Feathers For Fun

Janice Houghton-Wallace says use those feathers for Christmas gifts

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Many poultry keepers are probably not aware of the useful commodity that is shed naturally each year. Once birds begin to moult there are usually feathers everywhere and not all of them are past their best; some are still in good condition and what a shame it is if they are not made into something to keep.

In the last issue of Practical Poultry how best to clean and preserve feathers was explained, now we look at the myriad of beautiful items that they can be used for and in the run up to Christmas maybe some homemade decorations or gifts could be the answer to those difficult what to buy dilemmas.

Firstly, the feathers themselves need to be sorted to see what you have and their size and colour? Colour need not actually define the end result because feathers can be dyed to match whatever it is you want to use them with. The size does matter though because you could not make a burlesque fan with tiny feathers or earrings with large ones.

Fans are becoming popular again

If making a fan whether it is for a theatre production or as an accessory to use against extreme heat, there is help with buying the essential fan staves – those are the pieces that provide the basic shape of a fan that feathers are then attached to – plus other necessary items. The staves are mostly made from plastic, wood or bamboo and can be bought from crafts shops or via the internet.