Emu and Rhea

[Show and Tell]

I have been meaning to ask if anyone here has ever used emu feathers for hair before instead of say ostrich or maribou? I have a supplier that is goint to sell me as much emu feathers as I can possible ever need. They process emu around here alot and the farmers that process have only ever really sold the down of the bird to fishermen to make flies with. I've been told I would get it pretty cheap since usually all they ever do with the feathers is throw them away. This just seems like too good of an opportunity. I'd have to of course process and refine the feathers myself but if this works it will mean I might never have a bald puppet again MUAH HA HA HA!

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I've used emu feathers alot, but they are not as good as ostrich feathers. I've also never tried dying them to a light colour.

 

[Show and Tell]

I've used emu feathers alot, but they are not as good as ostrich feathers. I've also never tried dying them to a light colour.

Do you think I would bleach them to make them white first then die them to different colors? Why do you say they are not as good as ostrich? Do they fall apart or something?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I would assume you can bleach and dye them but I have never done it. Ostrich aren't necessarily "better" (it depends what you need feathers for and the look you want) but in my opinion they do look better and move better than the emu feathers.

Just my opinion though, and I still use emu feather for some things like dark hair.

 

[Show and Tell]

Does anyone know if I would need a special type of license to sell processed emu feathers to other puppet builders? Since I will more than likely be getting more feathers than I could ever use on an army of puppets I might be willing to sell some to other people looking for them. would help to support my puppet building habit. I'm picking up a load of feathers on the 11th of this month. Anyone have any pictures of how the ostrich feathers look when they are shipped to you? Are they whole feathers or do they come split?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

You should probably check with whatever branch of the government regulates business in your area, business license requirements vary state to state and city to city in some cases. There may also be federal regulations you have to follow if the feathers are classified as an agricultural product.

The American Emu Association might be able to answer some of your questions.

 

[Show and Tell]

Again Buck, thank you very much. Your always a big help. I contacted the president of the emu association in my state and explained my intentions to his secritary and I should get a call back this evening to let me know what I would need to do to sell these feathers. Hopefully it not too costly or time consuming.