[OhBugger.]

Hey guys, I have a strange collection.
I collect feathers. mainly crow, goose and other wild bird feathers.
I have some in my room that would be in reach of the rats I'm going to get.

Should I take them down and put them where rats can't chew on them?
Are they potentially dangerous?

any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

 

[lilspaz68]

You need to make sure those feathers don't have anything on them. You need to microwave (?) them to make sure nothing is on them.

Rats loooove feathers, it brings out the killer instinct in them...if the feathers are nearby they will be destroyed...LOLOL. A lot of us have those cat wand toys with feathers on them for our rats..hilarious!!!

If you plan on keeping your feathers in their "pristine" condition, I would definitely move them out of reach.

 

[cjshrader]

I have some in my room that would be in reach of the rats I'm going to get.

For some reason I read that as "I have some in my room that would be in reach of the rats I'm going to eat. And I was like, whoa, um, wouldn't McDonald's be cheaper? I guess not if you breed them yourself.

But really, the rats will get into anything they have access to. My rats hate their medicine right now, but if I leave the syringe on the desk they'll grab it and run back to their cage. So if you want to keep those feathers, I'd move them out of reach.

 

[Poppyseed]

yeah I would seriously do that as well. I have discovered my rats LOVE killing the cat toy feather wands to an insane level! It's like their favorite thing to do. It's so hilarious but if you have a collection you don't want them to kill it >_>

 

[OhBugger.]

well, because I dont want my feather collection destroyed, and since these are feathers from wild birds, I guess I'll put them somewhere else.

I've never heard of microwaving feathers. 0.o sounds interesting.

 

[reachthestars]

I can just picture me trying to microwave a feather and it exploding O.O.

But yeah, I would move them out of reach as rats have that drive to kill anything fuzzy. Mine will go after anything like string, feathers, my pyjama pants drawstrings....

 

[Star]

Or, insted of nuking it, you could put them in the frezzer to kill anything still on them.

 

[OnlyOno]

if you freeze them, you have to do it for like 6 months to make sure you also kill stuff that carries other bacteria (like tiny lice or whatever). spores will survive the freezer though, so it's better to nuke them for 2 or 3 minutes.

i nuke my kitchen sponges, because i'm paranoid like that.

 

[cjshrader]

Is it really safe to microwave the feathers? I have some concerns that they'll melt or catch on fire.

Maybe you should try it with one of your less-fancy ones and keep an eye on it very closely and make sure you are ready if it does start burning.

Maybe boiling would be a better option? But I still worry it'd melt.

 

[JennieLove]

Instead of microwaving them...LMAO, can't you just put them in th freezer to kill anything that might be harmful? Its alot safer in my opinion. xD