This did shed quite a bit, but after reading other reviews, I had my son open and shake it over the outside trash can and it looked like he was plucking a chicken out there, but it did greatly diminish the shedding.  I purchased this for a photo booth prop and it was fluffy and full and didn't shed very much after the initial "plucking".  It was very itchy, scratchy feeling, which is fine when you're only wearing it for a few minutes for a picture, but if you were going to wear this all evening, it would be pretty itchy.  I'd think all feather boas would be, but I'm not a boa expert - is there such a thing?