ducks and turkeys the same as chickens?

[ltlchicken]

ranger and broilers need to be processed by a certain date to taste good. are turkeys and ducks that way too? i'm planning on getting some pekins and narris and was wondering do i need to time the narris hatching date backwards from thanksgiving or can i let them grow and dispatch them at a later date (before they're a year old). also with pekins, i've heard the best time to dispatch them is at around 8-9 weeks. easier to get the feathers off. but will the meat be chewy if i let them go to 6 months and process them?

thanks.

 

[greyfields]

I hatch in March, April and May and don't process some until November. They're absolutely fine to eat at that age. You get a nice big roasting duck who'll have started putting his fat on for the winter.

The processor surely hates me, though.

 

[ltlchicken]

Quote:
that's what i was thinking (about the fat content). if you process that early, you'll miss out on the fat.

thanks.

 

[Poler]

If your going to do it yourself, turkeys and ducks are somewhat harder to pluck, turkeys because of the sheer size, and ducks... well ducks are made to go on water, so they have more oil in their feathers than a chicken does, making it more difficult (least for me) to scald and pluck.

 

[Bossroo]

Quote:
Try puting some liquid dishsoap in the hot water. That helps to disipate the oils in the duck's feathers.

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
That's why we went to skinning ducks. less than 10 minutes per duck start to finish

Steve in NC