Originally Posted by
AnnirasSweets
The Arrows & Feathers is an option you can turn on and off at your choosing from the game's Main Menu. As Riverly suggested, when there's a trade for the Elves and you don't have the full amount of an item, the Arrows & Feathers will then float over the items you would have to collect from to gather the amount needed to complete the trade. In this instance, let's say you need 85 Hides but only have 40 in your inventory, the indicators will float above the cows and other places to get Hides until you have the full 85 in storage.
If you don't want the indicators to appear on your board, simply go to Menu>Settings>Hide Nadina's Feathers and toggle the switch on. It won't change anything about the trades themselves, you just won't see the floating feather indicators any more.