I have a couple of down comforters that my dog has torn up. I wanted to know if the feathers themselves were compostable. I imagine large amounts would just mat and stink up when wet. So if i cant compost them any ideas to keep them out of the waste stream. PS i cant sew.

Feathers are compostable. Feather meal is a Nitrogen source. They will tend to clump when wet so put them in the compost in thin layers rather than dumping a large quantity in all at once.

I would think they can be composted, but don't know if they are chemically treated w/ anything before being used as filling for the comforters – if you are worried at all about that, I would try to determine what the production process involves. If you do compost them, add plenty of other organic matter and mix in well to avoid clumping/matting.

good to know!

Treating them like you would freshly mown grass should keep you in good shape with the down. I'd doubt that they were treated since the oils in them are a part of why they are so warm and most treatments would take the "fluffy" out of them. There might be some insecticides involved, but I would think that would be in the cover, not the down itself.

The oils that help feathers on the birds repel water the birds get from glands and it is spread on the feathers when the birds preen themselves. Once the feathers are plucked, and then cleaned before they are sold and put in pillows and other down filled things, there would be no more oil.
I'm not aware of any reason to treat these feathers with any pesticide when they are used in this manner.

Yeah that would make sense--it's the "fluffy", not the oil that gives the loft for heat.