Separating Down from Feathers

Does anyone know of a good way to separate down from the feathers from a duck or goose that is being plucked? When plucking waterfowl by hand it is at least reasonable to pick each separately although there is still some mixing. We are considering a machine plucker which would make separation of the types much more difficult. It seems there must be some sort of existing method since one can buy articles of clothing or bed linens made of down only with few, if any, feathers mixed in, but my searches have not uncovered it.

Hi Carl!
I can't offer any advice, but I do want to welcome you to Permies! If you get a chance, we'd love to get to know you better. We have an Introductions forum where you can introduce yourself. I trust you'll learn as much here as I have.

If you're talking about the pluckers they use for chickens, it's my understanding they don't work well, for ducks. I'm not sure if it's how firmly attached the feathers are, or if it's because duck feathers contain more oil, or if it's something else, entirely. But, I'd probably look into it, before buying one.

I think the industrial way is with big fan chambers that float the least dense down out of the denser down and feathers.
https://featherind.com/down-information/the-process/
Someone has made an instructable on a homemade setup that emulates this. It sounds like it's a slow but moderately effective process.
https://www.instructables.com/Sorting-Down-From-Feathers/
I think before starting you'd have to thoroughly wash and dry the feather/down mix

Not sure if this is helpful or not, since it refers to geese
https://www.fao.org/4/y4359e/y4359e0c.htm
By the looks of things it might be possible, if fiddly, to remove the down from the base of the feathers just by finger plucking, or using a sharp knife or razor.  Might be useful to have the feathers dry before trying though, so it's easier to pinch the down before cutting.

Found a couple of downy feathers this a.m. on my morning walk.  It proved very easy to pull away the down from the quill.  Might prove tedious, but could be one of those jobs to do in front of the idiot box. As long as it doesn't make you sneeze    

Hello Carl!


I still pluck by hand.  I only do a few each year and if I get them at the right time they go pretty quickly.

I find the geese and ducks easiest to pluck just after they molt.  So all the feathers are new.  I dunk them in hot water, give them a good scrubbing and let them sit in the water for a couple of minutes.  Then I start by pulling out the big feathers.  Once the big stuff is off, I put the bird in an old pillow case, face first so just the feet are sticking out.   I pluck the down and tiny feathers into the pillow case.  Starting with the legs and working up to the neck so the bird is clean and all the down is in the pillow case.

 I stitch the pillow case closed and throw it in the washer and dryer.    This takes care of all the blood and the finished down is ready for use.

Carl Wick wrote: Does anyone know of a good way to separate down from the feathers from a duck or goose that is being plucked? When plucking waterfowl by hand it is at least reasonable to pick each separately although there is still some mixing. We are considering a machine plucker which would make separation of the types much more difficult. It seems there must be some sort of existing method since one can buy articles of clothing or bed linens made of down only with few, if any, feathers mixed in, but my searches have not uncovered it.

Well, it won't be very easy, but in the main, the idea is to blow the feathers up and along several bags: the heavier stuff falls first and the best down will be in your last collection bag/ box. It's also difficult to blow air through without also blow some good down out is there is any leak.
This guy has tried to do it a couple of different ways, but still, up and over some containers. I suspect if you weren't limited by space, you could make it easy by rigging a super long tunnel.