Do you sell feathers? Question....

[jimz1]

Why would you have to kill the rooster? Wouldn't you get enough by gently plucking 1 at a time out? My roosters seem to lose their feathers, a little here and there.

 

[TwinMapleRanch]

Quote:
That's what I was thinking about doing with the 2 roos I want to keep. Not sure there is any "gently" when it comes to plucking out feathers though. Those things are in there pretty good. I know they do it with peacock feathers, but I can't imagine it's very pleasant for the bird.

Unfortunately I can't keep all these roos, so some of them will have to go. But I could probably keep them long enough that their feathers were nice enough to sell. Then at least they would server two purposes....meat and feathers.

 

[wolftracks]

I have a soft spot for roos. Matter of fact I'm meeting someone to pick up yet another one today. His feathers are different, so that's nice.

I've been buying feather for decades and I can tell you that what I find in my yard and coops are better than most that I have paid a lot for.

What I do is walk around while I'm out feeding and watering or cleaning and I keep my eyes open for nice feathers. Even if they are dirty I can clean them. I used to steam them and shape them one at a time, but I can tell you how I do it and maybe someone has a better way and can share.

I have ziplock bags that I carry with me. Find those feathers and grab them up and move on to do something else. I keep them in a bag for a week. My reason being that I do dust my birds and I check them and know they are pest free, but why take a chance. Anything that could be on them will sufficate after a week or more. Oh and most times it's longer. I'd be working feathers till my fingers fell off.

I shampoo them twice.

First shampoo is with a cheap, maybe $.99 store dog shampoo.

Dawn dishwasher detergent also works great.

Second shampoo I use a human type shampoo.

Make sure you rinse them really well.

I forgot to mention that I either bind them or stitch them together at the quiills. Holds them in place and you can clean more at one time and dry them.

I use a blow dryer and fluff them out to their nature state.

I like natural bends in most feathers, But I also make feather fans and dance regalia, so I'm been very picky over the years, but hey, I'm getting older.

I use a peice of cotton material, a pillow case, cheescloth or whatever and lay the feathers on one layer and cover with another and steam them flat with an iron. I used to do this one feather at a time over a pot of boiling water and still do if it is for something that must be done this way.
While they are still slightly moist from the steam, you can re-shape them.

It's that easy.

I've made so many things with feathers over the years and I always tell people that if they get dirty or dingy to wash and blow dry them. If they aren't torn up and damaged they will last for years and years.

If you remove them from a butchered bird, do not soak. The feathers will be a horrible mess to clean. Just yank.

No exaggeration, I probably collected a couple thousand feathers in the past week. And I just got 3 Black Sumatras and found my first hackle feather. Gorgeous! Can't wait to find more so I can make myself some earrings and a hair clip.

BTW you can dye them also. I use food coloring and then set them with vinegar. The smell goes away and they smell really clean. You can also use fabric dyes.

 

[TwinMapleRanch]

Thank you Wolftracks for your in depth description on how to clean and shape them! I'm going to save this in my "chicken" folder for future use. It seems to be the hackle feathers that everyone wants for their hair as they are long and thin. I'm guessing the fly tying people need the same thing? Wonder how many hackle/saddle feathers a rooster usually discards on his own in a month's time, or even a year's time? Never paid any attention before.

 

[wolftracks]

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A Lot!

 

[Egg Rookie 2010]

I also make wreaths using a lot of feathers....and Ill use whatever they drop!

HOORAY FOR FEATHERS!

 

[TwinMapleRanch]

Cute idea, Egg Rookie! Thanks for sharing!

 

[ChickenSnake]

Quote:
Thats gorgeous! I have to make one now!!

 

[Orange Ribbon]

Just came across this thread. Very interesting topic. Even though I'm an old grouchy

I like doing craft stuff. Now that I have chickens I can see endless possibilities.

One thing I wanted to share is a way you can preserve the feathers on the skin if you want to. I don't know how hard they will be to get out afterwards. The skin might need to be soaked to get them out. But for shipping an entire skin with feathers this would work. Just get a box of 40 Mule Team Borax laundry soap at your grocery store. After you get the hide skinned and cleaned just rub some of that on the flesh side and let it dry for a few days. A fan blowing on it will help speed the process. It will draw out all the moisture and preserve the skin. I did taxidermy for many years and used borax on bird hides to mount them.

Well, I got to go learn how to make earrings! LOL.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Thanks for that tip, I had heard of people using chlorox to preserve the skin but I wasn't sure what strength and was afraid it would bleach the feathers.