How many to set? (Duck Meat Plans)

[KikiDeAnime]

How many to set?......how ever much freezer space you have?
Curious, at what age will you slaughter the ducks?
You may need grow out space too.

My plans are for when we move so that I will have enough space. And I will be butchering them close to the age when I sell the females.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

How many to set?......how ever much freezer space you have?
Curious, at what age will you slaughter the ducks?
You may need grow out space too.

@KikiDeAnime aart has a good point. Whole birds take up a TON of freezer space.

I’d go buy a good ole Pekin duck to try before raising a whole lot. Duck is definitely different that chicken. And game ducks are even more different than Pekin. I’ve had some game duck that I honestly hated for the gaminess. Just something to keep in mind, too.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

To get started on answering how many you would need to put back for at least 3 months, how many people in your household would be eating the ducks? How many days of the week would you consider making duck for dinner?

You also have to consider things like when you incubate, you may not get a 100% hatch rate, and out of the ones that do hatch, the ratio will be different every time with how many males and females you get. I would at least try for 50-50, usually it isn't like that, but statistically it supposedly is!

There are 6 people that live together. And everyone would be eating whatever is for dinner.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

@KikiDeAnime aart has a good point. Whole birds take up a TON of freezer space.

I’d go buy a good ole Pekin duck to try before raising a whole lot. Duck is definitely different that chicken. And game ducks are even more different than Pekin. I’ve had some game duck that I honestly hated for the gaminess. Just something to keep in mind, too.

As I said in my original post, I don't want any suggestions for breeds

 

[humblehillsfarm]

As I said in my original post, I don't want any suggestions for breeds

I wasn’t suggesting a breed, merely suggesting you eat duck (and Pekin will be the only duck you find in a store) before butchering a bunch of animals nobody winds up enjoying.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

I wasn’t suggesting a breed, merely suggesting you eat duck (and Pekin will be the only duck you find in a store) before butchering a bunch of animals nobody winds up enjoying.

Sorry! I tend to misread posts a lot.
I'll have to ask my parents to find a whole duck somewhere as I haven't been able to find any in the stores in town.

 

[Tclloyd0812]

There are 6 people that live together. And everyone would be eating whatever is for dinner.

Ok I understand. If there are 6 people in the home, depending on the size of the duck since all breeds are different and not all butchered birds weigh the same, it could take up to 2 ducks to feed all 6 people, depending on their appetite for duck as well as the duck's weight and meat ratio.

I would research this more and kind of get an idea on what your family's needs would be based on the breed you have chosen to process. Like @humblehillsfarm mentioned, if you haven't had duck before you may want to try out a duck from the store or from someone local with all of your family to give you an idea on how many ducks you'd be consuming per week. I understand you say they would eat whatever was made, but if someone doesn't like duck much, or if you realize that your family can eat 2 ducks for dinner versus just 1, that would have to be accounted for also.

That being said, there is much to research and consider when it comes to raising meat birds of any kind. I would start small at first and kind of go from there.


If I may ask, what breed did you end up choosing?

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Ok I understand. If there are 6 people in the home, depending on the size of the duck since all breeds are different and not all butchered birds weigh the same, it could take up to 2 ducks to feed all 6 people, depending on their appetite for duck as well as the duck's weight and meat ratio.

I would research this more and kind of get an idea on what your family's needs would be based on the breed you have chosen to process. Like @humblehillsfarm mentioned, if you haven't had duck before you may want to try out a duck from the store or from someone local with all of your family to give you an idea on how many ducks you'd be consuming per week. I understand you say they would eat whatever was made, but if someone doesn't like duck much, or if you realize that your family can eat 2 ducks for dinner versus just 1, that would have to be accounted for also.

That being said, there is much to research and consider when it comes to raising meat birds of any kind. I would start small at first and kind of go from there.


If I may ask, what breed did you end up choosing?

I'll be breeding our KC drake to our 2 WH ducks as I'm not allowed to buy any more ducks. I was given the okay for selling and eating any we hatch out though. I'm liking the plumpness of both breeds.

Also for anyone wondering, we have: 1 KC drake, 2 Indian Runner ducks, 2 Welsh Harlequin ducks, and 1 KC/Indian Runner mix duck(offspring).

 

[Tclloyd0812]

Yes.

Also, this is off topic from my post but could you tell me more about the deer meat? What was your favorite way to cook it?
I'm currently planning on getting trained to use a gun properly before I get a hunting license. I forgot what type of hunting gun my grandfather left for me but I've been wanting to get what I need to go hunting for deer.

I've been hunting since I was super young. I haven't hunted in probably 2 years when my husband and I still lived in Texas, but this year we want to put a deer or 2 in the freezer since it's just him and I. We have had deer sent to a processor before which is the easy way out, doesn't cost much and they bag up everything ready to freeze. You can choose what you want the meat processed for, like sausage, steaks, stew meats, and ground deer.
We've also processed our own deer at home before with a meat grinder and some sharp knives. My husband prefers to do it this way because it saves money but it is a little time consuming, although not hard at all if you're used to it. The only difference is that for the sausages and ground deer, I'd definitely add some fat like ground beef or even lard since deer is so lean and doesn't hold up very well unless mixed with beef or fat.
Anyways, deer can be cooked many ways. It's my favorite meat. My favorite is all of it of course. I love the sausage, we make tacos with the ground deer, I love deer stew, and of course chicken fried deer steaks.

As far as a gun, just about any type of rifle works, although I'd use one meant for larger animals like a hunting rifle, a 243 or 223. You could get away with a 22 if you use the right bullets and make a head shot. I probably wouldn't use a shotgun or handgun unless that was all you had...
You can also use bows if that's your thing.

 

[Tclloyd0812]

I'll be breeding our KC drake to our 2 WH ducks as I'm not allowed to buy any more ducks. I was given the okay for selling and eating any we hatch out though. I'm liking the plumpness of both breeds.

Also for anyone wondering, we have: 1 KC drake, 2 Indian Runner ducks, 2 Welsh Harlequin ducks, and 1 KC/Indian Runner mix duck(offspring).

Those are good breeds. I have Khaki Cambells and I love the Indian runners too.