I have been seeing the backyard-chicken craze play out in my neighborhood for years. I aspire to raise my hens, but in the meantime I’m content chicken sitting for many buddies, reaping the rewards minus the dirty work. While I devour the delicious eggs I get as payment, it is the hens’ lost feathers that I covet most, because of their longer-lived design benefits. Autumn is a particularly good time for bringing this natural beauty inside and using feathers to add a comfy layer for your nest.
Jen Dalley ||||||||||||||
For the past five or so years, I have enjoyed caring for 20-plus hens of buddies, and they’ve graciously donated many feathers to me.
Why chicken feathers? I respect feathers from all birds, but I’m always leery of feathers I find on the market, because I don’t have any idea where they came from or how humanely they had been recovered. That no garden pet has been hurt or killed for the feathery gifts I get is essential for me. Plus, I really like the variety, as well as the unbeatable price (free), of amassing what could otherwise be raked up and tossed.
Of course, if you don’t have garden hens or want to use a different feather kind for your job, you can always visit a local or online craft store.
I keep my collection in a pot from Paul. The petiteness of this black clay container is ideal for feathers of the dimension, which were supplemented by plumage my loved ones and I’ve fortuitously stumbled upon during our struggles. These additional feathers include a few from our local barn owls and crows as well as a turkey vulture feather we discovered along a horse trail. These couple of tall ones add just the correct dimension to what is mostly a chicken-centric display.
Every feather in our collection has a happy memory, as does the pot that brings me back into the Toulouse train station where I bought that yogurt. Therefore, the decoration is a particularly noteworthy and reassuring one in our household.
Sometimes the hope of finding more feathers is sufficient to motivate my loved ones to package to get a crisp autumn evening walk.
Chicken feathers come in many different shapes, sizes and, based upon the varieties of chickens you tend to, colours. The more feathers come from the wings and tail, while the bigger, fluffier ones stem from other areas of the human body. Each feather provides different opportunities for home decoration.
Let’s discuss cleanliness. Yes, garden chickens are dirty animals — though, based on the time of season, it may feel as they molt quicker than they can poop. Take advantage by picking the cleanest lost feathers you may find.
I asked earring artisan Dianne Tanner her favorite way of cleaning her discovered feathers before she crafts them into jewelry. “Making sure that the feathers I sell are safe and clean is of extreme importance to mepersonally,” she says. “First off I suspend the feathers. Sounds strange, but after extensive investigation, I have found that freezing them for at least 24 hours ensures anything which may live on them is taken care of, without compromising the feathers’ structural integrity.”
Tanner sets her feathers in plastic baggies for close to a week to make sure any pests and bacteria are all dead. After she fixes down the feathers with tea tree oil on baby wipes (only a drop of oil in a time) to make sure that the feathers have been disinfected. “Tea tree is a natural antiseptic, and is a lot nicer on the feathers than using anything compound such as alcohol, which will destroy the natural oils from the feathers and make them loose form and prettiness,” she says.
Once they’re smoothed into position, the feathers are ready to use in many sorts of manners.
Mindful Designs, Inc..
Feathers for Decor
Frame them. This kitchen has been decorated with multiple sorts of tail and wing feathers in a shadow box.
Bubble this up. Show off a favourite feather within a clear glass ornament. The shorter, fluffier body feathers work best for spheres because of their curved silhouette, while a stiff wing or tail feather would work best in a tall, slender ornament.
Insert the decorations into the Christmas tree or store them up all year round across the table, since this homeowner has completed.
Mineheart
Magic Feathers – GBP 25.50
Magnetize them. This assortment of feathers is reinforced by pairs of magnets so that they may be stuck on a metal surface. You could do the same to your assemblage with magnets and a dab of hot glue.
Utile et Futile
Feather & Poetry – EUR 26
Stand them up. This feather holder lets you display your collection vertical. You can keep other prizes which may come together with the search, such as shells, stones or other small objects, in the drawer.
Flea Market Sunday
Bunch them. This homeowner tied an arrangement of three similar feathers together with a ribbon and added it into a side table along with other organic particulars. To create a similar appearance, group the longest tail feathers you may find. In case you have a rooster, add his tail feathers into this arrangement for a dazzling appearance.
Inform us Do you decorate your nest with discovered feathers?
More: Browse feathery decoration in the Products section