Feathers off the ground

Fly Patterns
1

I have a very newbie question that I am sure my wife would be glad I asked before I got myself in trouble. :shock:

Are feathers you find on the beach, etc safe from a health stand point? Is there any sanitizing steps that should be taken?

I found some interesting feathers this weekend that I was hoping to use for some fly tying practice, however I was wondering if I there was any health risks involved my just picking up any old pretty looking feather. The ones I found this weekend are from some ducks and also a peacock. They are the softer feathers and most likely not that useable, but still I wanted to give em a try.

I’d appreciate your advice!

Thanks,

Jonathan

2

I pick up feathers all the time…just use common sense…

3

There are some feathers from a few endangered birds you can not even have in your posession.
All feathers can and should be washed in as hot of water as your hands can handle with a bit of Dawn dish soap added. Rinse in hot water with a bit of vinegar. Lay them out on a piece of cardboard to dry.
If you find a bird (road kill) I would pass it by as it may have unwanted bugs that you and your wife do not want in the house.
Have fun and like was said above, use your head.

Denny

4

Alright, thanks for the tips. I will wash and dry them and see how they turn out. :o

Jonathan

5

I believe possession of feathers from protected shore birds is illegal, even seagulls.

6

all i do is clean the dirt off of them and put them in a ziploc bag

Happy Tying
Matt

7

you could zap em in a microwave or freaze them for a while then take em out for about a weak and refreaze
to kill eny bug infestations they may have

8

Feathers of songbirds, shorebirds, raptores, wading birds, and any just about any other non-game bird found in the wild in the UA are illegal to possess or use in tying.

Also, just because it is a legal game bird, the feather may not be may not be legal for you to possess… For instance, legally licensed duck hunter may take 15 coots per day in Louisiana (I believe), but as this bird does not have “webbed feet”, only the duck hunter that killed the coot may possess any of the feathers!!

So, if you find pretty feathers on the ground… LEAVE THEM THERE!!! It just aint worth the hassel.

9

You can give coot feathers to someone. You cannot, barter, sell or trade them.

Rick

10

microwave them for about thirty seconds.

11

thats how they sanitize the owl pelets u disect in middle school.

12

So if I have two choices:

  1. Put in freezer for 3 days
  2. Microwave for 30 seconds

What are the pros and cons if any? If someone owns a microwave is their any reason they should use the 3 day freezer method instead?

Also do both of these methods transfer over to furs and pelts as well? Can I microwave a patch of rabbit fur without any ill effects? (assuming the wife doesn’t catch me)

13

lol. the down side to freezer is that it takes too long, and it may not actually KILL the jerms, just freeze them only for them to thaw out, and the only down side to the microwave is if you put it in for too long, you stuff MIGHT burn…i havent had it happen to me yet. the reason i microwaved some turkey feathers is cuz they were fresh off the turkey, and there were MAGGOTS crawlling on them :shock: :!: i zapped them and BAM no maggots. if you have really stubborn infestations, try microwaving it for longer, but only do it 30 seconds at a time, not all at once.

14

Alright, to me most of this is still theory. I am slowly increasing my collection of supplies and I have heard horror stories of $100’s of materials going to waste because someone didn’t take care to properly sanitize or “zap” the “cool feathers” they got from a buddy etc. and just added to their collection.

What are the first clues that you may have a problem?

  1. Do you see actual bugs?
  2. Things start to smell funky?
  3. Materials start coming up missing? (I have another theory on this problem, but I could be wrong)
  4. You start getting bug bites?
  5. Gas prices increase?
15

Microwaving will not kill the feather/skin eating bugs! DON’T rely on that! The bugs are too small and will just dance around the microwaves. Freezing is no guarantee that the same bugs or eggs will be killed. They survive freezing in nature so what makes you think a freezer is different. Some guys use flea collars and that may work. I use chemicals on my feathers, lots of them. Make sure the moth balls/crystals say they kill carpet beetles and the eggs. You do not want them in your fur & feathers. They leave behind harry little cases behind. You can get an indication of bugs by shaking the plastic bag with the material in it and looking for fine “dust” in the bottom of the bag. This can be bug fecal matter.

I never introduce new or suspect materials before they have been in quaranteen for a couple months WITH chemicals.

Some will rely in inadequate methods for killing or repelling bugs but with many thousands of dollars worth of fur & feathers, I won’t.

As Denny said, washing in hot water is a good first step. It’s just a step however.

16

I’m with Ronn on this one for one simple reason; I also use lots of chemicals and I “aint never had no bug” since I started tying 2000 years ago while having road kill, gifts from hunters and other suspiciously obtained critters in my collection.

Besides, the smell reminds me of the good old days when every tyer worth his or her salt stored stuff in moth chemicals.

Just remember: moth balls (naphthalene,) repels 'em, while moth crystals (p-dichlorobenzene), kills 'em.

If you have young kids hanging around be careful since this stuff is poison. It is also dangerous to anyone if handled improperly but as long as it’s not trans fats; I figure it’s legal and relatively safe to use correctly.

17

Ronn is right. Micro waving will not reliably kill all the infesting bugs. Psychology it’s very satisfying to think that you are french frying those little feather munchers, but it just isn’t so. Don’t relie on this process to sterilize anything. Place all new material in wide mouth gallon jars with half a flea collar and leave them there for a month before you add it you precious collection of materials. The old saying that one bad apple…was never truer. :frowning: 8T :smiley: :smiley:

18

RE: America Coots, snipe, woodcock, dove, sand hill crane or rail feathers

Rick Z,

Several years ago I skinned several America Coots that I had legally shot during hunting season. I was impressed with the feathers and was going to “give” these skins to some tying friends, including a state fish an game official.

However, I was told, in no uncertain terms, that as American Coots do not have a webbed foot that it would have been an ILLEGAL ACT to GIVE these feathers or flies tyed with these feathers to my fly tying/fly fishing friends and it would have been illegal for them to possess those feathers/flies!

So, I did some research on the subject and found that it would have been ILLEGAL for me to “pass on” these coot feathers to my friends.

The same goes for doves, woodcock, snipe, rail, or sand hill crane feathers!!! You can kill and use, but you CANNOT GIVE or ACCEPT them from ANYONE ESLE!!!

As you may or may not know, Ed Story of Feather Craft has been purchasing legal furs and feathers from hunters for many years. For a quick reference, I have copied the following from Ed’s Feather Craft website: http://www.feather-craft.com/special_ed.asp

" SNIPE ARE GREAT… for soft hackle feathers…HOWEVER if you want one, ?you? and only you must shoot one for your own use to eat, or use the feathers to make a fishing lure with. You cannot give a snipe, woodcock, dove, coot, sand hill crane or rail feather to anyone else, or sell a fly tyed with them, to anyone else. However ?you? can shoot a limit of these game birds during ?their? hunting season and ?you? can use the feathers for your own fly tying. If it?s a migratory game-bird that does-not have a web foot, its trouble, unless you shoot it yourself during the specified hunting season for the bird. Its FEDERAL LAW, AND THEY INFORCE IT! If you buy these feathers, you are just as guilty as the guy that sold them to you. And the FEDS have a method to catch the seller >> PLUS the buyer. To purchase the feathers offshore(another country), be it a dealer or individual it is still not-legal. The same applies to songbirds like jays and kingfisher, protected under the song bird act. "

So, as I said above, “if you find pretty feathers on the ground… LEAVE THEM THERE!!! It just ?aint worth the hassle.”

Bowfin47

19

[quote=““Ronn Lucas””]
Microwaving will not kill the feather/skin eating bugs! DON’T rely on that! The bugs are too small and will just dance around the microwaves. Freezing is no guarantee that the same bugs or eggs will be killed. They survive freezing in nature so what makes you think a freezer is different. Some guys use flea collars and that may work. I use chemicals on my feathers, lots of them. Make sure the moth balls/crystals say they kill carpet beetles and the eggs. You do not want them in your fur & feathers. They leave behind harry little cases behind. You can get an indication of bugs by shaking the plastic bag with the material in it and looking for fine “dust” in the bottom of the bag. This can be bug fecal matter.

I never introduce new or suspect materials before they have been in quaranteen for a couple months WITH chemicals.

Some will rely in inadequate methods for killing or repelling bugs but with many thousands of dollars worth of fur & feathers, I won’t.

As Denny said, washing in hot water is a good first step. It’s just a step however.
[/quote]

Would you mind sharing more specificaly what chemicals you refer to as using a lot of? I assume your not talking about Febreze. I don’t have thousands of dollars of materials, but still my little bit is important to me.

Thanks!

20

To Bowfin 47: In your post regarding the legality of coot feathers you are rather adament as shown by your use of capitalized words. You state that you have done research, etc.

Would you please cite the appropriate reference that says I cannotlegally GIVE a fellow tyer a few coot feathers.

Thanks.

Tim Anderson