Sometimes I put feathers up for auction so this is a guide to give you an idea of what you should expect.

First of all, these feathers come from a blue and gold macaw named Alex.  All of the feathers I offer are cruelty free, they are molted naturally.  Each feather is different so I make sure I take a new picture of the actual feathers that I put up for auction. 

 A macaw has a wide range of feathers:

• The smallest feathers can be as small as 1/4" in length and they can be black or yellow or blue - turquoise like, or a mixture of these colors.
• Some feathers are small for a macaw - maybe in the inch to four inch range - but they'd be huge for a small bird.  (A macaw has a wing span of about 40 inches sometimes)  Some of these feathers are yellow chest feathers or blue/turquoise back feathers.  These smaller feathers are soft and many of them have "fluff" on the base of them and this will be noticable in the photo taken for the auction.
• Some of the bigger feathers come from the wings and the tail.  These feathers range from four inches to about twenty inches.  A tail feather, for example, can be up to twenty inches long!  The longer feathers aren't as soft as the smaller ones and the fluff at the base of the feather is a little different than the smaller feathers - this can be seen in the photo for those particular feathers.

All of my feathers are sent to you clean.  Each feather is unique and different.  Some have darker colors like gray and black on them, others are solid colors.  The bigger feathers are shades of gold on the underside.  I try to make same size, same color type groups for your convenience.  I try to offer you only the very best, natural feathers.

I list some feathers as "seconds" because these are feathers that either didn't grow "perfectly", or they were damaged in flight - or attempted flight.  They may have molted from feathers that were clipped.  (Alex is clipped so she doesn't fly for her own safety, and my sanity so she doesn't fly somewhere and be hurt) Again, I state in the auction when the feathers are "seconds" and you will see a photo of the actual feathers that are being offered.  These feathers are also clean.  I will never send a "soiled" feather (it isn't sanitary)

I package the larger ones in a special custom made mailer so they will not be bent in mailing.  The smaller feathers can be sent in a bubble-wrap type envelope and they are fine that way.

There are many uses for feathers.  Some people use them for masks, fishing lures, ceremonial things, artwork, hat band decorations, and many more things.  Or, you can simply collect them. 

Alex lives in a clean cage (unless I have her out of her cage with me- which happens every day) and she has a smoke free environment.

Thank you for your interest in this guide.  I hope it has been useful.

Have a great day.