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Thread: Down question

  1. #1
    New Member BAG Hunter's Avatar
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    Down question

    I duck hunt and when I clean my ducks, I pluck them and put the down feathers in a grocery sack before disposing of them so that they don't get all over my yard. My question is, can I use those feathers as insulation for a quilt or do they have to be processed in some way to be useful. Thanks for any helpful advise.

  2. #2
    Formerly octothorpesarus mudsocks's Avatar
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    Sure it can be done. I've not heard of anyone here doing it. I quick search on Google turned up a DIY duck down comforter.

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    Duck feathers tend not to be as "fine" or fluffy as the finest goose down, and it's not used in the high-end commercial bags and quilts, but when I was stationed in W. Germany during the late 1980s, my wife found a pair of really cheap bed comforters on a shopping trip to East Berlin. They were stuffed with duck down... it had a bit of a smell to it, but we had the comforters cleaned and that took care of it. They saw use for about 10 years before we got rid of them before moving to a hotter climate. I don't regret buying them.

    (On a side note, the Germans pretty much all used down comforters and slept with the windows open in all weather. They had a special machine at the local dry cleaners. They opened the comforter in the corner that was hand-sewn shut, ripping out the old seam about 6". They hooked it to a machine that used a vacuum to suck the feathers out and into a washer. They washed and dried the feathers in the same machine. Then, they reversed the vacuum and blew your feathers back into the comforter and sewed it back shut. Pretty cool.)

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    A little off topic but I love to duck and goose hunt. I have never collected my own down though.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Adahy's Avatar
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    I goose hunt as well, I wonder how many goose it would take to harvest a lb of down?
    Adahy

  6. #6
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    Been wondering this as well. Especially with duck and goose season coming up, and the want for a down under quilt.

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    This is what I'd do, not that I have any experience in harvesting down from ducks.

    Stitch them into a high thead count pillow case with plenty of room (ie not stuffed full like a pillow is normally), and wash in a bleach solution to kill any mold, mites and bacteria. Dry well. You'll want to segregate the down from the feathers during harvest if you're intending to build a lightweight quilt. Older ducks have bigger down clusters that result in a higher fillpower so it would be a shame to mix them with feathers. Use the feathers (and lower quality down from younger ducks) in a heavier downproof fabric for a house or car camping quilt.

  8. #8
    Senior Member Mouseskowitz's Avatar
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    I've never taken up bird hunting, but this sounds like an interesting idea. If anyone tries it, I'd love to hear the results. Talk about hard core DIY, collecting your own down.

  9. #9
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    Back in the day,( 1967) during college, I built a down sleeping bag for my daughter which also fit me as an elephant foot. As a starving college student working for $1.80 an hour I needed to keep everything as inexpensive as possible. I hit on the idea of harvesting down from ducks and geese. Being a hunter that seemed like a reasonable way to go. I tried a few ducks but soon gave that up as the down was not good quality, and it soon became obvious not worth the time and effort involved. The big Canadians however were excellent. So that is what I used. I found that laying the goose across my knees with the breast up and the head to the left, I was able to get my fingers under the feathers and pull them out while leaving the down intact. Since the outer feathers overlap like shingles it was easy to just pull them out and not get any of the down. Then using an old thrift store Torpedo style vacuum with a bag inside made out an old sheet, I was able to hold the nozzle with my hand and just work the down loose and into the tube with my thumb. I got good enough at it I was soon plucking geese for other hunters. Long story short, after about 18-20 geese I had enough down for the project. All down with no feathers at all. The bag was about 4 ft. long and differentially cut and used offset baffles so there were no cold spots throughout. She used it until she outgrew it and then it was passed down to each of our 6 kids in turn. Including many winter camps and backpacking trips. After I started hanging in the late nineties I decided I needed a camping-quilt and remembered this bag. So I got it out and harvested the down again with a vacuum. I built the quilt with 1.1 ripstop and mosquito netting then stuffed it using the vacuum method. I have been using it since then as a shoulder season quilt, good to about 30 degrees F. I need to open one of the baffles and redistribute down to some of the others which did not get sufficient. When the original bag was new I could lay it on the floor and it would fluff up to over 7 inches and was extremely warm. With the top-quilt I have about 3 inches of loft.
    I used it as an elephant foot bag (half bag) with my down coat for the top half in my 24 hour pack, while I was active in Mt. Search and Rescue in Idaho and Washington. At the time I built it originally I used info gleaned from REI and the book Mountaineering,Freedom of the hills. ( I have low REI number being a member since 1964).
    So yes it is possible to harvest down and make your own gear. Having said that I also have recently purchased some lighter gear from our vendors.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Mouseskowitz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ezhiker View Post
    Back in the day,( 1967) during college, I built a down sleeping bag for my daughter which also fit me as an elephant foot. As a starving college student working for $1.80 an hour I needed to keep everything as inexpensive as possible. I hit on the idea of harvesting down from ducks and geese. Being a hunter that seemed like a reasonable way to go. I tried a few ducks but soon gave that up as the down was not good quality, and it soon became obvious not worth the time and effort involved. The big Canadians however were excellent. So that is what I used. I found that laying the goose across my knees with the breast up and the head to the left, I was able to get my fingers under the feathers and pull them out while leaving the down intact. Since the outer feathers overlap like shingles it was easy to just pull them out and not get any of the down. Then using an old thrift store Torpedo style vacuum with a bag inside made out an old sheet, I was able to hold the nozzle with my hand and just work the down loose and into the tube with my thumb. I got good enough at it I was soon plucking geese for other hunters. Long story short, after about 18-20 geese I had enough down for the project. All down with no feathers at all. The bag was about 4 ft. long and differentially cut and used offset baffles so there were no cold spots throughout. She used it until she outgrew it and then it was passed down to each of our 6 kids in turn. Including many winter camps and backpacking trips. After I started hanging in the late nineties I decided I needed a camping-quilt and remembered this bag. So I got it out and harvested the down again with a vacuum. I built the quilt with 1.1 ripstop and mosquito netting then stuffed it using the vacuum method. I have been using it since then as a shoulder season quilt, good to about 30 degrees F. I need to open one of the baffles and redistribute down to some of the others which did not get sufficient. When the original bag was new I could lay it on the floor and it would fluff up to over 7 inches and was extremely warm. With the top-quilt I have about 3 inches of loft.
    I used it as an elephant foot bag (half bag) with my down coat for the top half in my 24 hour pack, while I was active in Mt. Search and Rescue in Idaho and Washington. At the time I built it originally I used info gleaned from REI and the book Mountaineering,Freedom of the hills. ( I have low REI number being a member since 1964).
    So yes it is possible to harvest down and make your own gear. Having said that I also have recently purchased some lighter gear from our vendors.
    That's really neat! I'll have to remember this if I ever take up goose hunting or get to know anyone who hunts them.

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