Silly question....

[Amethyste]

but I was thinking today how much I wanted to start on meat birds. I also had the thought of getting a goose for xmas, and maybe a couple of ducks when I am able to have the room to have meaties. Would I process them the same as the chickens and turkeys?

 

[bwmichaud]

Geese and ducks are similar to process except for the plucking. The scald temperature should be higher for them and the plucking is considerably harder. The taste of the meat is, in my opinion, far superior to chicken so it makes it worth the extra effort.

 

[lampshadeee69]

oftentimes when waterfowl are scalded some of the little pinfeathers don't come out all the way. The big factories where ducks are slaughtered dunk them into big vats of wax then yank the wax off when it cools to pluck the remaining pin feathers. That being said, Ive had roast duck with some of those feathers still on and it was fine. If you slaughter yourself and can get over some of the feathers still being there, it will still be delicious. Also, if you are planning to keep any innards of ducks, the gizzards are about 500x more annoying to peel on a duck than they are on a chicken. either throw it out or dunk it in boiling water to loosen the membrane.

 

[Amethyste]

Thanks for the info

Much appreciated... so much to learn!!