Down is the soft layer of feathers closest to birds skin, primarily in the chest region. These feathers are highly valued by manufacturers of down clothing and comforters because they do not have quills. While most down and other feathers are removed from ducks and geese during slaughter, birds in breeding flocks and those raised for meat may be plucked repeatedly while they are still alive.
Plucking causes geese and ducks considerable pain and distress. Typically, they are lifted by their necks or delicate wings, their legs are physically restrained or tied, and their feathers are ripped right out of their skin. The struggling birds are often plucked so hard that their skin is torn open and the hurried workers sew up the wounds using needle and thread and no painkillers. Plucking may begin when the animals are just 10 weeks old and be repeated in six-week intervals until the birds are slaughtered for meat long before they would naturally die.
Buying down can also support the cruelty of the foie gras industry. Producers of foie gras often boost their profits by selling the feathers of force-fed ducks and geese. These birds already have to endure having tubes rammed down their throats and their stomachs pumped full of so much corn mush that their livers swell to about 10 times their normal size, which is how foie gras is made.
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“Almost all of us attended zoos and circuses as children, ate meat, and dressed in leather.” We never gave thought to how these actions would affect the participating animals. You may be wondering, “Why should animals have rights?” for whatever reason. READ MORE
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Function edit Body down feathers, like these exposed on this adult male
The air is trapped by the loose structure of down feathers, helping to keep the bird warm[5] and enhancing waterbird buoyancy. After their autumn moult, species that undergo yearly temperature fluctuations usually have more down feathers. [9] Because down feathers are stiffer and make the young harder to swallow, there is some evidence that down feathers may also help reduce the incidence of nestling cannibalism among some colonially nesting species. [9] Pollutants can reduce the efficiency of these functions. For instance, oiled down feathers mat and clump together, reducing the bird’s insulation and enabling moisture to get to the skin. [10].
To line their scrape nests, female wildfowl remove down feathers from their own breasts. This procedure serves the dual purposes of exposing the female’s brood patch, an area of bare skin that is dense with blood vessels and effectively conducts heat transmission, and aiding in the insulation of the eggs. [11] Down feathers are the best insulator among the materials used by birds to line their nests, but only when they are dry. Wet down is the least effective insulator. [12] Given that birds frequently cover their eggs with feathers before departing the nest, down may also aid in hiding the eggs when the female is not there. [13].
Down feathers can be used to look for signs of metal contamination in a bird’s surroundings because birds are able to remove heavy metals from their feathers and because feathers can be collected non-invasively and kept forever. Research has demonstrated that there is a strong correlation between the amount of metal pollution in a bird’s food and the amount found in its feathers, with the percentage of chemicals in the feathers staying largely constant (and even higher for certain metals). [14].
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