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    Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

    I have had SEVERAL experiences with bird feathers coming into my life- AND my home, more specifically, my living room floor.
    I hold these items very sacred and holy. That being said, people say that bird feathers are diseased and not healthy for me to even touch. Do you work with bird feathers?? and if so, how do you keep "safe?"

    Thoughts are greatly appreciated!!
    Thank you and so much love.

    #2
    Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

    Avian viruses can spread very rapidly can can be in feathers. I don't bring wild bird feathers into the house becasue I have a pet bird and there's a chance it could get him sick. Good breeders don't let people touch their birds without washing their hands.

    The odds of a person getting sick from a feather are pretty low. Bird-to-bird transmission is far more problematic. That being said, I'd wash my hands and of course, inspect strange feathers for obvious signs of mites, etc., if I were to handle them.
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      #3
      Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

      Thanks for your quick response!
      In the past, it has not been an issue as I have washed my hands etc... and the feather I use for rituals is one that I found about a year and a half ago.
      Today after a big storm, my husband and I found several feathers in our living room because we like to leave our balcony door open. He (understandably so) wants me to get rid of them but it's hard because feathers have always spoken to me.

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        #4
        Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

        The game warden I spoke with said to inspect the feather to see if there was mites, then to get rid of it. If it looked fine to do 5 parts warm water, 1 part vinegar and 1 part witch hazel then let it soak for 12 to 24 hours. Then let it dry for 24 hours. That is how she clean them.

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          #5
          Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

          I have many feathers in my altar room. I've cleaned only a handful of them, never had a single problem. Sanitation wise, yes, you may want to clean them. But I like them as natural as possible.
          "In the shade now tall forms are advancing,
          And their wan hands like snowflakes in the moonlight are gleaming;
          They beckon, they whisper, 'Oh! strong armed in valor,
          The pale guests await thee - mead foams in Valhalla.'"
          - Finn's Saga

          http://hoodednorseman.tumblr.com/

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            #6
            Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

            The risk of disease depends entirely on where you live... some places have disease while others don't. I have a vast collection of feathers and have been collecting since I was a small child, and I've never had a single problem.

            You can kill mites by putting the feathers in the freezer in a plastic bag. This is my preferred method, because the washing method is labor intensive and I literally collect every undamaged feather I find. Plus if you are rough washing then you have to preen them afterwards and human fingers have a hard time getting them to look perfect again.

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              #7
              Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

              In the USA it's illegal to keep feathers from native wild species, unless you're a Native American with a special dispensation, or a museum etc., that displays them, or those of some game birds legally harvested, but the average person isn't supposed to just keep them.
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              Can you hear me, Major Tom? I think I love you.

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                #8
                Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

                Hawkfeathers, I think the FBI is knocking at my door. They're on to me.
                "In the shade now tall forms are advancing,
                And their wan hands like snowflakes in the moonlight are gleaming;
                They beckon, they whisper, 'Oh! strong armed in valor,
                The pale guests await thee - mead foams in Valhalla.'"
                - Finn's Saga

                http://hoodednorseman.tumblr.com/

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                  #9
                  Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

                  Originally posted by Hawkfeathers View Post
                  In the USA it's illegal to keep feathers from native wild species, unless you're a Native American with a special dispensation, or a museum etc., that displays them, or those of some game birds legally harvested, but the average person isn't supposed to just keep them.
                  I'd be in so much trouble if I lived in the US! I currently have no birds of prey feathers but I probably have migratory birds... I can't identify all the feathers I have. When I was a kid I had an eagle feather, but my early collection never made it through my parents' divorce, which is such a shame... I still remember a few of the feathers I had back then (something like 18 years ago).

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                    #10
                    Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

                    Originally posted by Norse_Angel View Post
                    Hawkfeathers, I think the FBI is knocking at my door. They're on to me.
                    Wrong agency, you'd get



                    Because yes, the Feds do have armed wildlife police.
                    life itself was a lightsaber in his hands; even in the face of treachery and death and hopes gone cold, he burned like a candle in the darkness. Like a star shining in the black eternity of space.

                    Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

                    "But those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun." Suddenly his voice sounded to Will very strong, and very Welsh. "At the very heart, that is. Other things, like humanity, and mercy, and charity, that most good men hold more precious than all else, they do not come first for the Light. Oh, sometimes they are there; often, indeed. But in the very long run the concern of you people is with the absolute good, ahead of all else..."

                    John Rowlands, The Grey King by Susan Cooper

                    "You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve", said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth; be content."

                    Aslan, Prince Caspian by CS Lewis


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                      #11
                      Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

                      I have a big gull feather on my altar. I've never had to clean it. I don't know if I'd want to. Cleaning it might mess it up.
                      "All right, new rule: no evil laughter before breakfast." -my mother

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                        #12
                        Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

                        So,I am wondering(as I sometimes do) is it also illegal to keep the bird droppings on a statue???(people want to know)
                        MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

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                          #13
                          Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

                          Originally posted by anunitu View Post
                          So,I am wondering(as I sometimes do) is it also illegal to keep the bird droppings on a statue???(people want to know)
                          I don't believe so. Just a cleanest factor.

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                            #14
                            Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

                            Originally posted by MaskedOne View Post
                            Wrong agency, you'd get



                            Because yes, the Feds do have armed wildlife police.
                            Their training is intense. Firstt, you have to have a degree in a pertinent field, thenyou have to go through the federal police academy, then special wildlife warden school, then park service training. I looked into doin it for the state, where its a little bit less...
                            Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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                              #15
                              Re: Bird Feathers and...Cleanliness

                              Originally posted by thalassa View Post
                              Their training is intense. Firstt, you have to have a degree in a pertinent field, thenyou have to go through the federal police academy, then special wildlife warden school, then park service training. I looked into doin it for the state, where its a little bit less...
                              Apparently they get shot at a decent number of times too. There was a bill proposed to take their guns away a few years ago and the response was not nice.
                              life itself was a lightsaber in his hands; even in the face of treachery and death and hopes gone cold, he burned like a candle in the darkness. Like a star shining in the black eternity of space.

                              Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

                              "But those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun." Suddenly his voice sounded to Will very strong, and very Welsh. "At the very heart, that is. Other things, like humanity, and mercy, and charity, that most good men hold more precious than all else, they do not come first for the Light. Oh, sometimes they are there; often, indeed. But in the very long run the concern of you people is with the absolute good, ahead of all else..."

                              John Rowlands, The Grey King by Susan Cooper

                              "You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve", said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth; be content."

                              Aslan, Prince Caspian by CS Lewis


                              Comment

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