Do you sell feathers? Question....

[ChickiKat]

this is a very interesting thread.... when we had to cull a bird my DH used a big stick and swung it like a baseball bat, it broke the chickens neck and did not leave any external marks... I am going to keep an eye out for any feathers that my BB Old English roo might drop, he is so beautiful!!

 

[FrenchToast]

Quote:
I wouldn't recommend doing it this way. I would think unless you are a very strong person, have a very heavy stick or bat and have a good accurate swing that you are not guaranteed to kill the bird instantly. More likely then not you will only injure the bird and it is not a very humane way to cull any kind of animal.
This is just my opinion so I would never do it this way.

 

[Funky Feathers]

Elite Silkies, did u see my listing? If not it is on featherauction too.

 

[Elite Silkies]

Quote:
I never could find it and I went through hundreds and hundreds of listing. I'll check the featherauction and see if I can find them.

 

[Elite Silkies]

I think I found them on the featherauction site. Must be yours, it's the only feathers I could find on the auction. Do you ever pull any of the long saddle feathers

Or is there saddle feathers in that picture? It's kind of hard sometimes to determine by pictures.

 

[Funky Feathers]

Yes, I pulled some saddle feathers and some hackle feathers.

 

[Orange Ribbon]

If any of you feather crafters happen to check this out, what do you think of the unique orange barred coloring on this rooster? I have 3 that are just like this one, and I was thinking of putting them in the freezer. Do you think I should hang on to these feathers? Got any suggestions what they might be worth to someone?

 

[TwinMapleRanch]

Not sure what they'd go for, but they are different for sure. I keep watching ebay... so far I haven't seen anybody put on a whole saddle that wasn't from Whiting or that other place that sells tying feathers. I have seen some feathers sold individually that were not advertised as a brand name go for a decent amount, but they were nice and thin, relatively long and dyed all different colors. I don't know how much extra work it will be to cut the hackle/saddle area off before continuing to process the bird, but if my barred rock boys were big enough, I'd be trying it to find out. I figure even if you could get $20-$30 per hide it would be worth it... since you would have just thrown it out anyway!

Good luck! Let us know if you decide to do it and how much you get for it!!

 

[Orange Ribbon]

Thanks TwinMapleRanch,

Good points. I've had a few people PM wanting to buy a few feathers from them when I am ready to sell. I don't have any idea what to ask. But I think maybe I'll take the feathers off one bird to sell individually, and skin the other two to sell/auction whole. It isn't hard to skin them. Like you said, it is better to get something from them than throw them away. Perhaps if I research some more I'll figure out how to get the best price for them. And I'll take any more suggestions here too!

What about primary and tail feathers? Are those used for hair extensions or other things much?

I had posted before about using borax to preserve bird hides for shipping or just saving for later, and someone else chimed in (sorry I forgot who it was now) also recommending to use a spoon or something similar to scrape off all the fat before applying the borax. Just wanted to thank them for adding that info because that is very important to do, and I forgot to mention it. You can also wash the skin in some dawn dishwashing liquid to cut out the grease. Thankfully I still have a big bottle of hide degreaser left over from my taxidermy days. That stuff gets them squeaky clean.

 

[TwinMapleRanch]

Sounds like a plan! The ones that go on ebay best individually seem to include the beads that you apply them to the hair with in the auction. The beads aren't expensive to buy on ebay, so I would think you could just point that out in your description. That way, they can buy whatever color goes with their hair. Or, you could just order some from ebay and include them with your auction (if you auction the individual feathers) Let us know if/when you do post an auction so we can all watch and learn!

Thanks for the borax tip for the hides. Borax is one of those household staples I wouldn't be caught without... so many uses!