Eating muscovy ducks?

[kuntrygirl]

I processed 10 Muscovies this weekend.  They were 8.5-9.5 weeks old.  The drakes had a processed weight of about 6.5 lbs and and hens were closer to 4.0.  We have a Featherman plucker and scalding tank.  We also waxed the bids to get pin feathers off.  We did the ducks at the end of a day where we also did 20 Freedom Rangers.  The scalding time on the ducks was about 4x as long to get feathers off as compared to the chickens.  The wax was a complete mess.  I'll be scraping wax for weeks.  In the end the bids came out mostly clean and only needed a couple pin feathers pulled by hand at the end.  This was my first attempt processing Muscovies.  I hope they are tasty--We'll try the first one this weekend.  At this point, I'm not sure I ever want to do it again--chickens were so much easier.  I was reminded of the  phrase "Duck is a 4 letter word".  Happy to answer any questions.  

You will love the meat. We hatch out 150 - 200 muscovys at one time. We have processed as many as 40 drakes in a day. It's a lot of hard work but it pays off in the end when you have that much meat in your freezer. We waxed and skinned.

 

[pawtraitart]

BTW, can anyone tell me, do Muscovy drakes get that curled tail feather like other breeds of duck do? I know the drakes are larger and get more of the red stuff on their faces (can't think of the word for it) than the hens do, but I have a hard time telling them apart when they aren't full grown yet.

The drakes grow faster and have bigger feet than the hens. Side by side, I can tell male/female apart before they start to feather out. I love my muscovy ducks!

 

[syount]

I did not save the feathers. I plucked only because I had the whole setup ready to go for the chickens--and am hoping the skin is good. Glad to hear you think the meat is worth the effort.

 

[cutechick2010]

You will love the meat. We hatch out 150 - 200 muscovys at one time. We have processed as many as 40 drakes in a day. It's a lot of hard work but it pays off in the end when you have that much meat in your freezer. We waxed and skinned.

What is the point of the waxing?

 

[syount]

The waxing gets out the pin feathers that won't come out with the plucking. The pin feathers nearly covered the breast on the ducks we processed.

 

[yinepu]

I found a video on youtube for anyone who wants to see the process.. it's not my video but we do it the same way (we use Duck Wax or a blend of Duck Wax and beeswax..)

 

[romualdas]

A trio of muscovies can produce 60+ young a yr. . Sell half at auction (30 times 10 = 300) leaving 30 for table .Selling them in trios ( one male to two females ) will bring a better price ,and a better chance for growers to get birds. also leaving more larger males for your table .

 

[cutechick2010]

A trio of muscovies can produce 60+ young a yr. . Sell half at auction (30 times 10 = 300) leaving 30 for table .Selling them in trios ( one male to two females ) will bring a better price ,and a better chance for growers to get birds. also leaving more larger males for your table .

Only if you are able to get some hens in the first place! LOL I thought I had a trio this spring, turned out I had a mature drake and two juvenile drakes. So I guess I will learn to process ducks on one of these drakes and hope to get some hens later.

 

[romualdas]

Best , go to a local breeder ,and pick from a litter . There are a lot of growers that grow for own table. Best way to locate them , ask at feed stores in the country.

 

[DiamondDust]

I butchered my first Muscovies last year and was so happy with the result that I am raising more for the freezer this year. I have to say the meat reminded me of beef and I used the left overs in a shredded beef/taco recipe. My kids never knew it wasn't shredded beef, they couldn't tell the difference. I had bought a pair last year plus 8 ducklings. I kept two of the ducklings that were hens and butchered the rest (keeping the adult pair I had bought too). A couple of weeks ago one of the hens (that was a duckling just last year) hatched 18 ducklings of her own! I lost one the first week but so far she has kept all the rest safe, even though they are penned up with the chickens to keep them safe from predators. I have another hen setting on eggs now. I have no idea how many eggs she has or how well she will do at hatching them out but I'm quite anxious to see as she is a lovely white/fawn color and I'd love to see what she will produce with my blue and white male. I have one other hen (brown and white) that seems to be looking for a place to nest so I will probably be overrun with ducklings in a month or so.