Use for Feathers

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Use for Feathers

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rhyddid

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 228

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 05 5:47 pm Post subject: Use for Feathers
What use can be made of (a) turkey feathers, (b) chicken feathers, and (c) duck feathers ? I know I can compost them, but aside from the obvious, I'm interested to learn how the self-supporter can reasonably use the above type of by-product.

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 05 6:29 pm Post subject:
Make duvets??

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45671
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 05 6:29 pm Post subject:
The bulk of them will be too big and stiff for that

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 05 6:48 pm Post subject:
Tahir, I am female - nothing could be too big or too stiff

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45671
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 05 6:49 pm Post subject:
That's not what my wife says

moggins

Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 942
Location: Gloucester

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 05 6:50 pm Post subject:

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 05 7:16 pm Post subject:
mackeral lures?

pricey

Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Posts: 6444

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 05 8:53 pm Post subject:
They make good mackeral lures, the black one's are the best down here(but don't tell anyone). Also us fly fishermen use all coloured feathers, for trout & bass

Tristan

Joined: 29 Dec 2004
Posts: 392
Location: North Gloucestershire

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 05 12:33 pm Post subject:
Do what the Chinese do and steep them in a barrel of water until they ferment, then drain off the liquid for plant food (dilute about ten to one) and spread the solids on the garden as soil improver. Very high in nitrogen apparently.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45671
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 05 12:33 pm Post subject:
Have you ever done that Tristan? Sounds good.

Tristan

Joined: 29 Dec 2004
Posts: 392
Location: North Gloucestershire

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 05 12:43 pm Post subject:
Trying it for the first time this year, got a sack of pheasant feathers at the ready so I'll let you know how it goes (and if it smells as bad as I think it might )

judyofthewoods

Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 804
Location: Pembrokeshire

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 05 1:04 pm Post subject:

If you have loads of feathers it may be worth seperating the down for pillows etc. Not sure how to do it, but here goes a mental invention (not tried it): take two very large cardboard boxes (maybe from appliance shops, from washing machines etc.) and then cut a hole at the top in each box to correspond with the hole in the other, then tape them together, i.e. you have two chambers with a connecting window high up. cut a hole halfway down one of the boxes big enough to take a fan (with some gauze over the top to stop the down blowing back). Fill the fan box to below the fan opening, and switch on fan (fan, bellows - or any draught source - could be at the end of a cardboard tube attached to opening). The lighter down will (hopefullly) blow up and around the first chamber, be pushed through the opening and land in the second chamber. Might have to repeat the process a few times as some feathers will probably get through anyway. However, any down filling does have a mixture of down and feathers anyway, you just want to remove the bulk of the bigger feathers.

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