Fallen feathers–what to do with them? October 12, 2012
The season is here; my girls have officially begun molting. The question now is: What to do with their fallen feathers? They’re so pretty, it seems like a waste to just let them blow away.
When I first started keeping chickens years ago, I would spend fall days walking around the yard and plucking up fallen feathers. I keep lots of different breeds, so I always had a variety of feather colors: red, blue, chestnut, white, cream, buff, golden and so on. I liked the spangled feathers and the speckled feathers. I liked the barred feathers and the laced feathers. In fact, I gathered a mountain of fallen feathers, with the idea that they could be used to craft, at some point. I even picked up wild turkey feathers, blue jay feathers, cardinal feathers and any other fallen feathers that blew my way.
And… there they sit.
What do you do with a mountain of feathers? One year, I used some to decorate a “Mad Hatter” hat for Halloween. Another time, I gave an envelope full of them to a friend who thought she might want to use them in her jewelry making. I’ve tied them to twine for our cats, and have (unsuccessfully) tried to incorporate them into crocheted, catnip stuffed toys. I have offered my few rooster hackle and saddle feathers to my fly-fishing friends, while the larger fallen feathers I have sometimes used in foliage or flower arrangements.
Still, I feel as if I’ve not quite grasped their potential. I have hundreds… and I’m doing nothing with them. They’re not the type of feathers that can be transformed into feather boas. I’m not really a feathers-in-my hair sort of girl, either. A wreath, maybe? A feather tree? Feather art? Feather prints?
I appeal to all you crafty chicken people out there: what do you do with your fallen feathers? (Or what would you do if you had more time?)
The are some people experimenting with making plastic out of them.
I’d try and glue them all to a page and use it for the cover of the chicken scrapbook I’m making (:
I am collecting our chicken’s feathers to make a wreath for our front door. We have 7, two year old hens that are each a different variety.
I have baby feathers saved in a jar. (like a mama saving baby teeth lol) The big feathers are in a small vase. Fuzzy feathers are being saved to blend with fiber when I spin yarn. A feather wreath would be pretty also.
Feather and bead jewery
Maybe they could be incorporated into some cool masquerade masks or hot glued in layers for a lampshade?
I have TONS of feathers that I’ve saved over the years from my chickens and guineas. They are just too pretty not to save! Recently I had the idea to frame one of the feathers and I love how it turned out.
Here’s a link to my blog where I wrote about how I framed the feather – http://www.ourneckofthewoods.net/2012/09/feathered-friend-friday_28.html
I have been collecting the fine fuzzy feathers so far. I make cards so I have been using the feathers for that. This is my first year with chickens and have not gone thru a molt. I am sure I will be collecting as many feathers as possible. I like the idea of a wreath.
I will be using some to make a feathered hatband for my cowboy hat. I had one for it when I bought it way back in ’80 but it’s long disintergrated. They are so pretty I can’t just thrown them away. …and you should see my vase full of peacock tail feathers I got from a friend…
Thanks for linking my cyanotype feather art to your blog post. I’d also like to share that I pick up feathers in the grass from my yard birds. They have to be special feathers–like a bluebird feather, or a woodpecker feather. I keep them in a jar. I know there are federal regulations surrounding song bird feathers and I can’t use them in anything but looking at them gives me joy.
You’re very welcome, Candace–it’s beautiful art! (And I’d be happy to share some chicken feathers with you, hahaha!) Seriously, though, if you’re interested in a few feathers, send an email to “Lissa” from My Pet Chicken at info@mypetchicken.com. 🙂
The fluffy butt/under-fluff feathers I’m saving…. I WILL make a feather pillow one of these … um, years (even if it’s just a little throw pillow for the couch). The larger ones (tail, wing) I give to my church, school, the local preschool, etc., for their craft projects.
We’re still waiting on our first molt, but we had a couple of dog attacks this summer. 🙁 (Fortunately, everyone is okay.)
feathers looks cool !!!
My girls and guys give me an assortment of beautiful feathers, which I use in making Dream Catchers!
Fly tyers use feathers to make fishing lures.
Mom is weaving the feathers accross reeds and sweet grass, with yarn, the resulting ‘curtains’ can be used as decor, privacy screens, or sun breaks.
My yard is covered with feathers, too, and the egg supply is dropping. 🙁 I hadn’t thought to collect them for anything. Maybe make feather pictures, pressed under glass?
Lately I sell mine to feather buyers. They sell them to taxidermists, fly tying companies, jewelry makers and interior decorators.
I’m collecting them in a bag and I only get the soft rump feathersI plan stuff a pillow with them! It will be the softest pillow in history!
Hello. In regards to your cardinal and blue jay feathers, I was wondering if I could get them from you? I would be willing to pay for them. I am in need of them for religious activities. Native American from New Mexico.
Thank you!!
Thomas, I don’t think it’s legal for me to sell them, sorry. With the songbird feathers, I mostly pick them up, admire them, and leave them in the yard or on the porch to be blown away with the next wind.
I have been collecting mine in a sealed jar for a couple years, I’m going to use them to make a masqerade style mask. I’m quite sure I have more than enough to make the mask now, but I just can’t stop collecting them 🙂
I’m saving small fluffy feathers to put in a clear, glass ball Christmas tree ornament.
I make feather wreathes and arrange them in vases.