General Chat

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/nov/18/doctors-warn-of-danger-of-feather-duvet-lung

Our own duvets are all goose feather/down and so far 50 years of feather bedding seems to have done no harm.

Men & women sleep rough in squats, tents, cars, parks, bins, under flimsy sleeping bags in damp shop doorways – all unimaginable spaces in our capital city and beyond.

I doubt if the questionable quality of duvets mentioned in the report is of any great concern to the unfortunate homeless.

Many years ago my ex and I used to breed Budgies and Canaries and after a couple of years my ex kept losing his voice all the time and was getting worse. I suspected his Budgies were the cause, with them being the Parrot family and my having read about things like Psittacosis and farmer's lung that birdkeepers could get. Naturally he was very reluctant to think it was his birds! When we moved house he sold up and as more and more birds were sold, there was a dramatic improvement with his throat, so he sold the lot. I still had a few canaries but they bathed more regularly than the Budgies and shed less dust from their feathers and didn't seem to affect him.

Because of this experience I wouldn't consider feather duvets after. I suppose some people are more susceptible, but then again we can develop sensitivity when there's been none before.

I suppose reaction depends on your body.
My ex and late brother in law worked together on a job.
They weren't removing asbestos, but were near to where it was happening - and security was lax.
My brother in law died 11 years ago, aged 57, from mesothelioma.

I've had feather and down duvets in the past, but now I know how they get the down, I wouldn't by one again, not until I'm sure this practice has stopped:

http://vier-pfoten.bg/us/home/campaigns/farm-animals-/down-from-geese-and-ducks/live-feather-plucking-2/.

When I was a child and lived on the farm I loved my father mattress and pillow loved getting into bed and sinking into it

Goose feathers are best.

Goosey Goosey Gander where shall I wander,
Upstairs, downstairs and in my lady's chamber
There I met an old man who wouldn't say his prayers,
I took him by the left leg and threw him down the stairs.

Who paid for the research? Always the first question I ask ..... especially when I saw the 'could' word used.

My own feeling is that the covers reduce danger if there is indeed any - a bit like the way that masks offer protection from spread of diseases.

We have the same types of quilts that Rollo uses. I bought our first one in 1967/1968 when they were known in the UK as continental quilts so still can't get used to calling them duvets, I'm afraid.

I did buy synthetic ones for the children when they were very young though - washable so never worried about spillages.

It was reported in the British Medical Journal.
..and as I said, I expect a lot has to do with your body's make-up.

Even if the research were poppycock, the thought of Geese being plucked whilst still alive, for their down, is enough to put me off.

I'm not a pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's son
I'm only plucking pheasants 'till the pheasant plucker comes.

Me husband is a keeper, he's a very busy man
I try to understand him and I help him all I can,
But sometimes in an evening I feel a trifle dim
All alone, I'm plucking pheasants, when I'd rather pluck with him.

I'm not a pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's mate
I'm only plucking pheasants 'cos the pheasant plucker's late !

I'm not good at plucking pheasants, at pheasant plucking I get stuck
Though some pheasants find it pleasant I'd rather pluck a duck.
Oh plucking geese is gorgeous, I can pluck a goose with ease
But pheasant plucking's torture because they haven't any grease.

I'm not a pheasant plucker, he has gone out on the tiles
He only plucked one pheasant and I'm sitting here with piles.

You have to pluck them fresh, if it’s fresh they’re not unpleasant,
I knew a man in Dunstable who could pluck a frozen pheasant.
They say the village constable had pheasant plucking sessions
With the vicar on a Sunday ‘tween the first and second lessons.

I'm not a pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's mum
I'm only plucking pheasants 'till the pheasant plucker's come.

My good friend Godfrey is most adept, he's really got the knack
He likes to have a pheasant plucked before he hits the sack.
I like to give a helping hand, I gather up the feathers,
It's really all our pheasant plucking keeps us pair together.

I'm not a pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's friend
I'm only plucking pheasants as a means unto an end !

My husband's in the forest always banging with his gun
If he could hear me half the time I'm sure that he would run,
For there's fluff in all my crannies, there's feathers up my nose
And I'm itching in the kitchen from my head down to my toes.

I'm not a pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's wife
And when we pluck together it's a pheasant plucking life !

Live plucking of geese us illegal in the USA, Canada and most of the EU. IKEA Ocado and others check the provenance of stuff they sell. Biggest source of live plucked down is China a country not known for its ethics.

Duvets at Rollo residences are all made using ethical methods.

True, IKEA down is NOW ethical - but it wasn't in the past.

My ex died of Mesothelioma too Maggie aged 66. The white asbestos was used at his workplace but nowhere near the area where he worked. His father who worked for the same company all of his life lived to his mid eighties and never got it and I've never heard of any of his workmates getting or dying of it and some I still know of are a good age now. Some people are more susceptible as is said. The Budgies my ex kept never affected me like they did him.

Some feathers work their way out of bedding and when it is pressed the air plus I expect tiny feather particles must find their way out into the air. It's known that birds can cause respiratory problems and chickens eg can carry Histoplasmosis on their feathers. It is a reaction of the immune system which may take years of exposure to happen, so I just wouldn't risk it as it's not curable.

I am shocked that live geese could still be plucked alive for their feathers in some countries.