I read in a book...

Foxfire 3 specifically, that one can pick a goose at the new moon. I have reasoned out its purpose is harvesting down feathers.  It doesn't go into detail.... I would think maybe thin out the fluff, not leave the poor thing "nekid".  

Rebecca Fussner wrote:Foxfire 3 specifically, that one can pick a goose at the new moon. I have reasoned out its purpose is harvesting down feathers.  It doesn't go into detail.... I would think maybe thin out the fluff, not leave the poor thing "nekid".  

you mean to say that this book is suggesting that it's humane to pull feathers out of a live goose because of the moon phase?

I just have two things.  1)  I love the Foxfire books 2)  We have learned a great deal about a lot of things since they were written.

They were great to read and I am pleased they are still being read.
Maybe they can be brushed?

I love the Foxfire books.  I knew and learned form any of the people in those books.  I use them.  BUT... I live in the southern Appalachian, Blue ridge Mountains.  Much of the information is extremely regional.   My family in the eastern swamps should have written a similar series - their wisdom would have been very different.  Every unique region has has its own specific qualities.  My culture may be very similar to folks in the Adirondacks or the Ozarks, but I wouldn't expect everything I learned here to work there... I'd learn form those folks, there.

Laurel Jones wrote:

Rebecca Fussner wrote:Foxfire 3 specifically, that one can pick a goose at the new moon. I have reasoned out its purpose is harvesting down feathers.  It doesn't go into detail.... I would think maybe thin out the fluff, not leave the poor thing "nekid".  

you mean to say that this book is suggesting that it's humane to pull feathers out of a live goose because of the moon phase?

. That is not at all suggesting anything remotely humane. Humane was not a thing then... they were practices that allowed  survival for humans.  That is why I come to permies ...to ask about what I have read ....process the incoming information and make a decision based on best possible practice\outcome. However to learn about it yourself I would suggest reading the book and make up your own mind.

John C Daley wrote:They were great to read and I am pleased they are still being read.
Maybe they can be brushed?

I know birds have a moulting season. Perhaps figuring out when that is  and gently pulling  the loose feathers? Good question...never heard of brushing feathers. Only one way to find out...lol.. One of us is going to have to buy a goose.

I have definitely read somewhere, but at this point don't know where, that there was/possibly still is, a practice of pulling the down from a goose's breast at a certain time of the year and it was considered a "sustainable harvest" (and they definitely didn't leave the bird cold and "nekid").
1. I suppose one could consider it more humane than killing the goose for their down.
2. Our Muscovy ducks pull their own down feathers to "feather their nest". In fact it's a key message to me that they're are a day or two from hard brood when I see down left in a favorite nesting place.
So I would have to read the article myself - was it a certain moon phase relating to the season in a geographical place? I certainly doubt that describing it as "because of the moon phase" is likely - more that the moon phase corresponded to an appropriate time in an era when few people owned a calendar. That said, considering that not many years ago, battery cages for chickens were completely legal - a practice I personally can't abide by - there is not enough info here for me to say how reasonable this concept is. Humans do have a history of doing incredibly unkind things to both animals and other humans.

However a few years ago, our Gander seemed to be having a big problem getting a tie with our bigger goose, and following some advice, I plucked both their butts a little and they both survived and didn't appear the worse for wear nor treated me as if I'd hurt them badly.  

The Foxfire series is a great historical series. When I read them, I appreciate them for the history they present. Simply because our ancestors did something does not mean it was the correct thing to do. A huge portion of the books is based on memory that can be faulty.