Crafts using feathers.

[lemongrass]

Does anyone here make crafts using feathers? I don't and was just thinking "Why not?" if you're already culling the bird. If anyone does it, I have a question... I know feathers will tend to "break" if handled too much. I don't mean the hard part in the center, I mean the "hair" of the feather splitting. Is there any way to prevent this from happening? Maybe spraying some hairspray on the feather? I wouldn't want it to be sticky either.. I was thinking about stuff like feather earrings, dream-catches, etc. Sometimes the fluffy look is nice but if a feather is particularly ornate in its design I'd rather it stay intact.

Any ideas, suggestions?

 

[ChicksterJo]

I know there's a member here, NoseyChickens, that makes jewelry using feathers.

 

[Alicia G]

I make jewllery with stones, gems and feathers and I am going to try my hand at Mascarde masks too. Id like to use feathers with them too

 

[lemongrass]

Thanks. I'll PM NoseyChickens.

 

[philter4]

I sell my Sonnerati's cape feathers to fly fishermen for tying flies. I also sell several of my male pheasant tail feathers to a local hair dresser as hair extensions, but I don't do any crafts with them myself.

Here is a photo of my male Sonnerati, he is a little mad at the vulturine guinea fowl in the next pen, they shared a wall until they got into it with each other through the horse wire and I was afraid one would get hurt.

 

[JulieNKC]

Quote:
Just wantedto say that is one cool looking roo!

 

[wolftracks]

I use them for lots of stuff.

I really need to take some pics sometime.

 

[midwestchickenwrangler]

I have been thinking about collecting my feathers that fall out and washing them to sell. I didn't really know how big of a market there was to put my time into? Anyone know about selling feathers?

 

[philter4]

Quote:
I don't know much but like I mentioned I sell the sonnerat's and pheasant tail feathers to local shops. I get good money from the fly fishing store, they pay $6 per feather, and take them all. I don't pull the feathers I wait until he goes into eclipse. Because I wait for him to molt I lose many feathers to the ground, if they are not perfect I don't collect them to sell but I do give them to my brother and a friend who both tie flies. On the tail feathers it is the same, I just collect them as the birds molt and when I get 20 or 30 I bring them to her husband, she picks the ones she wants and returns the rest with the money. She pays better, up to $25 per feather but she sometimes only takes 2 and she has never taken more then 10 so I have a lot of extras which I give to my nephews teacher for the classroom. I have thought about putting some on the internet, maybe ebay or contacting some fly fishing websites but I have so many other things going on that this is a low priority.

I know from talking to people who tie flies that the best feathers have eye patterns on them, the next best have a very contrasting but regular pattern, something like wyandotte feathers with a black edge to the feather and has a regular pattern so all of the feathers look the same. Finally they like solid colors for the wings of the fly, but solid colors are the most common so they are the least expensive. I try to sell the feathers that are worth the time it takes to collect them. For instance I sell 100 guinea fowl feathers for $3 so I don't usually try to collect them, it isn't worth my time or effort to sell them at that price.

As far as washing the feathers, I'm not sure you can or how you would do it. I take a fine soft bristled tooth brush and comb the feathers to smooth them out and remove any dirt or dust but if they don't come out really nice I put them in the B-grade pile for my brother. I have never used any type of soap, once I tried a lint brush, big mistake!!! The feather just stuck to the brush and was no good after that, looking back it was kind of funny but I guess you live and learn.

 

[MeowCluckBark]

I was told to use Dawn dish soap to wash them and just make sure to dry them out well. Then smooth them out if they are not when they dry. Feather hair accessories, jewelry, hair extensions, etc are hot right now. I have seen the biggest call for rooster feathers, most likely because of the length and coloring. I was just thinking, today, when I was adding bedding in the coop that there were a lot of iridescent black feathers around that might be useful. I think I'll start picking up the prettiest ones and do some crafts with my kiddo when we have enough.