Pekin vs Muscovy Carcass -- How to Tell Apart?

[kimwg]

Hi -- I have a question about raising meat ducks. We have done Pekins in the past, but recently tried out one of our muscovy ducks (we got a few last year for fly control) and we just adored the lean beefy meat.

I would like to do a batch of muscovies and a batch of Pekins. Ideally we would take them all to the processor at the same time, which means we would get them all back at once in the same batch. Assuming that they are roughly the same size, how obvious would the differences in the carcasses be? Would we be able to tell them apart? Or would it be better to take them in different batches to the processor?

We sell poultry so we would want to be able to differentiate between pekin and muscovy carcasses for customers. We would be doing white muscovies so the pin feathers would not be as telltale a guide.

Thank you!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I could be totally wrong, but I want to say muscovies are red meat, where mallard derived ducks aren't. Perhaps you could ask the plant to leave some sort of marker or something?

 

[kimwg]

I could ask -- I've found that they're not always reliable in keeping things sorted, which is why I'm trying to think ahead. Practically speaking, there would more than likely be a size difference if they all went in at once (I would probably do muscovies at 4 months and pekins at 3 months) but with my luck they would all be the same. Pekins would certainly have more fat and if that is visible from the outside that would help, too.

 

[Duckiiess]

I much prefer to do the processing myself to have control over the operation and so nothing goes to waste.. giblets, necks/ heads, feet, all get used... but if that isn't an option for you, then I suggest sending in 2 batches.
Muscovies and Pekins breast/ leg proportions are a bit different typically, but if looking at a bunch of carcasses I'd imagine it'd be difficult to see a solid dividing line there.

 

[Duckiiess]

I could be totally wrong, but I want to say muscovies are red meat, where mallard derived ducks aren't. Perhaps you could ask the plant to leave some sort of marker or something?

All ducks are red meat. Muscovies are a bit leaner than Pekins, but with the skin intact that could be hard to tell.

 

[kimwg]

I much prefer to do the processing myself to have control over the operation and so nothing goes to waste.. giblets, necks/ heads, feet, all get used... but if that isn't an option for you, then I suggest sending in 2 batches.
Muscovies and Pekins breast/ leg proportions are a bit different typically, but if looking at a bunch of carcasses I'd imagine it'd be difficult to see a solid dividing line there.

Thanks -- I can do a few at a time on my own, but aside from only being able to sell self-processed poultry on farm in Michigan (i.e., gotta take them to a processor for farmers market/online sales), I just don't have the stamina to do like 30 ducks on my own!

 

[Duckiiess]

Thanks -- I can do a few at a time on my own, but aside from only being able to sell self-processed poultry on farm in Michigan (i.e., gotta take them to a processor for farmers market/online sales), I just don't have the stamina to do like 30 ducks on my own!

Ah, I don't sell at markets so unaware of the rules/ regulations there, good point.
I do all the cleaver/ knife work myself, but have friends come over to help with the plucking/ cleaning, pay them with a bird of their choice. Wifey is also a big help there.