Types of Feathers

[ncpat]

I have been told that goose feathers work well for arrows. I have been collecting a few of them. Most are pretty similar in color, blackish gray. For cock feathers, can I bleach feathers without damaging them?

I learned recently I may be able to get some chicken feathers. Has anyone tried them?

Also, can feathers be mixed as long as left/right is consistent? Say 2 goose feathers and 1 chicken feather?

[Fred Arnold]

 8)I would(wood) think that as long as they were prepped and trimmed the same that you wouldn't  have a problem. Goose feathers are tremendous because they are loaded with oils that make them almost weatherproof. I've actually used pigeon feathers for some of the grandkids arrows. They will all work, some are just better than others.

[stickbender]

     Turkey feathers seem to be king, but Goose feathers are also great, and chicken feathers will work, but not as durable.  There are museum samples of Native American arrows, that had anything from Jay, to wood pecker tail feathers for fletching.  They used what they had available.  So can we.   As for mixing, and matching chicken, and goose feathers....... I don't know.   But there might be  problem with different stiffness, and it might cause an airfoil anomaly, or some sort of disturbance aerodynamically .  But try it and see what the results are.  And then let us know.  But like bow, and shaft material,we use what we have available at the time of making a bow,or an arrow, and that is exactly what our ancestors did, till they had access to better wood, for bows, arrows, and feathers for fletching material.   But if you have enough chicken feathers, and or Goose feathers, just use all of one type on an arrow, but if you want to experiment, that is how we gain knowledge.  It is either, great, OK, or well, now I know not to do that again!  I don't think that our ancestors, just woke up one day, and thought, gee, I will make an arrow, and use a three fletch, and the feathers will be either be all from the right, or left wing, and not mixed.  Trial and error has been one of our best learning tools.
     Good luck, and tell of your results.  That way, we can know to try it ourselves, or not to waste the time.

                                                    Wayne 

[kevinsmith5]

Turkey feathers have a lot of oil too, not as much as goose but they're pretty water repellant. Indoor know every method of dying feathers I've found requires degreasing/deoiling them you'll lose water proof.
Are you in NC?

[Pat B]

I rarely isolate the cock feather by color anymore. It doesn't matter. I use an index on the shaft that lets me feel the orentation of the arrow on the string. Arrows will usually shoot with the cock feather in or out.

[Matt G.]

I've tried every method known to man to try and bleach feathers. It's not worth the effort. To get any amount of a lighter shade you end up deteriorating the feather. Dyeing turkey feathers is no problem dyeing good just doesn't work unless you have white or light grey goose feathers.
Any more I shoot all 3 the same. Even with an indexer I still look when nocking an arrow.

[adb]

Mixing feather types is no problem... just don't mix LW and RW on the same arrow.

[bowtarist]

Personally, I would not mix feathers from different birds on the same shaft.  I also have shied away from using a different color feather for the cock feather.  I have used chicken quite a lot, seeing as how I used to raise chickens and that is what I had.  I used all of my chicken feathers for a two fletched arrow, eastern woodland style.  They worked fine I thought.  Several folks on here do not like them though, say they don't have enough stiffness.  I also use goose, and again I like the two fletch.  I would think that most people use the primaries for fletching, but I seem to end up with a lot of secondary wing feathers, and that is why I adopted the eastern two fletch style.  You also save a feather for every arrow you fletch.  Good luck to ya, and like others said, experiment and see what happens. dpgratz

[Pat B]

The purpose of fletching it for steerage so the type of feathers shouldn't make a difference.

[ncpat]

Turkey feathers have a lot of oil too, not as much as goose but they're pretty water repellant. Indoor know every method of dying feathers I've found requires degreasing/deoiling them you'll lose water proof.
Are you in NC?

Yes, I live in Durham. Thanks for info. I don't really need odd feather but I will be making some arrows for my daughter who is a beginner. I will save goose feathers until I can find a few lighter ones. I'd hate to ruin a feather like that. I should have thought about bleach taking oils right out.

[ncpat]

I appreciate all your thoughts here. I have shot a bow since I was 12 but never did much of making my own stuff. I'm now 55, but I guess better late than never. I will make a few arrows soon & post how they come out. Thanks again.   

[kevinsmith5]

I've gotten turkey feathers from farmers here in eastern nc to the point I'm over supplied. Domestic ones tend to be white, but there is an "heirloom" variety called Barnyard Bronze that looks almost like wild. They can be used for cock feathers. Ask around, even post a want add on Craig's list. Turkeys are practically out state bird

[crooketarrow]

   I use goose feathers a lot. Each JUNE they molt and I bass fish ponds alot local. I also have 2 parks I pick up. I only pick up primerys. Put still end up with 30 to 50. I don't hunt in the rain to often so it's not the water proffing. I used secondarys a few times and they work good but I shoot a lot and anything but primerys from spring killed turkeys my main scorce or geese just don't hold up.
   I  use snow geese when I can get them or tame white turkeys. I don't carry all white arrows but aways carry one hunting arrow with white (FIRST) feathers. I sika hunt the eastern shore almost every JAN. and had a snow goose scorce for a dozzen or so years but the old guide died a couple years back.
  I also use to get hyp. turkey feathers some of these are awsome.
  I hav'nt use a cock feather since my compound age when I was a kid. I just use all the same colors.

[hedgeapple]

I tried dying turkey feathers with Kool-Aid last year.  They floated in the Kool-Aid for over a week. I thought at some point they'd saturate and sink but they didn't.  Also, they didn't take any coloring. BUT, once I forced them to sink in the solution with a weighted screen wire.  They changed color on the white, barred portion of the feather.  Red Kool-Aid made pink feathers and the green came out lime colored.

All this is to say turkey feathers can be dyed.  And they are pretty darn water proof.

[kevinsmith5]

Did you degrease the turkey feathers first? I had found a how-to on dying with kool-aid and tried it on some white domestic ones, degreasing was done with vinegar/water/salt I believe. Then the kool-aid solution was made strong (like two cups water to a pack) and you microwaved the feathers in the kool-aid. Green came out DARK green and red came out a bright red, but I think it was a tropical fruit flavor I used for the red, not cherry. If I wasn't on my phone I'd pull up the how to, I remember I found it with Google though.