What age to butcher young Ancona drakes? 3 months? Scald yes or no?

[2buckskins]

I posted this over in meat birds and no one knew the answer, so let's try here....

I have a TON of extra drakes from this years hatching, and will need to be slaughtering some to eat to keep my numbers down (and ratios right!). What's a good age to butcher a drake? I was thinking around 3 months, when they are fully feathered? Or should I wait until closer to 4-5 months? Anyone have experience with Anconas for meat? Also, follow up question- do you scald or not scald if you are hand plucking a duck?

This is my first year breeding Anconas (love them!), so it's also my first time butchering. It definitely needs to happen though, I have WAY too many drakes!!

 

[Wifezilla]

I butchered a few Welsh Harlequin drakes recently. All were closer to a year, but I don't see why you can't butcher sooner. If you wait until they are 4-5 months there will be more meat on them. You just have to decide if you want to feed them that long

As for scalding, yes...do it!

 

[2buckskins]

That's good to know! I have one extra drake that's about a year old now, so I'll probably do him too.... My hatch rate this year (after 2 power outages) has been about 4 males to every female! ARG!

 

[2buckskins]

bump!

Anyone else? Good butchering age? Scalding yes or no?

 

[Wifezilla]

Not to disparage the other duck owners here, but the mere thought of butchering ducks sends many in to a tizzy. They may just be staying out of the thread to be polite and keep from calling us duck eaters bad names

 

[2buckskins]

I do NOT want to kill them- I just don't know what else to do with so many males! So what does everyone do with their extra males, if they don't eat them?

 

[Wifezilla]

Idiots let them lose in parks. Responsible owners butcher and eat them. Sometimes you can sell them at auction, but then most likely you wont get much and the buyer will take them for butchering.

You are doing the right thing.

Plus you are getting healthy, nutritious food that you know how it was raised. Commercially raised factory poultry is disgusting.