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Original poster

Touching a bird feather

91 replies

user19888891 · 18/06/2024 17:23

DH came home from work and I’ve had the kids all day. We’d been out in the garden and some of the toys were lying out. Almost instantly after looking out the window he says ‘I hope they weren’t playing with that feather’. To which I said ‘why?’ And he said ‘because it’s fucking disgusting’. So I said yes they had and it’s not a problem. He then said he wasn’t talking about it any further, or words to that effect, then proceeds to go out to the garden straight away to lift the feather with a bit of kitchen roll and put it in the bin. To be clear, this was a loose feather found in the garden, appears to be from a seagull. It wasn’t from a carcass or roadkill etc.
I really don’t see this issue? The kids are young and like exploring and they cleaned their hands when they got in. I think his reaction is quite odd because he seemed to think I was being outrageous for allowing this to happen? Who is being unreasonable?

OP posts:
PiranhaPeaches · 18/06/2024 17:59

Nothing inherently bad about it but I would make sure I washed my hands.

GeneralMusings · 18/06/2024 17:56

I wouldn't like my kids playing or touching feathers (same kind of category as "dead animals" in my mind)

Thisoldheartofmine · 18/06/2024 17:55

I'm in the avoid touching bird feather camp.
Has the quill end been in the bird's skin? I assume it has.

Sue152 · 18/06/2024 17:54

We used to collect pheasant feathers. never washed our hands. I even remember having to take one in to make a quill at primary school. Never caught any diseases or got mites, in fact I don't think avian mites can survive for long if they're not on a bird. It's also very rare for bird flu to pass to humans. Honestly people are so over protective these days, thinking that it's healthier to always be obsessively clean, washing hands every 5 minutes:

'Astonishing pieces of research such as Hunt for the Origin of Allergy and Innate Immunity and Asthma Risk have compared genetically homogenous groups that have strikingly different lifestyles – respectively, the urbanised Finnish and rural Russian populations of Karelia, and children on traditional Amish and more industrialised Hutterite farms in the US – and how they show huge disparities in the prevalence of allergy. This science shows that it’s the distance from, and lack of exposure to, natural environments that is driving the allergy epidemic in modern life.'

No wonder there's an allergy epidemic when even a feather on the ground is considered dirty and diseased. I remember reading that people were being encourage not to wash their hands after stroking their pets to try to improve the situation.

Glipsy · 18/06/2024 17:52

Can’t be much dirtier than the many other things they touch. Do you have pets?

Didimum · 18/06/2024 17:50

I’m super lax with things like this usually but my DH recently kicked up a fuss about the kids playing with feathers because of increased avian flu. He’s NHS so does see the shit end of these things.

thistimelastweek · 18/06/2024 17:46

He might perhaps have overstated his case but I would give the bird feather a steer too

usernother · 18/06/2024 17:46

He's mad as a hatter.

Mercedes45 · 18/06/2024 17:41

I've picked up a feather before and didn't bother to wash my hands after

Alittlefrustrated · 18/06/2024 17:35

I wouldn't encourage it, and would stop them and tell them to wash their hands, but I wouldn't worry about it either. The chances of catching anything worrying are low, assuming no bird flu in the area. Children (and adults) have always picked up feathers.

CJ0374 · 18/06/2024 17:31

I agree that we have all likely picked up feathers as children, but with modern knowledge, I wouldn't think its a good thing at all. How old are the children? Could they have licked their hands, put their hand in their hair before they were washed? I'd be concerned about mites or bird flu. How do you know the feather wasn't from a diseased bird?

The virus that causes bird flu can stay infectious in faeces, carcases and feathers for around 50 days
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/bird-flu-avian-influenza-housing-your-birds-safely#:~:text=Your%20outdoor%20area%20may%20be,feathers%20for%20around%2050%20days.

Bird flu (avian influenza): housing your birds safely

Manage your birds’ housing and welfare when they must be kept inside because of disease outbreaks.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/bird-flu-avian-influenza-housing-your-birds-safely#:~:text=Your%20outdoor%20area%20may%20be,feathers%20for%20around%2050%20days.

GasPanic · 18/06/2024 17:31

I wouldn't pick up random bird feathers or bits of animal fur.

Wild animals have parasites and mites and various unpleasant bacteria and are best left alone.

And while you may wash your hands afterwards, your kids may stick their fingers in their mouths or hair before they wash them, or transfer stuff to their clothes.

Still, I doubt whether they are likely to die from the experience.

OneTC · 18/06/2024 17:27

DH is weird

Gakpo · 18/06/2024 17:27

You’re not unreasonable, he is.

Kids pick up crap constantly.

stayathomer · 18/06/2024 17:26

Is this a man thing? Because my dad always said the same and dh said it once too. We used to definitely pick up bird feathers we found and as you said we’d have washed our hands afterwards but both would go on about diseases

AGodawfulsmallaffair · 18/06/2024 17:24

He’s nuts. Children have picked up feathers since time began.