Ep 4. Goose Down Plucker

Mike Rowe is back with his trademark sense of humor and unflinching work ethic in Dirty Jobs season 5 episode 4, titled "Goose Down Plucker." In this episode, Mike travels to Wyoming to work with a family who has been in the down business for generations.

The episode starts with Mike meeting with the family and getting a tour of their facility, which is used for plucking feathers from geese. The plucked feathers are used for a variety of products such as pillows, comforters, and jackets. The task of plucking feathers from geese is tedious and time-consuming, and requires special skills to avoid damaging the feathers. Mike is eager to learn these skills and get to work.

Mike's first job is to catch the geese and transport them to the plucking room. Catching the geese is no easy task, but with the help of the family, Mike is able to get the job done. Once the geese are in the plucking room, Mike is introduced to the plucking machine, which requires a delicate touch to avoid damaging the feathers. The plucking machine removes the feathers from the geese at a rapid pace, but there are always a few stubborn feathers that need to be removed manually. Mike gets a taste of the manual process and quickly realizes how difficult it is to remove the remaining feathers without damaging the valuable down.

As the day progresses, Mike works with the family to pluck hundreds of geese. He gains a newfound appreciation for the work that goes into creating down products. His work is far from over, as he also gets to witness the cleaning and sorting process. The down is washed several times to remove any dirt or impurities and then sorted by quality. Only the highest quality down is used for the most valuable products.

In addition to his work with the geese, Mike also gets to try his hand at creating down products. He works with a seamstress to create a pillow using the down he helped extract. With his newly learned skills, Mike is able to appreciate the value of the down products he helped create.

Throughout the episode, Mike's humor shines through as he always has a witty comment or funny observation to make. However, he takes the job seriously and works hard alongside the family to get the job done. The episodes of Dirty Jobs always offer a unique and often overlooked perspective on our society's essential but oftentimes overlooked jobs. "Goose Down Plucker" is no exception, shedding light on the hard work and dedication required to create top-quality down products.