I heard a trick if you put a small piece of wet cloth or paper in the tube and keep it air tight, it helps the shuttle from drying out and breaking so easily. I tried this and seems the feathers do last a little bit longer, however I left a tube untouched for a month and when I opened it, the first shuttle and the paper was overgrown in that black fuzzy stuff
You can go to this link and check it out. http://www.shuttlecock.com/Resources/Shuttlecock/hydrate.php