Given the incredible number of chickens that are processed every single minute across the world, this shouldn't be surprising but it's easy to see why you might be surprised if you never considered where all the stuff that isn't meat goes.

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hennell 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I found it pretty surprising. It would not have surprised me at all if we made fake plastic feathers and burned or buried even more real ones because it works out fractionally 'cheaper' to make new then collect and wash/treat the old.

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tobyjsullivan 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Honestly, I’d still be surprised to learn feathers in America are produced from American poultry. Far more likely the local ones get burned and everything for sale is shipped across the ocean because cheaper.

	▲	butvacuum 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Feathers? Not a chance. Far too much volume per unit weight. And if they're compressed, you end up with only broken feathers.
	▲	exasperaited 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Or they don't get burned but they do get shipped across the ocean to be processed, and then shipped back… that's the commercial way

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layer8 an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It’s also because real feathers are similarly durable as plastic feathers would be. Plants are very cheap to grow as well, but plastic plants are nevertheless a thing.

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fundad 44 minutes ago | parent | prev [-]

Feather meal is used in animal feed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feather_meal

Manure is also fed to cows.

https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g2077

"Poultry litter can be used as a feedstuff... There are currently no federal or Missouri regulations governing the use of poultry litter as a feedstuff"