Feather

Feathers are items dropped from chickens (Mobs spawned randomly in The Overworld) when they die. The only use for feathers at the moment is to make arrows to shoot from a bow. Chickens drop 0-2 feathers upon death.

History
Feathers were introduced in Indev on February 19, 2010. Until Beta 1.8, Zombies dropped feathers instead of Rotten Flesh. Now, chickens are the only source of feathers for use.

Feathers are also somewhat valuable in multiplayer worlds, especially in popular ones since most animals are killed near spawn points, for players to get an advantage over others to be one of the few people to get these recourses. For their only usefulness when making arrows gives you the ability (with a bow) to attack mobile objects or players at a distance effectively without having to get at close range where the enemy can hurt you.

Appearance
Feathers have been mistaken for knives due to their apparent "handle" and by the fact that zombies used to drop them.