Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

Cleaning Feathers

650 views
Skip to first unread message

PFI...@utkvx.utk.edu

unread,
May 26, 1994, 6:20:09 PM5/26/94
to
Hi, folks. Recently I found a dead blue bird on the road. I stopped to
retrieve the body, in order to bury it on my 10 acres rather than have it
become an asphalt pancake, and gathered up some of the bird's beautiful
loose feathers as well. Since my 4-yr-old granddaughter was visiting
at the time, I placed the bird's body in the freezer to deal with later.
Now I'm wondering about saving the loose feathers (rather than burying them
with the rest of the bird) to use in jewelry. I've seen very nice
examples of feathers used in jewelry made by Native Americans, and in
jewelry obviously modeled after Native American designs. Can someone
advise me on a good way to clean and disinfect the feathers without
causing damage? I assume that there might be mites or other tiny parasites
in the feathers....would the time in the freezer have eliminated all such
critters?

Any assistance would be appreciated...Thanks! Pat Fisher

***************************
Dr. Patricia L. Fisher
Information Sciences
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN
PFI...@utkvx.utk.edu
***************************

emt3

unread,
May 27, 1994, 3:06:54 PM5/27/94
to
In article <01HCRWGIQ...@utkvx.utk.edu>, you wrote:

Can someone
> advise me on a good way to clean and disinfect the feathers without
> causing damage? I assume that there might be mites or other tiny parasites
> in the feathers....would the time in the freezer have eliminated all such
> critters?

Pat: I made Christmas ornaments with pheasant feathers a few years back
("first, kill a pheasant....") and the friends who gave me the dead bird
said that freezing was the tivket for killing parasites, etc. They are
fly-tie-ers and seemed to know. Anyway, I have had no trouble with the
ornaments made perhaps 5 years ago...
Hope this helps, Melissa mc...@cornell.edu

Matt Conlon

unread,
May 27, 1994, 5:19:01 PM5/27/94
to

Freezing may not kill infectious bacteria, but then again, it's not like
you're about to autoclave them, eh? Try a bactericide like Betadine on a
test feather. It may stain, you could try alcohol if it does.


thomas

unread,
May 30, 1994, 11:05:49 PM5/30/94
to

This is somewhat dangerous and unpleasant but is supposed to work.

Clean the feathers by dunking them in gas then dry them by fluffing them
in hardwood saw dust. I have never tried it but it is the method given in
Ben Wood's book on Indian crafts. -tak

--
I believe in everything, nothing is sacred. I | gt8...@prism.gatech.edu
believe in nothing, everything is sacred. The |\ Think for Ga. Tech?
Chink, Even Cowgirls get the Blues, Tom Robbins | _\ I don't think at Ga.
Well she can dance a Cajun rhythm, jump like a Willys in four wheel drive.

John E. Taylor III

unread,
May 31, 1994, 7:29:33 AM5/31/94
to
In article <01HCRWGIQ...@utkvx.utk.edu>, PFI...@utkvx.utk.edu wrote:

> Can someone
> advise me on a good way to clean and disinfect the feathers without
> causing damage? I assume that there might be mites or other tiny parasites
> in the feathers....would the time in the freezer have eliminated all such
> critters?

My wife's comment, when I wondered about bugs on a dead (roadkill) owl's
feathers, was that the mites and other critters are parasites of a _live_
animal, and promptly go looking for another live one when their present
host dies. I can't confirm it for sure, but her logic is impeccable. And
I didn't get any rashes from handling the owl.

--
John Taylor (W3ZID) | "The opinions expressed are those of the
rohvm1...@rohmhaas.com | writer and not of Rohm and Haas Company."

Rich Kirste

unread,
Jun 1, 1994, 9:13:34 AM6/1/94
to
Pat,

My wife has done some taxidermy work and said that it's illegal to have any part of a song bird in your possesion (including feather's). You could't prove you didn't kill the bird to get the feathers (this also includes owls, eagles, etc.).

If you do decide to keep the feathers she said clean the feathers in a solution of Borax and let them dry. Once dry you can dust the feathers with dry Borax and it will act like mothballs. Putting the feathers in the freezer may not kill all of the mites and other parasites. Hope this helps.

_________________________________________________________

Rich Kirste internet: rki...@buckwheat.ceco.com
Systems Analyst compuserve: 74200,1330
ComEd


PFI...@utkvx.utk.edu

unread,
Jun 1, 1994, 2:47:22 PM6/1/94
to
Hi, Rich. Thanks for the info. Several other people had mentioned the
possibility of legal difficulties. I realize, of course, that many
endangered species are protected by several means, one of which is that
it's illegal to have the feathers, obtained by most any means. I hadn't
thought of that with respect to this little bird that I found. We have
blue bird nests all the way down our fence line, and sometimes I find lost
feathers on the ground that I save for my granddaughter. That, too, is
illegal, isn't it?

I have a friend who is Native American and she makes a great deal of
jewelry from feathers, so she must have access to a source of those that
are OK. I'll check with her to get more clarification about the situation.

I've already buried the bird, and my granddaughter has put a little marker
on his grave....a stack of stones that she collected. Perhaps we'll just
put his feathers under the stones to add to the marker....sort of an ID.

Thanks also to the several other people who have sent info about both
cleaning the feathers and about the fact that I probably shouldn't have
them in the first place! I'm afraid I'll never be able to pass a bird, or
any other recently-killed animal, on the roadway without rescuing it's
corpse and burying it. It seems awful to let them be continuously pounded
by traffic. I'll just bury them faster in the future!

Thanks again...Pat

*******************************
Dr. Patricia Fisher
College of Information Sciences
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN 37996
*******************************

GEORGE PHILIP BLUHM

unread,
May 31, 1994, 12:07:47 PM5/31/94
to
Be careful who you tell about this. Some bird feathers are illegal to have,
regardless of how you acquired them.

Bob Kubiak

unread,
Jun 1, 1994, 11:07:38 AM6/1/94
to

Just fyi, my understanding is that bluebirds - it wasn't clear if by "blue
bird" you were specifying type or just color - are migratory birds. While
there's nothing illegal about having/using their feathers (this, depending
upon the type of bird), you are not allowed to sell any artwork (or such) that
contains feathers of migratory birds. A while back there was a post on a
newsgroup from a women who made paintings that incorporated feathers she
collected on the shores of Lake <mumble>, which of migratory bird feathers.
She apparently got into a fair amount of trouble when someone at an arts
festival identified the feathers, even though she hadn't killed any birds,
just picked up the loose feathers from the shore.

_bk


_Bob Kubiak___________________________________________________________________
Macintosh Systems Engineer Phone: 412-268-6860
Software Engineering Institute FAX: 412-268-5758
Carnegie Mellon University Internet: r...@sei.cmu.edu
Pittsburgh, PA 15213 AppleLink: CMU.SEI
______________________________________________________________________________

Elliot Nesterman

unread,
Jun 2, 1994, 10:25:13 AM6/2/94
to
In article <01HD13MTD...@utkvx.utk.edu>, PFI...@utkvx.utk.edu writes:
> I'm afraid I'll never be able to pass a bird, or
>any other recently-killed animal, on the roadway without rescuing it's
>corpse and burying it. It seems awful to let them be continuously pounded
>by traffic. I'll just bury them faster in the future!
Just toss them into the woods and let the forest scavengers take care of
them naturally.
Elliot Nesterman ESN4616@NYUACF
Institute of Fine Arts esn...@acfcluster.nyu.edu
New York University standard disclaimers apply
***baccalaureus humilis solum sed melior me facere experior***
0 new messages