Mallards for Dinner (Warning Graphic Pics)

[Drk_Wlf]

Me and my husband purchased 6 ducks from Tractor Supply this past spring, 2 Pekins and 4 Mallards (which was a mistake, they are loud, messy and unbelievably stupid). With winter fast approaching, the prospect of housing them through a cold northern winter here in Upstate NY is quite daunting. My husband just finished our expanded Chicken coop and run, but just the though of the mess those little feathered fiends will make gives me nightmares. My chickens are relatively easy to keep clean, but with the addition of the ducks I fear what type of mess they will make once they are in with the chickens. So, because I REALY dislike those quacking feather brained fowls from hell, I have convinced my husband that they would make a tasty dinner

. I know pekins are meat ducks, but are mallards any good to eat?

 

[danischi24]

Ignore her. Some birds aren't for everyone & at least you aren't "releasing" them on a pond to starve. Mallards are very edible. Duck hunters eat the wild ones all the time-at least that's what I assume they do with the mallards they shoot.

 

[spish]

yes mallards can be eaten, its duck shooting season here and the mallards are the favourites on the hunters lists

 

[maggiemmm]

Well, as far as eating animals....if you were in Korea you would not find any stray dogs or cats for that matter

And people do raise ducks for meat. It is a matter of what you are used to. I have had ducks overwintering in Northern Michigan and they are not any problem an icecream bucket is all they need filled with water.. so there really is not that much mess. Just do not get any more ducks .. my aunt used to say --- "Now you know, so never mind" you know you do not like ducks..... you will, however, like them roasted

 

[Drk_Wlf]

Quote:
Thanks! I thought so! We originally bought the ducks for eggs, but after a few months with the amount of food they eat it’s not really worth it. I thought about selling them on craigslist but after all the time and money spent on raising them I would like to use them to feed my family instead of someone else’s. So for eggs I think I am going to stick with chickens! I might get some Runners, for eggs, if we have enough money to build a separate pen. It is so much more difficult to house animals together in the winter then it is in the summer when they spend most of their time outside foraging.

 

[Drk_Wlf]

Quote:
I have actually been a vegetarian for the past year. I stopped eating meat after seeing how most animals in the commercial meat industry are treated. I don't have anything against eating animals; I just don't like the inhumane conditions that they are produced in. So I now only eat meat that I myself produce.... but so far we haven't produced any. Next year we plan on getting turkeys and meat chickens and we should have piglets next summer, but right now all we have are the ducks.... and Thanksgiving is fast approaching!

 

[foxhomechickens]

My father has hunted mallards for about 70 years and eats as many as he can get his hands on. I think they taste yucky. I dont know anything about hatchery mallards but i dont think the wild ones are dumb as they have outsmarted many a dog over the years.

 

[jrobertson]

i little bit of research goes a long way when obtaining a new type or breed of livestock. any browse through the ducks section of this forum would have informed anyone that ducks are messier than chickens, especially to brood. i would recommend storey's guide to raising ducks to anyone considering owning ducks. especially if they don't know the answers to even the most basic questions. an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

I think DH plans on eating a few of our ducks and if I sexed the mallards correctly we will have an over abundance of drakes

I personally don't like the taste of duck so for me I am not planning on eating the ducks but I know that decision will come up. Since they were a gift to DH I am letting him decide!

I am feeding and taking care of them and deciding the fate of my chickens and that is enough for me... I butchered two roosters a week ago and it was hard and yet easier than I first imagined.

Sorry you don't like the ducks....

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Ducks are messy, but so much fun. I just got 2 muscovies after years of not having them thanks to predators...and I can't wait to fence in the yard around the pond and get some more. They will live outside on the pond so that's a good thing vs. inside the chicken house with the chickens. As far as taste, I have some ppl. that go crazy over duck, mallard and muscovy(mine are not for eating) so I would say yes it is a good duck to eat.