i processed a few pekin ducks

[jenny_kap]

a week ago i processed 4 pekin ducks and today i processed 3 more. the first ones were 50 days old and the others were almost 2 months old. they are huge!!!! comparing with the meat chickens that i processed when they were 8 weeks old, the ducks are much bigger. i am delighted!!!! 7 done, 23 more to go (from the first batch).

it is true there it is much more work with the ducks, but they are so worth it

 

[Denninmi]

Any idea how much they weigh dressed out?

 

[jenny_kap]

Quote:
about 6 lb each. i didn't weight them, but i think this is it. i understood they would get to be 10-11lb when they are 12 weeks old, but i have too many and i'm exhausted already. anyway, i'm happy the way they are now.
ETA: my birds are fed with corn and wheat, not concentrated food. that's why i believe the result is great.

 

[homesteadapps]

Ducks are great. 8 - 12 week meat and sustainable if you incubate your own.

By the way a lady at the local hatchery gave us a suggestion for plucking ducks.

Dip up and down just like chickens. Pull the primary feathers. Re-dip and wrap in newspaper for a few minutes. She said the remaining feathers should rub right off.

We have some that are ready so we may have to give it a try this week.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I've got a few Pekins. They were substitutes for ducks I ordered and didn't get. The breeder claims they will be 7 pounds at 7 weeks of age. That should just about coincide with a time that they are fully feathered and easier to pluck. That is some very good growth.

I'll see what happens. The ones I've got have very nice temperaments. I don't know if that is true all across the breed or just from this breeder.

I like ducks. I also love roast duck and a dressed duck is much more valuable than a dressed chicken, so you get a much better return on your time and money when you raise ducks.

 

[Denninmi]

Someday I might try duck again. I've only cooked ducks a few times, and always thought they were kind of strong flavored, not to my liking. BUT, they were either wild ducks or mass market farmed commercial frozen ducklings from the grocery store. Fresh and home raised would probably make a difference. I did have Roast Duck Montmorency one time at a banquet that was really great (surprise, most banquet food is terrible) -- it was a duck leg quarter, nicely roasted with crispy skin, with a black cherry/cherry brandy/butter sauce.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

jenny, thanks so much for sharing that info. I really want to get some Pekins but keep holding off . . . kinda scared but 50-60 days! heck I can do that!

 

[bwmichaud]

I have to agree that they are a lot of work but they are worth the extra effort. I used to pluck them by hand and then I got some duck wax to wax them. The wax did a beautiful job but it's expensive and messy to clean out of the pot afterward. Now that I have a plucker, I just throw them in there and they come out nearly perfect. It only takes a minute to get what the plucker can't. As with chickens, the key to a good pluck is a good scald and I find the water temp for ducks needs to be considerably warmer than for chickens. I like the Pekins because they dress out so nice compared to my Cayugas and black Muscovies. I'm always amazed that a dressed chicken and a dressed duck of the same weight have such a difference in the quantity of meat. One of these days I'll have to weigh the meat from both. I'd bet that the chicken has almost twice the weight of meat than a duck of the same size. At least with the ducks, you get to render all the fat out of the skin for other goodies.

 

[jenny_kap]

Quote:
too much trouble for me to incubate myself at this moment. i just buy them and grow them for about 2 months. i don't want to keep anything during the winter, because i don't have a good coop yet. maybe later... at this age, they were pretty easy to pluck. i pluck by hand. it takes about 1/2 hour for a duck. i'll try the wrap in newspaper next time tho.

 

[jenny_kap]

Quote:
we love them too. i have a few that are eating from my hand. i also like their taste

. last night i grinded the meat from the chest and from the legs of a duck and i made a beautiful sauce for pasta (with a few anions, a zucchini and some tomato sauce, plus herbs de provence). hmmmm