Description
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This feather cape features soft white/off-white/gray colored feathers trimmed with lace around the neck and clear crystalline beads along the fringe. This cape is handmade and one-of-a-kind. Designed by Jessica Beauchamp using naturally sourced chicken feathers from a bird out of the Beauchamp Family Farm flock. These feathers have been cleaned and sanitized before use and are all-natural, no artificial dyes have been used. The cape features a soft-flowy satin interior that is one-size-fits-all. It is a couture, one-of-a-kind item uniquely and thoughtfully created.
Want to see a video of the process to make this item come alive? Check out: The Making of a Gray Feathered Cape
All of the birds within the Beauchamp Family Farm, or BFF for short, are loved. We have raised them from babies and many more from eggs. This particular bird whose feathers were used in this cape was called an Isabella Leghorn. This rooster had lived to be about 6 months old. During the time that this rooster was with us, he was loved and well-cared for. In fact, we learned that he loved to be carried as a baby. We learned this because this bird had an injury or deformity that became apparent until it was too late to remedy. This bird was nicknamed ‘Twisty Leg’ and that was simply because he had a twisted leg. We would pick him up and carry him around to assist in his quality of life. This boy loved to be carried in a cradled position like a baby and we discovered this when we would attempt to splint his legs to try to straighten it out. We did this from the moment we noticed that he had an issue with his leg. However, it did not remedy the problem.
We noticed that as he aged, his flock mates were not particularly kind to him (chickens are pecking order creatures, if something has a visual “weakness” to them then they will peck and pick on that one – this can range from actual size – the smaller you are the worse off you are to chickens in the pecking order – to a deformity like our boy ‘Twisty Leg’ had). We house our chickens in one large coop and open the doors during the day to allow them to free-range on our property, locking them in at night to keep them safe from predators. While our chickens clustered in groups and went around doing their thing, this boy would not be included. He was left alone without flock members. He was also slow to get around and while he did not ever venture very far from the coop we recognized that he made for an easy target to prey animals such as opossums, hawks, and foxes. We eventually made the call to cull him as he was appearing depressed and lonely. We did so in the most humane way possible and wanted to ensure that his life and death would not be for naught.
After he passed away we did the following to ensure full resources and little to no waste:
– Meat, including the liver, was used to feed our family.
– Feet were dehydrated and became dog treats for our dogs – heart and testicles were also used as dog treats.
– Head and intestines were sent over to a local friend who has a pet fox.
– The feathers were cleaned and sanitized to be used as clothing.
– ZERO waste – A goal of the Beauchamp Family Farm.
Every feather was hand-selected and specifically laid out in an intentional matter to create the cape and the final look that has transpired here. With every piece hand-selected and purposefully attached, this entire cape was made laboriously with love. From loved rooster to loved garment, nothing went to waste and intentionality was had.
To learn more about the Beauchamp Family Farm, check us out on Facebook here
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