# How in the world do they get down feathers from ducks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2002, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025 "2002-05-09T04:20:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CannabisChuckis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@CannabisChuckis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannabisChuckis)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/1 "2002-05-09T04:20:36Z")
How in the world do they get down feathers from ducks, and does it hurt the duck? ---
**Author:** ![Spooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Spooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spooky)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/2 "2002-05-09T04:35:49Z")
The ducks or geese are killed. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/3 "2002-05-09T04:55:30Z")
While I don’t dispute that the answer given in true in the overwhelming number of cases, it is possible to wait for the duck to pluck her own down, and then collect if from the nest. Eiderdown is still collected this way. It is phenomenally expensive, though. Tris ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/4 "2002-05-09T12:18:32Z")
You don’t get down off a duck. You get down off an eleph… Ooops. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/5 "2002-05-09T12:54:44Z")
Beat me to it, Cal. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/6 "2002-05-09T12:58:58Z")
_covers Orville’s ears_ yes ---
**Author:** ![femtosecond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@femtosecond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femtosecond)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/7 "2002-05-09T13:28:25Z")
From what I saw on TV, they boil the bird and move it by hand and still wet over the slit of what looked like a big planing machine. It rips out the feathers, which are dried and then sorted by weight in chambers with circulating air. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/8 "2002-05-09T16:37:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by femtosecond \* > \*\*From what I saw on TV, they boil the bird and move it by hand and still wet over the slit of what looked like a big planing machine. It rips out the feathers, which are dried and then sorted by weight in chambers with circulating air. \*\* thanks for that. At least I can sleep well tonight on my feather pillow ---
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/9 "2002-05-09T17:11:14Z")
Most good down comes from geese. Not just any geese, OLD geese. Also, Eiderdown is expensive not just bceause it is collected from nests, but also because it cannot be sorted by machine. All of the twigs, pebbles, and other impurities must be removed by hand. ---
**Author:** ![femtosecond](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@femtosecond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femtosecond)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/10 "2002-05-09T18:17:26Z")
There’s more than one way to skin a cat - er, I mean a canary. (let’s see who catches the Sylvester cartoon reference) A report on the UK duck industry: [http://www.viva.org.uk/Viva!%20Campaigns/Ducks/Report4.htm](http://www.viva.org.uk/Viva!%20Campaigns/Ducks/Report4.htm) > [@](#): > > Dry plucking machine > > The birds are stripped of feathers by machine, finishing being carried out by hand. Duck feathers used for pillows, quilts, cushions and decorations are almost all from the intensive duck meat industry and obtained from the carcase immediately the bird is killed. > > The tail and large wing feathers are taken out first by hand and kept separately. The machine operation takes one to two minutes. The remaining stubs are removed by hand. The down that clings to the flesh is difficult to remove. It may be singed off; or for large numbers of carcases ‘wax finishing’ is used. Here you can see photos and buy one type of plucking machines: [http://www.kawimpex.com/eng/poultry\_equipment/poultry\_processing.html](http://www.kawimpex.com/eng/poultry_equipment/poultry_processing.html) [http://www.geocities.com/nutriflip/veg\_faq.htm](http://www.geocities.com/nutriflip/veg_faq.htm) > [@](#): > > WHAT’S WRONG WITH DOWN? > The process of live-plucking is wide spread. The terrified birds are lifted by their necks, with their legs tied, and then have all their body feathers ripped out. The struggling geese sustain injuries and after their ordeal are thrown back to join their fellow victims until their turn comes round again. This torture, which has been described as “extremely cruel” by veterinary surgeons and even geese breeders, begins when the geese are only eight weeks old. It is then repeated at eight week intervals for two or three more sessions. The birds are then slaughtered. The main countries using this cruel process are China, Poland and Hungary, where some 60 per cent of down produced is live-plucked. The down market in the UK alone is worth around 2.6 million pounds per year. The “lucky” birds are plucked dead, i.e. they are killed first and then plucked. There’s a heap of animal-rights ranting sites (I don’t blame them). Maybe **Duck Duck Goose** would be able to google up a truly unbiased cite, but I’m afraid she fainted reading this. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LorieSmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a587f6/32.png) [@LorieSmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LorieSmurf)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/11 "2002-05-09T19:58:24Z")
:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: Dude, that’s just sick. Those poor birds. Hmm…does karma mean that in a future life, the bird pluckers will have the unfortunate luck of being tortured geese?? And hopefully the plucked birds will be the pluckers?? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/12 "2002-05-09T20:15:39Z")
Godammit, now I havwe this summer-camp song stuck in my mind: How about them Duck Pluckers, Ain’t they schmucks? Pluckin’ them feathers right off ‘o them ducks. Pluckin’ them mallards, pluckin’ them coots, Pluckin’ they duckie hairs out by the roots! Look at them Duck Pluckers, ain’t they thiefs? Some use tweezers, some use their teeths. Them feather-pluckin’ Duck Pluckers, hidin’ in the sticks, Buggin’ they plucky-ducks, getttin’ they kicks. How to be a Duck Plucker? No way to duck it; Rustle up a duck or two, shoo-boy, just pluck it! ---
**Author:** ![CannabisChuckis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@CannabisChuckis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannabisChuckis)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2002, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/13 "2002-05-09T22:17:34Z")
I don’t think I have the balls to pluck a duck, thinks for the input all. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-in-the-world-do-they-get-down-feathers-from-ducks/108025/14 "2002-05-10T02:00:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > > \*\*Godammit, now I havwe this summer-camp song stuck in my mind: > > How about them Duck Pluckers, Ain’t they schmucks? > > Pluckin’ them feathers right off 'o them ducks. > > Pluckin’ them mallards, pluckin’ them coots, > > Pluckin’ they duckie hairs out by the roots! > > Look at them Duck Pluckers, ain’t they thiefs? > > Some use tweezers, some use their teeths. > > Them feather-pluckin’ Duck Pluckers, hidin’ in the sticks, > > Buggin’ they plucky-ducks, getttin’ they kicks. > > How to be a Duck Plucker? No way to duck it; > > Rustle up a duck or two, shoo-boy, just pluck it! \*\* It took a lot of pluck to recite that … Actually, just one of many fine “them” poems by the great Mason Williams, including “Lunch Toters”, “Toad Suckers”, and “Ewe Doers”.