you pull them from the chest and place them in a zip lock bag marked with the birds name, species, and your name on the bag with permanant marker. they send you the instructions. you send the payment back with the kit. its canadian, so keep that in mind.
i did the blood test as thats what this company prefers, and it wasnt that hard. mango took it very well. sat still and let me clip his nail short and get a few drops onto the card. put corn starch on it, made sure he was done bleeding, gave him some spray millet and let him go on with his day. it was like it never happened lol
so i think they need a good amount of feathers... but they have to be from the chest. and have to be plucked, not molted. so towel him, make sure his head is covered if you dont want him seeing you do it. take tweezers and pluck. its like plucking eyebrows (if you are a girl)... though likely the more sensative areas on the eyebrows like closest to the eyes LOL give him LOTS of his favourite treats after and he should forgive you pretty fast