Country Enterprise - Supplying duck feathers for crafts and paintbrushes

<P>Fully feathered ducks will yield up to one-fifth of a pound of feathers per bird. </P><P>If you have a few pounds of feathers to sell, put them in a polythene bag with a few holes punched in, tie a pretty label round the neck of the bag and take them to a local craft shop. Patchwork cushion-makers are often good customers for fine feathers. </P><P>This is assuming that the feathers are clean; if it has been raining for days, you will have to keep the ducks in the dry for a couple of days before you kill them, otherwise the feathers will be muddy and damp. Not only will the feathers be messy, it is also much more difficult to pluck a wet bird. If you have large amounts of feathers it may well be worth advertising for direct sales. As well as craft-users requiring feathers for pillow and duvet fillings, there is a growing interest in making feather flowers. The feathers are often dyed for this and the white feathers from an Aylesbury are ideal. </P><P>Traditionally, the curl at the end of the drake's tail was used as a superfine paint-brush.</P> <P ALIGN><A HREF=ducks7.htm>feathers for crafts and painting</A></P>