Butchering Age

[redsoxs]

Hi...I have a rookie duck question. I have looked back in the archives about the best age for butchering ducks - I have 5 pekins and 1 Cayuga. I also did research on the net but find ambiguous answers. Basically, I don't want a pin feather fiasco to ruin my first foray into processing ducks. The birds in question were born April 9. By my count that makes them about 15 weeks. I have read postings that say wait until after 12 weeks, wait until after 16 weeks, and wait until after 18 weeks to avoid problems with pin feathers that early processing dates would incur. Any advice is appreciated - thanks!