Does anyone ever measure the weight of a feather? Well, the old saying about as light as a feather may give you an insight. There are two types of feathers in each bird, vaned and down feathers.
Its shape, sizes, colors, and patterns are also various. In the following article, learn about the weight of feathers compared to other objects. Here is the explanation.
How Much Does a Feather Weigh?
In general, a feather weighs about 0.000289 ounces or 0.0082 grams. Of course, it is a very light object.
Ornithologists who study birds also research their feathers. According to their study, the estimated measurement of feathers is calculated by their body weight. They use it as a proportion between the body and feather.
Let see the example found in a typical chicken. Its feathers are around 74 grams or 3.3% of its overall body mass. For meat production, it is approximately around 5 pounds.
Meanwhile, it will be different in wild birds. They have approximately 1,000 to 25,000 feathers. This amount can give 15 to 20 percent of the wild birds’ overall mass.
A study mentions that the ostrich has the heaviest feathers compared to other birds. On average, it has more mass than others. For a single feather, the peacock tail is the heaviest.
Compared to A Metal
We can also use precious metals like gold to give their measurement comparison. To ease the process, let us apply the ‘troy’ system. In a pound, you will get 12 ounces.
If we take a pound of feathers, its mass is 454 grams. While in a pound of gold, it is only 373 grams. That is why the feathers are heavier than gold.
Let’s compare it with lead. The measurement shows an equal amount between a pound of lead and a pound of feathers. However, this amount will be different once we use other metals.
Besides, we will get the same result in steel. If we compare 100 pounds of steel and feather, they have the same weight. Some people guess that steel is heavier than feathers.
The mass and density of feathers can make people confused. One hundred pounds of feathers are larger and more buoyant to the surrounding air. Thus, it gives more volume to the feathers.
Compared to A Brick
From the preceding information, we learn that a pound of feathers is heavier than gold. Yet, how many feathers in a pound? It contains approximately 275-300 feathers.
Can we guess which one is heavier between bricks and feathers? It can be a tricky question as well because we will know that their weight is equal. Therefore, 1 pound of feathers can equal 1 pound of brick.
In any amount, both have an equal measurement, whether for 1 pound or 10 pounds. The bricks and feathers have the same weight as explained in the previous paragraph.
However, due to the mass and density, we may assume that bricks are heavier than feathers. As mentioned earlier, feathers are lighter in the surrounding air.
FAQs About Feather
- How much does a feather weigh in grams? a feather weighs about 0.0082 grams
- How many feathers is a kilogram? a feather weighs about 0,0082 grams, which means in 1 kg, there are 121,951 feathers.
- What’s heavier, a kg of steel or feathers? A kilogram of steel weighs somewhat more than 1 kilogram of feathers. Because feathers have a lower density than other materials, 1 kg of a feather will displace more air.
