How do I decide which Drakes to Kill? How many is too many?

[chickensioux]

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Oh yeah, mine are pets so sometimes I forget that people do that....

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I've got a ton of extra ducks. Hubby won't eat duck. He's a pain in the butt...he's lucky I love him so much!

 

[sonjab314]

Out of curiosity, what does duck taste like? I've never had it (and I'm old....that's so sad).

 

[LittleSquidgenHome]

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To me, it mostly resembles the taste of juicy dark meat turkey. But really, it tastes like duck. I think it is delicious and actually much prefer it to chicken or beef for that matter. But I am a little off.

And TennesseeTruly- I wish I lived closer, I would GLADLY take any extras off your hands

 

[KansasKid]

Wild duck has a really gamey taste to it and is not very pleasant if not cooked wrapped in bacon, lol. Tame duck on the other hand such as cayuga's are very good, i accidentally killed my cayuga last summer and went ahead and cooked him. (it doesn't taste like chicken lol)

 

[Froggygirl]

Oh my! Thank you all so very much. I am so grateful.

We originally got the ducks for meat and eggs, but they captured our hearts so the process is going to be rougher on us than we expected. But yes, we will kill them.

Duck is my favorite flavored meat of all! It is fatty and juicy and delightful, if you haven't tried it you should, they're available at many markets. Try it with braised cabbage. It's why we chose these breeds.

I guess I will try for a 3 to one ratio, it is so hard to choose who though.

I guess the next question would be is the killing cone good for ducks too? I heard they have tougher skin than chickens, any other unexpected aspects of duck butchering?

Thanks again!

Froggy

 

[LittleSquidgenHome]

Ducks are much harder to pluck than chickens, I know this to be true, it is not impossible or all that hard really there is just a technique to it. Lots of hot water at the right temperature, one or two drops of dish soap, and the plucking goes pretty easy, IF you are plucking between molts. If it is too early or too late, it can be a pain in the tush, but it can be done. It is trial and error the first couple of ducks. We didn't have any problem with skin toughness in the young ducks, but we have had trouble with a couple of yearlings we butchered last winter. They older the bird the tougher the skin and meat. Duck skin is thicker, but not necessarily tougher.

As far as a killing cone, I suppose if they are the same size as the chickens the cone should work the same, their heads are bigger than chickens though so I would check to see if they fit in the cone before butcher day. You might need a bigger cone to accommodate the bill and dome. We use my Great Grandfathers hatchet, it has probably dispatched thousands of fowl over the last hundred plus years. It is not the most delicate or clean method, but it is very fast, very accurate, and as painless as possible. Be sure to sequester the doomed few 12-24 hours before the deed and don't feed them. Be as quick as possible and for heaven sake if they have real names, DONT EAT THEM. Only a select few of our ducks have names the rest we call lunch

 

[redhen]

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It is NASTY.. greasy and very "dark" meat tasting...

Just my opinion..

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

I eat chicken, duck, rabbit, quail, and many other meats...I've also raised or had pets of the things I've eaten...

However I do not raise animals for food...I name my animals - and if it has a name it gets buried = not eaten - lol. Now my neighbors they raise pigs, goat, and every year a cow for consumption and I can deal with that, I can respect that...but i hate it when I get attached to the cow and then i know within the week they're going to butcher it...Happened last year told myself this year I wasn't going to ahve nothing to do with the cow and low and behold I started going out and feeding it...X_x by this weekend it will be dispatched and packed in the freezer and such as part of the fourth of july barbeque...Needless to say I won't be going to the neighbor's for fourth of july party - lol.

duck tastes like a very juicy greasy dark turkey meat. It can be cooked different ways and some ways are better than others. Its like turkey and quail, rabbit or deer meat, some people just don't like it and others love it. I love deer meat and rabbit more than quail or duck but they all have their own taste and ways of cooking.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

It must depend on the duck breed. My Muscovies are definately not greasy. Maybe because I skin them, but there really isn't much fat on them either way. My Dh doesn't really care for duck, but he loves the duck sausage I make. Its the one meat that he doesn't have a problem with digesting. I name some, sooner or later they are still meat for the table. I feed them well and treat them well and they return the favor in time.