MetaHawk Creations

Feathers

For as long as many of us remember; feathers have taken their place in an assortment of the items we wear or display in our homes.

There are just a few things I would like to share with you.

First – not all feathers are legal to use.   While walking around a park or in your own back yard or someone gives you feathers, you must be sure of what you have before you use it.

Feathers from song birds are not allowed for use in items for sale.  Eagle, Owl and Hawk as well.  Also you must be careful of state laws.  A bird that is the state bird is not allowed for use in sales.  Example:  If the state bird is the Turkey, then you would not be allowed to use these feathers in items for sale in that state.  Always check with a game commissioner before utilizing these types of feathers.  I have seen the game commissioner take a person’s entire booth and all merchandise along with their vehicle for using feathers from an illegal bird.  They have the authority to do this and I would not want this to happen to you.  It can be embarrassing as well as costly to make this mistake.

When the time is right and you wish to use feathers please keep in mind that even if they look clean and dry; they are not.  If someone gives you feathers they have found to use for your creative work; take a precaution that will help your feathers live a long life.  Feathers have little creatures called mites that are not seen by the human eye.  Eventually if you have not taken the precaution I have mentioned you will one day come to your feathers and find them frayed and partly gone.  These mites can pass from feather to feather.  They can pass to feathers somewhere else in another room by getting on you or clothing or pets.

Using a large container – either a cardboard box or a plastic storage box you will add in a mixture of equal parts of salt, borax, and baking soda so that you can place your feathers flat, laying down.  Cover the feathers on the bottom and top with this mixture.  Put a cover on it and walk away.  Leave these feathers to set in this mixture for as long as you can.  A month would be really good insuring that your feathers have no more annoying carriers.  If you have just a few feathers and do not want to go to this trouble; if you would take a bowl or cup and fill it with this same mixture; you can then stand your feathers into this mixture – put it up on a shelf and leave for no less than two weeks.  If you have a whole wing then you will want your container to be large enough to lay the wing down into the mixture and cover it over with the mixture to ensure a complete coverage.  We call this baking the feathers.

You do not have to do this with store bought feathers; they have already been steamed and dried and the mites have been baked out.

I hope this will be of help to those who wish to use feathers in your creative work.