Waterfowl down

calgarychef · #1 03-22-2018, 10:21 PM

My grandfather used to shoot a LOT of ducks. He'd save the nice feathers and down and grandma would make pillows, huge friggen pillows the with of a twin bed and thick and plump. First she'd bake them in the oven for awhile to kill the bugs that are present then sew them up. Im wondering if anyone knows any other methods of processing the down? Is there a way to wash it under home conditions? I'm wondering about sewing it into smaller bags and washing them before tumbling them in the dryer...

New Hunter Okotoks · #2 03-23-2018, 06:11 AM

I would be really interested in this as well. I wonder if duck species and even if they are taken later in the year has much effect on the down quality. Example, Northern Goldeneyes or Buffleheads taken late hunting season compared to early season local Mallards?

calgarychef · #3 03-23-2018, 03:16 PM

The colder the weather the better my grandma used to say. So late season mallards=good pillows.

antlercarver · #4 03-24-2018, 09:46 AM

You have to strip each feather to get rid of each central shaft or it will be poking through the pillow case. There used to be special material called
feather or pillow ticking. It was a very tight weave material which prevented the shaft of the feather from poking though.
Grandparents also made huge feather quilts which we called a pirena. You would be warm all night even if the water in the water bucket froze over in the night
Very different times now.

BPman · #5 03-24-2018, 08:25 PM

Pillow/mattress ticking is still available in some fabric stores - it usually has brown, blue or red stripes. We use it for patches in our traditional muzzle-loaders when shooting patched round balls. It is hard to find in Canada so I buy mine at Walmart in the USA and fabric stores seem to carry it more commonly down there too.

Many years ago when I was shooting a lot of ducks a couple of friends undertook to collect the down off my ducks and geese. It takes a LOT of dead ducks and careful plucking to get enough down for even a small pillow. They were trying to make sleeping bags and gave up about the time they had enough down for a small pillow.
It is a lot of work!