What is the difference between duck down and goose down?
With a microscope you can see tiny barbs on the smallest fibers of duck down, but not on goose down. These barbs make duck down cling together. From this you might conclude that duck down is superior, and in fact the most prized down in the world, Eider down, clings together as if it were one piece. In the commercial world, however, duck are almost never mature by the time their down is collected. Most comes from restaurant ducklings that never are over six weeks old. The down is more like fuzz than mature down. The way mature duck down clings together presents a problem for the down processors when they separate the down from the feathers. For this reason it is usually mixed with goose down. This is perfectly legal as long as the percentage is small. Duck down also has more natural oils than goose down, and unless it gets extra washing, it retains a strong odor. It is possible to get properly washed and separated duck down exceeding 600 fill power. We have used some in the past. The s
