My husband wants to eat so much poultry...

[missnu01]

If we can't get the feathers off then we will just skin the bird. Shouldn't be an issue..not to mention I'm not going to get any eating ducks to start off with. My husband will have to wait until we have more ducks hatched out. And then we can eat them at will...I assumed that processing a turkey, and duck would be a lot like processing a chicken.

 

[flood]

I have only tried straw and shaving for bedding, well that and dirt. Cheap is what brought me to straw too. The pine in select places underneath the straw helps keep things a bit drier. They don't have a pool in the coop...only a water bucket. Hey I just remembered something. My last batch of 16 went through water so fast and the ducklings were too little to just let out. So I taught them to use 3 nipple waterers on a 5 gal bucket. It would then last 2 days. Just long enough to go away for the weekend.

Anyway, My ducks spend lots of time outside but they also get predators. If that happens they stay close and sometimes refuse to leave the coop for a day or so. The messiest part is that they PLAY in water. Boy they love it. I often joke that they are teenagers. They love to make messes and splash in the pool, and make lots of noise. They do not go to bed when the sun does like the other birds around here and if I don't tell them to go to bed and walk them home they would be up here playing at 3am under my window. Ducks are great because they are just happy to be ducks and it is as simple as that.

About the slaughtering...I have only done 8 so far. They are easier than chickens...I skin them. I've only plucked 3 when I successfully de-brained them, my first three tries were lucky. The forth not so much, haven't tried again yet. Feathers practically wiped off. But that's not what I was going to say. I heard that if they start their first molt you have missed the window and must wait for their feathers to come back before you butcher. Too difficult to pluck otherwise.

Lorie

 

[missnu01]

So you have to catch them at a time they are fully feathered. I can handle that for the future. I guess the ducks will get straw like everyone else. Lol.

Here is another thing I was wondering about...We have a spring fed well, and the run off is like a constant stream, so could I not put a kiddie pool to catch the run off, and then cut a notch in the opposite side so the water pools in the kiddie pool for a bit before running back out of the "spout" on the other side, and that would save me having to empty and refill the pool...Is that thinking crazy? because in my head it makes perfect sense.

 

[flood]

Wish I had that. Sounds like a cool idea. I don't know how big your pool will be though. I got a big one and a really small one at DG. The big one took too much water to get deep enough and I still had to dump it everyday. So I put it away. Ducks do this thing, I think it's called mutting, or mudding. Anyway that's what we call it. They drill beak sized holes in the ground around the water source, and anywhere else water pools, All the while they are doing this, they also rinse their mouths in the pool so it gets pretty dirty. And they poo when they swim...you'll learn this when you put them in your tub lol.

 

[jdywntr]

Here is a question. A little bit from my house there is a lake and a park, and the lake is full with ducks...peking, crested, mallards, cayugas, Swedish all of them...and because they are living at the park they are all super friendly and just swamp people as soon as they see them...how much trouble would I get into if I just went and boxed up a few ducks ya think?

This depends on where you live and the laws there. I would contact the management of the park, whether it be city, county, state etc. Some places don't care if you want to "rescue" ducks other places it would be considered theft as they are at the park, so park property.

With adults you don't know what diseases/pests they may be carrying.

So straw bedding for the ducks..that is what I use for my chickens. Have you tried any other bedding types? Don't ducks spend a lot of time outside too though? I went with straw because it is so so so much cheaper than shavings...I have added some shavings to my coop since then though. We were cutting up some big pine logs, and I saved all the shavings...So they were free...and you can't beat free. I like the straw. It will be easier to compost, and the chickens seem to like scratching in it.

I would advise against straw for ducklings. Unless you change it daily at least. Straw will mold quickly when wet (and it will be with ducklings) and mold will kill ducklings and ducks. I only use straw in my nests and then only after I am sure I don't have a duck that won't leave the nest to poop. Duck poo is VERY watery so poop+straw= gross.

I have found that adding pine pellet stall bedding to brooders/coops really helps. It absorbs alot of water and clumps up when wet so is easy to remove.

I would go to the duck forum for more info on ducks as many people on BYC keep ducks for pets not meat and they don't visit here often.

 

[missnu01]

Thanks guys. Tho post quickly became about everything

 

[Freakmonger]

Are different birds easier for defeathering dry or wet. Sorry I have been looking at the duck thread but most people keep them for pets, and a lot of what I am concerned with in researching lately has been in the slaughtering. I think I feel like your husband missnu01 but I have restrained myself to what is extremely feasible to my family and I with the amount of birds that I plan on getting. But you have me interested in turkeys now.

 

[missnu01]

I think that all birds are better plucked after being scalded. It releases the feathers. Without a good scald those feathers are really really in there.

 

[missnu01]

I like the idea of having some giant turkeys wandering about. They just look so peaceful and country like. Which is kind of what I am looking for out here in the country.

 

[missnu01]

Well so far we have 17 laying breed chicks and 9 meat birds, and 8 ducks. We have an order to arrive in may of 5 more ducks, 6 turkeys and 12 more chickens... We have 24 Maran mixed eggs in the incubator, and everything is going great