Huntress you asked to know how it went and I know I have searched thread after thread for details so I bring you my Saga. MY SETUP worked well. I made a list several days before of all the little things I would need and I set up all the bigger items the night before. I put up two pieces of plywood, one to give me privacy from the ducks and one from the road - it is not too close but it made me feel better that no one could see. I pulled over an old table my husband had been using for cutting lumber on. I have some commercial bakery sheets that are about 20" by 30" I used two of them. One had all my tools, etc. and the other just for the bird. I didn't have the biggest garbage bag but the white ones with the red ties and the duck was too long for it so the tray contained everything well. I had also written out all your instruction and had them on a clipboard.
TOOLS: Being a novice, I took extras I took an extra knife, two pairs of gloves, two sets of chicken shears, extra bags and paper towels, some Kleenex, my sharpening stone, I used the big canner, put soap in it in the kitchen then filled it with water from the hose I had draped over the fence. We had made a cone from a road cone with about 3 " cut off the bottom with the recip saw. We nailed it to a tall sawhorse, I had a tall bucket underneath raised a little higher on two bricks. I am getting close to retirement age so I took a chair and also put down a folded cardboard box under my feet. It is getting a little cool here in British Columbia so I made sure I had several layers of clothes on.
Now the FIRST problem. My husband (with a farm background) refused to participate and was at work. I found that I could not reach the ducks in their small run as it was too tall and they were panicking and running back and forth. Once I caught the one I wanted and put him under my arm, he was quiet. He was quiet in the cone also which fit perfectly.
SECOND problem. My knife was not sharp enough. It was supposedly an old skinning knife that my husband had given me. MY ADVICE to anyone just starting is DO NOT DO this at all if you don't KNOW FOR SURE that your blade is really sharp. I ended up coming into the house searching for anything I thought would work and finding a box cutter with blade and that didn't even work well. Enough said.
I had read so much about the skin and fat being wonderful that I thought I would try to skin the breast so after I dunked him I just worked the water into that section and then plucked. That part actually was rather peaceful. It was Sunday so there was not much traffic, the sun was shining, a nice crisp fall day. At this point I couldn't follow Huntress method and realized after a while that I should have paid more attention to the suggestion of leaving the meat on the breast bone - after having cut half of it that is what I did. The shears works well. By this time I have had to sit down several times as my back is just screaming at me and I finally realize that the table is much too low. I worked the one Knee well but had trouble with the second and wonder if it is because by now the bird is getting cold and seems stiff. I took me an hour and a half. I did take the neck and the heart. I didn't pierce the gall bladder but while I was wording the liver out there was a drop of bile perhaps I squeezed in the wrong spot so I was only sure that the portion over my fingers was uncontaminated so only took that. I realized I was done. I had thought of taking the first section of wing but when I felt one I realized there was almost no meat. I tied the carcass and paper towels up took my three little bags of meat and went into the house I forgot the bucket with the blood and it was harder to clean later as it had dried. I had a drink and a rest. After three hours I started to cry. I really treated my self gently, my husband always has a cooked dinner - he didn't get one that night. All I wanted to eat was starch and then had some peanut butter. I am also glad I didn't have to work on Monday as I was still feeling a bit delicate.
The lady we got the eggs from had wanted to breed from one of mine, and as my husband left Sunday morning I found out he was really not wanting PeeP to be "done" either so I asked her and she was willing to buy back both of them. I then phoned her back and told her she needed to bring crates for 3 not 2 so that is the end of my ducks for now. I hope to start afresh nest year with a secure pen, and will do a few other things differently in raising them.
