meat ducks -- breed suggestions?

[vettechstudent]

not really sure if this is the right place, i haven't been here in ages. EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED!

anyway, my boyfriend loves duck and my parents have a small hobby farm. my mum has been talking about perhaps getting ducks for meat for a bit, and i brought the subject up with my boyfriend the other night and he's all on board (of course he is aha). anyway, what breed would you guys suggest? i know muscovies are typically used in meat production but i was thinking maybe there were other breeds that have gained some popularity among small homesteaders.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Pekin, 8 pounds by 8 weeks, good feed conversion

Appleyard, 8 pounds by 10 weeks, more lean than Pekin, good feed conversion

muscovy, takes then longer to grow to butcher size and i don't know the feed conversion, but it's pretty good.

 

[BoutrosBoutrosGalusGalus]

I hear the pekin/muscovy hybrids are real tasty - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulard and have taken over as the #1 source of foie gras.

 

[v.cyr]

my family usually leaned towards swedes, or swede crosses...not traditionaly a "meat" duck, but decent...

 

[Oregon Blues]

I find the Swedish to be very tasty, and they are nice because they are lean.

They make for a much smaller carcass and they don't grow as fast.

 

[jdywntr]

I would say Muscovy but I am biased. Muscovy is more beef/veal like though. I'm growing out some Rouens now but it will be a few months yet.
Pekin grow fast so costs would be lower. My muscovy don't seem to eat as much as other breeds I have had.

 

[Kelsey2017]

For those of you that have replied about Swedes. Not to jack your thread OP but more info is great. I have four Swede drakes that have to go. I am wondering if 10 months old is too old to butcher. I really like them so if they are no longer good eating I will rehome them. They look like they will dress out around 4 lbs (just a guess). I tell you though if they are good eating it is easy to get more, the ducks breed and brood easily, and my daddy drake is a great father. These are just home bred ducks I got from a neighbor, they have some Rouen mixed in from a few generations back.
edited to add: My ducks forage extremely well too and ate only some feed each morning. I think if I had fed them meat bird feed they would have been plenty big to butcher last fall.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Yes, you can eat a 10 month old duck. It's the same as chickens. When they get older, you use a slow cooking method.

 

[CowgirlJules]

I just got my ten Jumbo Pekins today, for meat birds. I may keep back a couple for next year's birds, but we'll see.

 

[RoosterGeek]

For meat duck production, it's hard to beat Pekins. I raised about 50 out last summer for some Chinese families and their growth is astounding. I'll be raising some more this summer. For feed conversion on ducks, you can't beat Pekins. And they were very hardy! Townline is the cheapest place I could find for ducks.