DIY - Making a down comforter from duck feathers and down

[HeatherFeather]

Ok, 21 ducks dispatched in 2 days!! We did 14 in 4 hours yesterday and 7 in 2.5 hours today!

Here are my points:

-Our plucker is a decent drum style chicken plucker-not a diy, its a Pick Wick.
-The ducks were all 19 week Khaki Campbell pures and crosses, all male.
-We didn't find the plucker to be an advantage and did most of them by hand.
-We found the plucker was tearing the skin on the ducks a lot, haven't had that with chickens.
-The plucker only removed the 'easy' feathers. With chickens it does everything in a minute.
-Today, we didn't even use the plucker

HOWEVER

-We found it significantly easier to remove the feathers from KC than from pekins.
-We got a lot less down from these birds than from pekins. Less than half at least.
-Not much meat

And...roast duck dinner is ready....gtg!!!

 

[Aphrael]

If you're one to be iffy about the idea of raising ducks for meat...stop reading here. I do not want to offend anyone.

My husband and I decided to raise a flock of meat ducks this last summer, and I decided to use their down and feathers for a comforter. I wanted to make sure to get as much as we could from these ducks' lives.

To anyone who wanted to know if you could use feathers from ducks as down for comforters and such...yes, you can. How do you do it? Well, I could not find any online source that would give me the whole process, so I wrote down and photographed the process as much as I could for future reference. I used this information in my blog for a few weeks, but instead of directing you to endless frou frou about knitting, I've converted the whole thing to a pdf. file.

I've posted the pdf form to google docs:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bzee85NJjrtbMXI5UGZCTGxBc0k/edit?usp=sharing

If you've got questions after reading that, ask me. We now have one duck down comforter and I will be making more. The one down comforter measuring 60" x 60" took the feathers + down of about 8 ducks. All in all, we butchered 26. And as you are all my witness, I will never. do. it. again. Next year, chickens.

-Brenda

Thanks so much for sharing this! I have been saving my feathers and wanting to make a comforter, but didn't really know where to begin! You're my hero!

Wow seems unreal I figured it would take more to make a whole blanket.
If you want to pre-wash feathers in the future, put them in a pillow case, tie it up tight and through it in the washer and dryer ( did this with chicken feathers on 'sanitize' cycle).
Works very well. Great article thanks for sharing.

That is exactly how I do mine!! I tried several other ways (huge PITA on all of them). Then I thought, "hey, what if I put a pillow case in the pluck bucket and then I could tie it and wash/dry them with no fear of them escaping". It worked beautifully. Been doing it that way ever since.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

This is a great thread. I think I'll try to make a down pillow this year when I pluck my ducks. Anything I can do to make use of every possible bit of the livestock I raise makes me feel better about the whole process.

 

[LadyIsadora]

Love the idea of a pillow case in the pluck bucket. I am designing my blanket as squares that will be stuffed individually then sewn together so next month I will have a lap pad,by the end of summer, a throw and next year it will be big enough for the bed.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Love the idea of a pillow case in the pluck bucket. I am designing my blanket as squares that will be stuffed individually then sewn together so next month I will have a lap pad,by the end of summer, a throw and next year it will be big enough for the bed.

That's a great idea. I think I'm just going to make myself a new duck down pillow. My favorite feather pillow has been with me since I was a child (I'm now 54) and honestly, it has become a big heavy blob.

 

[LadyIsadora]

LOL Hummingbird! I think your due for a new one

And this one will be one of your own making. That is too cool.

 

[randerson846]

Wrong thread sorry can't delete comment :/

 

[fnord]

The trick to getting all the feathers (and pinfeathers) out easily is to do them right after the kill, while everything's still warm.

Every fall, my mother used to butcher and freeze several dozen chickens she bought from a local farmer. The process she used entailed scalding to be sure there were no pathogens sticking to the birds, but I don't remember exactly how it went. It was over 50 years ago, and I made myself as scarce as possible because the smell of warm blood and entrails made me gag.

-- f

 

[fnord]

Use one of those zippered pillow covers ...

 

[fnord]

*But* I came looking to find what volume of down is needed to make a warm comforter. I'm going at it a bit differently: both my daughter and I are allergic to wool, feathers, down, and we have issues with polyester. I made one with silk, but it's not as light and airy as ome would think it might be.

Then I read about milkweed floss. I've collected now about a half pound (1/5-2 cu ft, somewhat packed), seed-free (don't ask: suffice it to say, it's a process!!!) I don't want to start getting fluffy floss flying through the air all over everything till there's enough to *do* the job!!!

I'm hoping I'm not too late to pick wild fields full, before they dry out and become impossible!

The other thing: is there a trick you'd share about working with down (or milkweed fairy-floss) that keeps the fill more or less contained while you work with it?

Any tips from those who've been there would be greatly appreciated!

-- f