Quote:
Kuntry, love those pics, too bad they have to grow up.. how'd it go this past weekend with the skinning?
You are right. Too bad that they have to grow up.
This weekend was sad, of course. I really didn't want to process them but I knew that I had to. It was just too many drakes. I couldn't do the deed, so I had to walk away and turn my head when they did the dead. I cried when I saw them.
We used the paraffin wax and that seemed to work well. It was an all day long affair. We were only able to process 15, so we still have some left but I am trying diligently to re-home them. I really don't want to have to process any more. Because I had so many, I shared some of the processed ducks with people/egg customers who have been so generous to me in that they shared fresh veggies and fruits and canned food from their own garden. I think I only had about 9 ducks to go in my freezer.
I have made up my mind that next year, I don't really want to have any hatches. They lay too many eggs and hatch too many babies. I don't want to have to deal with the same problem in that there may be too many drakes again and I won't be able to re-home them. I think I will just pick their eggs every day so they don't go broody. I will just have to visit the duck thread next year and admire everyone else's babies.
Thanks for asking about this weekend.
It would be very hard for me too, I cry as I hand our extra roos to my dh. and it never gets easier. I'm like you even though I only had the one duckling this year next year no brooding of ducks or chickens. How many drakes do you usually keep and are they all together with the females? I am so looking forward to breeding season to be over with. I do think I'll have to get a couple more females next year just to balance things out, since i'll have 3 drakes now since our duckling turned out to be a boy. Oh well. I hope you can find homes for the boys you have left.
