Ducks! Should have done this AGES ago!

[bairo]

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hmm, and I was all set for rabbits in march. im never clicking another thread for animals I dont already have

 

[Recon]

I dunno about some of this discussion...... I've done a lot of ducks and geese.... I found them to be marginally more difficult than chickens but not really unbearably so...... especially not unbearably so when measured against how incredibly delicious they are smoked. My mouth starts watering just looking at a live goose!

But I have found them to be MESSY MESSY MESSY because they play in their water until the living quarters is a soupy wet mess! Ducks much more so than geese.

Luckily we have a pond so I kick them out as soon as they are big enough to not be killed by hawks, feed them copiously and then collect them up when it's time to butcher.

 

[EggsForIHOP]

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Ours are just the pekins from Ideal - my well meaning husband came up to the computer after I had been playing around...and finalized an order! I WAS JUST LOOKING and WAS going to order some from metzer in the spring - and probably still will - but this is a good, small start - the trial run on raising ducklings for us

As for the rabbits bairo...we have rabbits...MAN EATING RABBITS! I'll take the personality of poultry ANY day over our mean little California doe! She's just waiting for the day I trip and fall with her cage door open, I know it! I admit, I'm having LOADS more fun with the meat birds! We finally have the room outside in terms of land AND inside the freezer for storage purposes to play a little, raise different things, experiment...and I am LOVING it! Of course...the edible outcome is REALLY nice

And seriously, I must just move so slow I don't notice, because for me,plucking a duck has never been an issue anymore so than any other poultry - I'd rather pluck a nice sized duck than skin a big ol' hog ANY day! The tasty factor sure does help too, I LOVE crispy roasted skin on my birds!

I really think I am a farming nerd...really...I am having WAY too much fun with this stuff!

 

[Oregon Blues]

Pekin ducks are brilliant at producing meat in a very efficient way.

Roast duck is so delicious that it is worth the effort to pluck. A dressed duck is so much more valuable than a chicken that you get paid back for the time invested. You'll never see duck at the market for 70 cents a pound like a sale chicken.

I've dressed and plucked 30 ducks this year. I intend to do it again next year.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I raised ducks for the first time this year. I got Pekins from a friend who has had them for a few years and they do all their own butchering. They have a set up for it, so it is not so bad, and they have plenty of people to do it in an assembly line. If we were to do ours, well, sets just say there is no 'we' in 'I'.
I asked the guy I take all my chickens to and he said he won't do them until it starts getting real cold because the feathers are easier then. Until it gets cold they apparently have tons of pin feathers. But, I waited too late to call him with mine, he is closed for the winter and I now need to find someone else to do them. I have 9 Pekins and 3 Welsh Harlequin drakes to get done.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Don't get me wrong, I love duck, and so do my customers but if you catch them in a phase where there is pin feathers.... OUCH! It will easily take 25-30 minutes per duck to pick each feather out. I ended up using wax and pliers, even still it was a PITA... however the money / duck kind of made it easier. Each duck retailed for about $18-$24 / duck.

Honestly though, from a business standpoint, if I can't do them quicker... it's a deal breaker. I'm so busy in the summer that I can't take a whole day just to process 50 ducks. I was so excited though because raising them was so easy, I was impressed at how well they did. I ended up with 40 ducks in a 10x12 tractor and it was a perfect setup. It's so nice to move the pen and know that you don't have to mess with cleaning up after them, ducks in a barn are a disaster. Slatted flooring would have to be a must inside.

If you're wanting to raise ducks, the raising part is not the issue. If you have a processor, I would go that route for home use. Worth every dollar at $6.00 / duck, I know that our local processor is around that price as well and only a $1.50 / chicken.

I'm going to try one more time and process at 7 weeks. The Metzers claim that they dress at 5 pounds at 7 weeks with no pin feathers. I believe it because at 7 weeks they are all down/fluff. I really liked the wax because it got the down/fluff off really well along with the yellow fat. It cleaned the bird up nice but it didn't pull out all of the pin feathers. This is their words through an e-mail:

The ideal ages to process ducks is at about 7 weeks and 12 weeks. This is when their feathers are mature and before the next molting phase. So you might run into pinfeather problems at 10 weeks (new feathers breaking through the skin).

Here is the link to the hatchery and the ducks that I used. As far as growing, weight, size of breast, they were hands down the best "pekin" blood that I have every tried. If I were to raise ducks for meat on a regular basis, Metzer would be the only ones that I would go with.

http://www.metzerfarms.com/GrimaudH...brid Pekin&BirdType=Duck&ID=GRH&CustID=545813

 

[EggsForIHOP]

Brunty_Farms - I can TOTALLY see how from a business stand point, time lost would be equal to money lost, but you do have to admit a little bit, some people (like myself) have a little time on their hands to do this stuff, and aren't really worried about the cost factor as for me, it's not like I've got plans for a hot date anyways and it is not a business for me either - just something I like to do by raising our own meat

ETA:

Plus, when it comes to letting others process - I'd really rather save my money and put it towards something like a beef steer or hog over birds - after the marathon weekend that was processing our own hog, followed by several more marathons of tamales and lard and such from said hog...yeah, I'll be game to try it again, but I would far rather pluck ducks over that crazy hot mess of pork and pork products ANY day and I couldn't even imagine what I would do with a whole cow yet

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Oh ya, that's completely understandable. I wasn't trying to convince you not to do it, just that it's not easy that's all. If I was doing ducks for my personal use, I'm not sure if I would do them or not. I've never just decided to grow ducks for me, now quail or pheasant on the other hand.... that's a different story!

Either way, good luck with them... they sure will taste good.

 

[sydney13]

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hmm, and I was all set for rabbits in march. im never clicking another thread for animals I dont already have

 

[triplepurpose]

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Wow, it took me about an hour to pluck my first duck and I thought that was pretty good!