Chicken Breed Focus - Appenzeller Spitzhauben

[Faraday40]

Another thing I did after the loss of our Spitzie was to save some of her feathers.

Our daughter's dance recital is coming up, so I dyed the feathers to match the girls' costumes & made feather hairpieces for each child. Spitzie was always a big show off in life, so it made sense to bring a little of that to the stage. I also used feathers from our Youtube hen (Bubbles -a Dominique), guinea feathers from a friend, and peacock feathers from eBay.

 

[DrumlinPoint]

Another thing I did after the loss of our Spitzie was to save some of her feathers. Our daughter's dance recital is coming up, so I dyed the feathers to match the girls' costumes & made feather hairpieces for each child. Spitzie was always a big show off in life, so it made sense to bring a little of that to the stage. I also used feathers from our Youtube hen (Bubbles -a Dominique), guinea feathers from a friend, and peacock feathers from eBay.

That is just beautiful. My daughter would love to wear some like that for dance. A nice tribute to Spitzie!

 

[Alaskan]

Pretty creative.

How is the back made? My son wants to make feather pins.. good attachment is an issue.

 

[Faraday40]

Pretty creative.

How is the back made? My son wants to make feather pins.. good attachment is an issue.

I used tacky glue to adhere feathers to craft foam. The underside is just a rectangular piece of foam. I glued an alligator clip (like below) to that. The girls danced around & it didn't fall off, but for the rehearsal & recital, I will use hairpins in addition. I'm not sure if these hairpieces will be worn after the recital, so other than the $2 for a dozen peacock feathers, I didn't spend much $ them. (Just don't tell the other gals that's they're wearing chicken feathers. LOL) I think the tacky glue should hold up well, but if the girls begin to molt on stage, I'll let you know.

https://www.amazon.com/Alligator-Single-Prong-Pinch-Clips/dp/B000U0TSJO


If making pins, I'd go to a craft store & buy some flat back safety pins. Those have many uses and come in a variety of sizes. Now that I made the hairpieces, I may also make some pretty fridge magnets. (I have a lot of teal & blue feathers left over.)

 

[Alaskan]

Thanks for the tips. I will tell my son.

 

[brrabey]

Here they are. 4 healthy and completely adorable AP babies!
Goose is a very attentive mama. Scratching and breaking up bugs and worms. I'm learning her language to the babies... she tells them to stay and goes and runs after the squirrel or calls when she finds a treat she wants them to eat. She called them in close and ticked them in when it started to rain. Today was beautiful and they all stood in a circle and watched her take a dust bath to mimic. Learning to preen those tiny feathers coming in now. Chicken bliss!
Can I officially say I am absolutely in love with this breed?! Wonderful in every way.

 

[GldnValleyHens]

aw they are adorable! Spitzes remind me of Polish, but maybe friendlier

 

[Alaskan]

A good broody is worth her weight in gold!

 

[GldnValleyHens]

Yeah I agree

 

[brrabey]

Fast feathering is right! The difference a day makes. These girls work up on say 5 will all these feathers!

Here they are standing in line to get tucked in bed.