[Cob] Chicken feathers

[Bill Christensen]

At 5:55 PM -0800 1/1/09, Luanna Dycus wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I saw something interesting on Bill Nye (green channel).  Someone is 
>using chicken feathers to make backer boards for computer circuit 
>boards using soy resin as a binder.  They said that USA produces 2 
>billion pounds of feathers going to landfills per year.  My thought 
>was how to use them for insulation.  Any ideas?

it's been done - as others have mentioned, quilts and pillows have 
long been made with feathers of various foul.

For those that remember the (supposed) origins of the band name The 
Crickets from the movie The Buddy Holly Story, the boys were 
practicing/recording in the garage or some such outbuilding, which 
was insulated with chicken feathers.  A cricket was hiding in them 
and they could hear it on the tapes.  In the movie I think I remember 
them pulling off the chicken wire which was holding the feathers in 
place in order to chase the little guy down.

I don't know what kind of practical considerations there would be 
with using feathers.  As others mentioned, they might harbor unwanted 
critters or pathogens.  They might also be real nasty if they got 
wet.  You'd have to ask elsewhere for answers to those kinds of 
questions.


-- 
Bill Christensen
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