Jean, I doubt six weeks is enough to grow new sickles, but I wouldn\'t hesitate to give it a try - what do you have to lose?
Feathers are mostly protein, so I would feed extra protein.
My preference would be ground raw meat, but others may have ideas that work well too. High protein dog or cat foot seems to work for some. Good luck! As for your last question, we are planning to come to Great Falls in October, but there is no way we can get away for that long in the spring.
Mike Gilbert