What age/ weight to process Rouens & Cayugas?

[Duckiiess]

I get a yield consistently right at 63% off my ducks, 67% off my DP chickens (including heart, liver, gizzard, neck). So its a 3.15 to 3.45# processed carcass.

/edit for my wife and I, that makes two good meals. The first is usually the breast, which comes off in flat plates and is best prepared like a steak - medium rare and barely touched - simple preparation to let the duck be the star - salt, pepper, garlic. Legs and thighs become a second meal, usually with a sweet sticky sauce of some sort, favoring citrus notes and a rice of some sort (Sweet & Sour, w/ Orange Sauce, even Bar B Q [molasses, sugar and ACV types, NOT Mustard or katsup based recipes]). We keep the bones, wings, neck for making soup/stock/stew - usually combine with the remnants of a chicken or two.

Thank you again! What kind of chickens do you have/ do you keep them in the same house/ coop as the ducks, or separate? My lady wants chickens too, but I've heard drakes can kill hens while trying to mate.. and my neighbor has about 40 chickens so I'm all set on eggs there lol

Agree on the cooking methods! I VERY rarely cook a whole duck, almost always do a pan sear on the breast with the crisscrossed crispy skin and either roast or confit the legs

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thank you again! What kind of chickens do you have/ do you keep them in the same house/ coop as the ducks, or separate? My lady wants chickens too, but I've heard drakes can kill hens while trying to mate.. and my neighbor has about 40 chickens so I'm all set on eggs there lol

Agree on the cooking methods! I VERY rarely cook a whole duck, almost always do a pan sear on the breast with the crisscrossed crispy skin and either roast or confit the legs

My birds have two houses, one is shared with the goats and is a walk in, the second is a raised coop. The ducks can (and do) stay in either of them - or hang out outside when the weather is nice (as it often is). Of course, they nest on the ground under the raised coop.

You can see my current flock in the signature, below. My mutts are more thoroughly (lengthy, disorganized) described here. and the pasture is partially described here. Like so much else, its a work in progress.

I think that covers it??? Anyhow, need to get back to work on the house for my wife and I, ALSO a work in progress, before it crosses into the 90s and starts raining again.

 

[iwltfum]

Are your Muscovies 12 weeks? What are they weighing?

They are 13 weeks this week. Those are all girls up on the roof. The boys cant get up that high lol. The boys weigh between 10-12 pounds right now. I have them on a very specific diet though and they free range in a insect heavy area. I have talked with the hatchery owner who gave me some very good tips on how to get the drakes to 10 pounds in 12 weeks. It's all about the kilocalories

 

[Duckiiess]

They are 13 weeks this week. Those are all girls up on the roof. The boys cant get up that high lol. The boys weigh between 10-12 pounds right now. I have them on a very specific diet though and they free range in a insect heavy area. I have talked with the hatchery owner who gave me some very good tips on how to get the drakes to 10 pounds in 12 weeks. It's all about the kilocalories

Can you share those tips/ what's their diet like?

 

[Parront]

View attachment 2770685here are a few of mine this morning. As you can see, they will be very easy to catch

Or NOT!

 

[Parront]

Cross bred duck was 3.5 pounds live weight, ~2 1/4 lbs dressed. Dinner for 2 here, crockpot with potatoes and carrots.
Edit to add: Sorry, forgot to say he was 8 weeks old.

 

[Duckiiess]

Cross bred duck was 3.5 pounds live weight, ~2 1/4 lbs dressed. Dinner for 2 here, crockpot with potatoes and carrots.
Edit to add: Sorry, forgot to say he was 8 weeks old.

Did you wax or pluck? Looks delicious!

 

[Parront]

Did you wax or pluck? Looks delicious!

Just pluck. Never tried wax. Feel them, if you feel little pointy pinfeathers, skin them. Lots faster than trying to get all the pins. This is the other one of that same age skinned. I worked a long time to have nice duck skin, which my husband removed and would not eat anyway. But, I like it! That is where most of the fat is on a young duck. This skinned one went into the soup pot.

 

[iwltfum]

Can you share those tips/ what's their diet like?

22% for four weeks, 21%for two weeks, 18% for six weeks. I always use a starter with high enough protein for what I'm feeding and then mix in scratch grains to dilute the protein to the right percent. I also pastured them in a pasture pen (chicken tractor), moved every day, for about 9 weeks, then I let them free range.