lady walks in and asks, 'Do you have any feathers?' She bought $600 worth. She bought just about everything I had."
That customer was Jaime Zentz, who owns Geneva Hair Salon in Irvington, Ind.
"We are very fortunate," Zentz said, "and have a friend and client who visits Colorado regularly. She tipped us off to the trend."
Lindsey Springer Nierman, an instructor at Circle City Pilates in Indianapolis, likes the extensions' whimsical, summery look and has received compliments from her clients on the turquoise blue-and-tan feathers.
"I like that it's really low maintenance," she said. "You can straighten it and curl it, and it's not permanent."
Feather extensions cost $15 to $50. The feathers are bonded with an extension bead and clamped into hair. They last for six to eight weeks and easily are removed by a professional, adding temporary color to hair.
But the growing demand has quickly outstripped the supply. Because the roosters are euthanized at 18 months old to harvest their tail feathers, Whiting Farms and the handful of other producers haven't been able to increase the supply yet.
"Our feather company stopped returning our phone calls and our emails," Zentz said. "Their website shut down when the craze hit."
Not everyone is as thrilled with the fad. Animal-rights activists have started to condemn the trend because the roosters are killed for their tail feathers.
And fly-fishing enthusiasts are complaining about the dwindling supply and increasing cost of the feathers they use to make lures.
Mike Exl, store manager of Wildcat Creek Outfitters, said he gets about three calls a day from hairstylists across the country searching for saddle feathers. He doesn't turn down their requests, but he's talked to other shop owners who hide their stock of saddle feathers behind the counter -- reserving it for fly-fishermen.
"I'm hoping it will definitely be a fad," Exl said. "Our main goal is serving the fly-fishing customer. When we have a loyal customer and he can't get what he wants, it's frustrating."
Monday, June 20, 2011
Feather Hair Extensions Show No Compassion
Feather hair extensions are roosting upon manes across the nation. A trend popularized by celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, adding plumage to one’s coiffure is now such a coveted fashion statement that one internet company even sells feather extensions for dogs. But, where do these lovely feathers come from? Before feathering your own locks (or your dog’s!), please consider the thousands of innocent lives which are taken to produce these plumes.
If you know fly fishing paraphernalia, and thought that these silky bits in people’s’ hair seemed strangely familiar… well, you’re onto something. The feathers used for hair extensions, are the same ones used by fly fisherman as lures, and feather-craving fashionistas everywhere are now snatching them up at hundreds of dollars above the market price. According to an article on Bloomberg Businessweek, “A package of the most popular fly tying hackle for feather hair extensions, a black and white striped feather called grizzly saddle, would normally retail anywhere from $40 to $60. It sold for $480 on eBay last month after 31 bids.” At the most, these feather hair extensions can be worn for three months.
Thousands of beautiful roosters lose their lives every week due to the increased demand for feather hair extensnions.
Thousands of beautiful roosters are killed every week due to the increased demand for feather hair extensions.
So, why pay so much for these feathers? Well, the roosters in question have been specifically bred to produce unnaturally long and strikingly beautiful saddle feathers (the ones on the bird’s backside), which are considered more desirable for fly fishing — and now, for fashion. Naturally, this price inflation has become a major annoyance to fly fishermen, but whether for bait or coiffure accessorizing, to take the lives of sentient beings for such fleeting and trivial purposes is troubling in itself.
Whiting Farms in western Colorado is the world’s largest producer of fly tying feathers. There, the roosters are given only a year to live while their saddle feathers grow as long as possible. (Research varies, but when they aren’t killed for their plumage, roosters can naturally live to be 10-15 years old.) Once the feathers are deemed satisfactory, the rooster is slaughtered, and his feathers plucked. His lifeless body is then thrown out for compost; Thomas Whiting, the company founder (via the Orange County Register), claims that, ”They aren’t good for anything else.” The Whiting Farms website boasts that “over 125,000 total birds (were) harvested in 2000.” According to the Orange County Register article, Whiting Farms now ships out 65,000 bird hides per week as it tries to meet the aggressive demands of salon owners and stylists, as well as its classic fly fishing clientele. Needless to say, that is quite a haunting increase in rooster death… all for a faddish, temporary hair accessory, produced in a manner that screams disconnect.
As “supply” (here, meaning animal slaughter) levels respond to demand, it is within our collective power as consumers to dictate what is worth buying. Do you want to feed your money and image into this bloody phenomenon? Fashion trends come and go, but compassion is always cool. (source)
If you know fly fishing paraphernalia, and thought that these silky bits in people’s’ hair seemed strangely familiar… well, you’re onto something. The feathers used for hair extensions, are the same ones used by fly fisherman as lures, and feather-craving fashionistas everywhere are now snatching them up at hundreds of dollars above the market price. According to an article on Bloomberg Businessweek, “A package of the most popular fly tying hackle for feather hair extensions, a black and white striped feather called grizzly saddle, would normally retail anywhere from $40 to $60. It sold for $480 on eBay last month after 31 bids.” At the most, these feather hair extensions can be worn for three months.
Thousands of beautiful roosters lose their lives every week due to the increased demand for feather hair extensnions.
Thousands of beautiful roosters are killed every week due to the increased demand for feather hair extensions.
So, why pay so much for these feathers? Well, the roosters in question have been specifically bred to produce unnaturally long and strikingly beautiful saddle feathers (the ones on the bird’s backside), which are considered more desirable for fly fishing — and now, for fashion. Naturally, this price inflation has become a major annoyance to fly fishermen, but whether for bait or coiffure accessorizing, to take the lives of sentient beings for such fleeting and trivial purposes is troubling in itself.
Whiting Farms in western Colorado is the world’s largest producer of fly tying feathers. There, the roosters are given only a year to live while their saddle feathers grow as long as possible. (Research varies, but when they aren’t killed for their plumage, roosters can naturally live to be 10-15 years old.) Once the feathers are deemed satisfactory, the rooster is slaughtered, and his feathers plucked. His lifeless body is then thrown out for compost; Thomas Whiting, the company founder (via the Orange County Register), claims that, ”They aren’t good for anything else.” The Whiting Farms website boasts that “over 125,000 total birds (were) harvested in 2000.” According to the Orange County Register article, Whiting Farms now ships out 65,000 bird hides per week as it tries to meet the aggressive demands of salon owners and stylists, as well as its classic fly fishing clientele. Needless to say, that is quite a haunting increase in rooster death… all for a faddish, temporary hair accessory, produced in a manner that screams disconnect.
As “supply” (here, meaning animal slaughter) levels respond to demand, it is within our collective power as consumers to dictate what is worth buying. Do you want to feed your money and image into this bloody phenomenon? Fashion trends come and go, but compassion is always cool. (source)
Friday, June 17, 2011
Feather Hair Extension Fad Popular in Knoxville
You wouldn't think fishermen and hairstylists have a lot to fight about, but that's not the case. A material both of them need is coming up short.
Nearly 100 clients are coming in per month at Belleza Salon in Turkey Creek asking for feather hair extensions.
"We looked into it, and we ordered a few just to see how the clients would react to it and it took off," said E. C. Crippen, a hair stylist at Belleza. "It's the hottest thing right now, absolutely."
But people who want hair feathers are buying up the supply fishermen use.
"I mean, they just buy them all. They buy everything in sight. Our shelves are empty," said Dave Carson, a fisherman and employee at Orvis in Sevierville.
"There's a lot of fishermen that are not happy because we use these feathers to make flies. There are some fishermen that are upset because they figure what it will do is raise the price when they come back," Carson said.
The average price for a package of rooster feathers goes for about $25 at tackle shops, but for just one feather at the salon, it's $15.
Prices aside, the rooster feathers will not be available for a year. That's how long it takes for manufactures to restock.
"Their roosters are too young to be able to harvest to get the necks," Carson said.
For some people, it's fashion. For others, it's sport.
For now, Carson is hanging on to all the feathers he can. "My daughter is a hairdresser, and I have to hide my feathers from her. She doesn't know where I keep them," he said.
Right now, the fly fishing store Orvis is still receiving daily shipments of feathers, but the store is bracing for bare shelves in the coming months.
Nearly 100 clients are coming in per month at Belleza Salon in Turkey Creek asking for feather hair extensions.
"We looked into it, and we ordered a few just to see how the clients would react to it and it took off," said E. C. Crippen, a hair stylist at Belleza. "It's the hottest thing right now, absolutely."
But people who want hair feathers are buying up the supply fishermen use.
"I mean, they just buy them all. They buy everything in sight. Our shelves are empty," said Dave Carson, a fisherman and employee at Orvis in Sevierville.
"There's a lot of fishermen that are not happy because we use these feathers to make flies. There are some fishermen that are upset because they figure what it will do is raise the price when they come back," Carson said.
The average price for a package of rooster feathers goes for about $25 at tackle shops, but for just one feather at the salon, it's $15.
Prices aside, the rooster feathers will not be available for a year. That's how long it takes for manufactures to restock.
"Their roosters are too young to be able to harvest to get the necks," Carson said.
For some people, it's fashion. For others, it's sport.
For now, Carson is hanging on to all the feathers he can. "My daughter is a hairdresser, and I have to hide my feathers from her. She doesn't know where I keep them," he said.
Right now, the fly fishing store Orvis is still receiving daily shipments of feathers, but the store is bracing for bare shelves in the coming months.
Feather Hair Extensions Hit Knoxville
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Feather Hair Extensions: A New Twist
Rooster feathers, or hackles, are used by anglers to tie into lightweight lures that are snatched up by eager fish.
But with an exploding trend in the beauty industry -- feather hair extensions -- hair stylists might be getting to the feathers faster than the fish.
The Merle Norman hair studio in Marysville has offered feather extensions for a month and a half, and stylists said the trend already is more popular than colored hair extensions.
Stacey Frederick and Jennifer Long, both stylists at Merle Norman, sport feather extensions themselves.
"It's just thinking outside the box in the hair industry," Frederick said.
Adding brightly-colored streaks to hair could potentially damage it during bleaching and dying processes, Long said, and many women are turned away from using colored hair extensions because they aren't natural-looking.
The procedure is simple: In less than five minutes, a stylist can take the feathers of your choice and loop them to several strands of hair using a small silicone bead. Options range from dyed rooster hackles in a variety of colors to long, white ostrich feathers -- two feathers for $15 or three for $25.
The extensions last up to four months and can be washed and styled with a blow dryer, flat iron or curling iron.
Buying feathers from wherever they can find them, Frederick and Long said they rely heavily on eBay. Frederick said she even has acquired a stash from a fisherman friend of hers.
Kathy Bielecki of Imlay City exhibits her jewelry at art shows around Southeast Michigan. This summer, she's started offering feathered hair extensions for a low price to visitors to her booth after seeing the trend explode in area salons. While hair salons in Birmingham offer hair feather extensions at prices upward of $30 per feather, Bielecki charges $12 per feather or $20 for two.
"The feathers are the hardest thing to find," she said.
Finefeatherheads.com -- a site the local Merle Norman stylists said they visit frequently -- is currently out of stock of all of its six-feather bundles.
On Monday, "hair feather" was a top trend on eBay.com with about 8,600 search results. Even searching "fly fishing feathers" on eBay yielded about 638 results advertising to fly fishermen and hair stylists.
Dan Finstad of the Michigan Fly Fishing Club in Livonia said fly fishing shops are making "outrageous premiums" by selling feathers to hair salons. One rooster hackle could yield four to five flies, Finstad said.
"Owners are reluctant to sell their entire inventory to beauty stylists," Finstad said, noting fly fishing stores are afraid of falling victim to the fad as well. "At the end of the day, they're still trying to make a profit."
John and Veronica Pinto, owners of Lakeside Fishing Shop in St. Clair Shores, said they've capitalized on the high demand for the feathers by selling their personal stock -- and they've all gone to beauticians.
"We've sold quite a few and not one of them to a fly fisherman," Veronica Pinto said. "I don't know how long that's going to last."
Several years ago, the store was flooded with demands from crafters for fishing tackle to make into jewelry.
Stylists point to Steven Tyler's May appearance on American Idol with nearly foot-long feathers in his hair as the beginning of the feather explosion.
Young celebrities such as Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and Ke$ha all have been spotted sporting feather hair extensions in their hair, but the trend isn't popular just among young women. From school-aged girls to older women looking to stand out in a crowd, Long said the trend really has taken flight
But with an exploding trend in the beauty industry -- feather hair extensions -- hair stylists might be getting to the feathers faster than the fish.
The Merle Norman hair studio in Marysville has offered feather extensions for a month and a half, and stylists said the trend already is more popular than colored hair extensions.
Stacey Frederick and Jennifer Long, both stylists at Merle Norman, sport feather extensions themselves.
"It's just thinking outside the box in the hair industry," Frederick said.
Adding brightly-colored streaks to hair could potentially damage it during bleaching and dying processes, Long said, and many women are turned away from using colored hair extensions because they aren't natural-looking.
The procedure is simple: In less than five minutes, a stylist can take the feathers of your choice and loop them to several strands of hair using a small silicone bead. Options range from dyed rooster hackles in a variety of colors to long, white ostrich feathers -- two feathers for $15 or three for $25.
The extensions last up to four months and can be washed and styled with a blow dryer, flat iron or curling iron.
Buying feathers from wherever they can find them, Frederick and Long said they rely heavily on eBay. Frederick said she even has acquired a stash from a fisherman friend of hers.
Kathy Bielecki of Imlay City exhibits her jewelry at art shows around Southeast Michigan. This summer, she's started offering feathered hair extensions for a low price to visitors to her booth after seeing the trend explode in area salons. While hair salons in Birmingham offer hair feather extensions at prices upward of $30 per feather, Bielecki charges $12 per feather or $20 for two.
"The feathers are the hardest thing to find," she said.
Finefeatherheads.com -- a site the local Merle Norman stylists said they visit frequently -- is currently out of stock of all of its six-feather bundles.
On Monday, "hair feather" was a top trend on eBay.com with about 8,600 search results. Even searching "fly fishing feathers" on eBay yielded about 638 results advertising to fly fishermen and hair stylists.
Dan Finstad of the Michigan Fly Fishing Club in Livonia said fly fishing shops are making "outrageous premiums" by selling feathers to hair salons. One rooster hackle could yield four to five flies, Finstad said.
"Owners are reluctant to sell their entire inventory to beauty stylists," Finstad said, noting fly fishing stores are afraid of falling victim to the fad as well. "At the end of the day, they're still trying to make a profit."
John and Veronica Pinto, owners of Lakeside Fishing Shop in St. Clair Shores, said they've capitalized on the high demand for the feathers by selling their personal stock -- and they've all gone to beauticians.
"We've sold quite a few and not one of them to a fly fisherman," Veronica Pinto said. "I don't know how long that's going to last."
Several years ago, the store was flooded with demands from crafters for fishing tackle to make into jewelry.
Stylists point to Steven Tyler's May appearance on American Idol with nearly foot-long feathers in his hair as the beginning of the feather explosion.
Young celebrities such as Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and Ke$ha all have been spotted sporting feather hair extensions in their hair, but the trend isn't popular just among young women. From school-aged girls to older women looking to stand out in a crowd, Long said the trend really has taken flight
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Feather Hair Extensions Highlight Rooster Butts
Once, after a column in which I pointed out that mascara is made from bat guano, I got several letters from women who were livid that I would say such a thing. Of course, I apologized up, down, and sideways, and promised never to make that mistake again. And I haven’t. Well, not often, anyway.But the truth is that I didn’t make that up.
Bat guano really is one of the main ingredients in mascara, and that won’t change whether I write about it or not. So, if you happen to be a woman of the female gender, and you’re offended by this column, I hope you’ll be somewhat comforted by the fact that I am not making any of this one up, either. This story was sent to me, or at least posted on Facebook, by the editor of Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine, who happens to be, her very self, a female type person. And a darn good guitar picker and singer, to boot.According to this story, that evidently started with the Seattle Times and is sweeping the country, there seems to be a national shortage of hackles.
Now, hackles, in case you don’t waste large sectors of your time tying flies, are feathers used in fly-tying. I have gleaned, from my extensive research on the subject, that these particular feathers come from a certain part of a chicken, known technically as the ‘butt.’ Actually, I figured that out from reading the article Louie Bond posted, but that’s what passes for extensive research in my office.For years flyfishers have been using hackles for their flies. Fishing flies only need maybe a couple of small pieces of feather each, so even with lots of people tying their own flies we’ve been able to get by for years without taxing the nation’s chickens too heavily. Sure, there have probably been some birds walking around with bare backsides at times, but then, sacrifices must be made. And if those sacrifices have to be made by chickens, I’m OK with that.But now things have changed.
Women, en masse, have started using hackles as hair accessories. As I understand it, this involves something called ‘hair extensions,’ which would probably be a good name for a rock band. But then, so would butt feathers.Hair extentions, though, are a little out of my area of expertise. I always thought there were basically just two choices if you wanted longer hair – you could either let it grow out, or wear a wig. So I asked my wife about hair extensions, and learned that it involves weaving other peoples’ hair into your own, to make your hair longer. And, apparently, some women like to weave feathers in there, too, for decoration. Why not?If you buy a hackle at a fly shop it will run you maybe five bucks.
The same hackle at a hairdresser joint might set you back a C note. So we’re talking a lot of difference in price, for the exact same feather.Plus, it turns out, you can’t just pull the hackles and let the bird keep pecking. The unique roosters that grow these feathers are specially raised, and have to be whacked to harvest the hackles. But the main problem is that it takes a year for them to get big enough to grow proper butt feathers.So the U.S. supply of hackles is being seriously depleted by women who want to pay big bucks to put feather hair extensions in their hair.
It’s getting so fly shops can’t keep the feathers, and fly fishers are having a hard time finding the hackles they need. No one is necessarily happy about this situation, and as far as I know, the roosters haven’t even been consulted yet.Something has to be done, and quick. Women are going into fly shops and buying out an entire season’s worth of hackles at once, sometimes paying far more than the going price. In some places women are being banned from these shops, or if not banned, the owners won’t sell to them, which is further escalating the problem.One rooster farm in Colorado, which raises the special roosters, told the Seattle Times they are killing over 1,500 roosters a week now, and they still can’t keep up with the demand from hair salons. That’s just wrong.And it may not stop at feathers. Any woman who would put a chicken’s butt feather in her hair may decide to throw in a lead weight or two, and maybe a handful of plastic worms.
Before you know it there may be a shortage of topwaters or shiners or jigs. The entire pro bass fishing circuit could be shut down to keep the country’s women in disgusting hairstyles. We could end up shipping in boatloads of angling supplies from China or the OPEC nations. And you think oil is a problem. The black market on colored feathers could easily outstrip the drug trade in terms of law enforcement man-hours involved.If we don’t deal with this problem it’s liable to do us in, and Congress does nothing.
Maybe when women start raising their own bats to keep themselves in mascara, our leaders will decide to intervene. In the meantime, keep your chickens in the coop, and your tacklebox locked up in your gun safe . . .(Source)
Bat guano really is one of the main ingredients in mascara, and that won’t change whether I write about it or not. So, if you happen to be a woman of the female gender, and you’re offended by this column, I hope you’ll be somewhat comforted by the fact that I am not making any of this one up, either. This story was sent to me, or at least posted on Facebook, by the editor of Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine, who happens to be, her very self, a female type person. And a darn good guitar picker and singer, to boot.According to this story, that evidently started with the Seattle Times and is sweeping the country, there seems to be a national shortage of hackles.
Now, hackles, in case you don’t waste large sectors of your time tying flies, are feathers used in fly-tying. I have gleaned, from my extensive research on the subject, that these particular feathers come from a certain part of a chicken, known technically as the ‘butt.’ Actually, I figured that out from reading the article Louie Bond posted, but that’s what passes for extensive research in my office.For years flyfishers have been using hackles for their flies. Fishing flies only need maybe a couple of small pieces of feather each, so even with lots of people tying their own flies we’ve been able to get by for years without taxing the nation’s chickens too heavily. Sure, there have probably been some birds walking around with bare backsides at times, but then, sacrifices must be made. And if those sacrifices have to be made by chickens, I’m OK with that.But now things have changed.
Women, en masse, have started using hackles as hair accessories. As I understand it, this involves something called ‘hair extensions,’ which would probably be a good name for a rock band. But then, so would butt feathers.Hair extentions, though, are a little out of my area of expertise. I always thought there were basically just two choices if you wanted longer hair – you could either let it grow out, or wear a wig. So I asked my wife about hair extensions, and learned that it involves weaving other peoples’ hair into your own, to make your hair longer. And, apparently, some women like to weave feathers in there, too, for decoration. Why not?If you buy a hackle at a fly shop it will run you maybe five bucks.
The same hackle at a hairdresser joint might set you back a C note. So we’re talking a lot of difference in price, for the exact same feather.Plus, it turns out, you can’t just pull the hackles and let the bird keep pecking. The unique roosters that grow these feathers are specially raised, and have to be whacked to harvest the hackles. But the main problem is that it takes a year for them to get big enough to grow proper butt feathers.So the U.S. supply of hackles is being seriously depleted by women who want to pay big bucks to put feather hair extensions in their hair.
It’s getting so fly shops can’t keep the feathers, and fly fishers are having a hard time finding the hackles they need. No one is necessarily happy about this situation, and as far as I know, the roosters haven’t even been consulted yet.Something has to be done, and quick. Women are going into fly shops and buying out an entire season’s worth of hackles at once, sometimes paying far more than the going price. In some places women are being banned from these shops, or if not banned, the owners won’t sell to them, which is further escalating the problem.One rooster farm in Colorado, which raises the special roosters, told the Seattle Times they are killing over 1,500 roosters a week now, and they still can’t keep up with the demand from hair salons. That’s just wrong.And it may not stop at feathers. Any woman who would put a chicken’s butt feather in her hair may decide to throw in a lead weight or two, and maybe a handful of plastic worms.
Before you know it there may be a shortage of topwaters or shiners or jigs. The entire pro bass fishing circuit could be shut down to keep the country’s women in disgusting hairstyles. We could end up shipping in boatloads of angling supplies from China or the OPEC nations. And you think oil is a problem. The black market on colored feathers could easily outstrip the drug trade in terms of law enforcement man-hours involved.If we don’t deal with this problem it’s liable to do us in, and Congress does nothing.
Maybe when women start raising their own bats to keep themselves in mascara, our leaders will decide to intervene. In the meantime, keep your chickens in the coop, and your tacklebox locked up in your gun safe . . .(Source)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
PETA Finally Weighs In On Feather Hair Extensions
The following article was written by Keegan Baur.
Would you support the slaughter of thousands of animals each week just so that you could jump on board with the latest fashion trend? That's exactly what girls are doing when they purchase feather hair extensions for their locks.
Upon first glance, feather hair extensions might seem innocent enough, but they are in fact the reason that many roosters lose their lives. Roosters used to make these extensions are bred and genetically altered to produce long, luxurious saddle feathers (the ones on their backsides, which take years to grow) before they are killed and de-feathered for their precious plumage. What costs these animals their lives in turn costs anywhere from $40 to $500 per saddle and can only be worn by the consumer for a scant two or three months.
Fortunately, you don't need blood on your hands in order to strut your stuff like a peacock: Stay tuned for our DIY ribbon version of these accessories! (Source: PETA)
Would you support the slaughter of thousands of animals each week just so that you could jump on board with the latest fashion trend? That's exactly what girls are doing when they purchase feather hair extensions for their locks.
Upon first glance, feather hair extensions might seem innocent enough, but they are in fact the reason that many roosters lose their lives. Roosters used to make these extensions are bred and genetically altered to produce long, luxurious saddle feathers (the ones on their backsides, which take years to grow) before they are killed and de-feathered for their precious plumage. What costs these animals their lives in turn costs anywhere from $40 to $500 per saddle and can only be worn by the consumer for a scant two or three months.
Fortunately, you don't need blood on your hands in order to strut your stuff like a peacock: Stay tuned for our DIY ribbon version of these accessories! (Source: PETA)
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