Discussion on Breeding up Hatchery Quality Birds.

[zooweemama]

"Cull" simply means to remove from the breeding flock. You can keep the ducks and not hatch their eggs. That is culling.

You can sell as pets (as long as the buyer understands it is pet quality). You can put them into your freezer, because roast duck is delicious.

One thing that I do is to limit my hatching. There is no reason to hatch 200 eggs when I want 2 replacement ducks. I don't want to have to figure out what to do with 198 excess hatchlings.

And, of course, there will be more promising ducklings than I want for myself and these can go out to show homes, or to people who enjoy quality purebred animals.

At my house, evaluating the carcass is part of selecting the best for my flock. So I only keep the very best and some get butchered and have their structure, skeleton, muscle size, and flavor evaluated. Presenting well on the table is part of the function of livestock, so I consider it when I am breeding.

Thank you! That was very helpful!