Feathers form the main outer protection of the bird´s body. Feathers have a flat, two-dimensional shape with a continuous quill in the middle that is basically a shaft. Fine closely spaced feather barbules grow from the shaft. These barbules are also called vane.
Feathers are heavier than down.
The plumage of waterfowl is suited for the use as bedfeathers, more precisely the plumage of geese and ducks. Feathers deriving from waterfowl have a strongly curved quill (the shaft of the feather with fine barbules) ensuring that feathers do not lose their resilience over time. This property, which means the capacity to recover its original shape after having been compressed, forms the basis for heat insulation. If the quilt is aired, small air-filled pockets will be formed. Since air is a poor heat conductor, the countless hollows offer protection from cold.
The bedfeathers used as filling material for duvets and pillows almost exclusively originate from domestic ducks and geese. Eiderducks living in the wild are an exception, since their down (eiderdown) are collected from the nests after the young leave the nest.
Valid terms and definitions for down and feathers have been stipulated in a standard (EN 1885).
Excerpts from the standard (illustrations and definitions, for instance “down”, “goose feather”, “processed feather”) are available on www.edfa.eu -> Consumer information -> Glossary.
Quelle
Verband der Deutschen Daunen- und Federnindustrie e.V.
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