What to do with male ducklings once they hatch?

[Duckfarmer1]

Well it's common sense actually. Males are very sexual and driven to create. All intact animals are.

Lol...very true...look out ladies!!

 

[chickens really]

Lol...very true...look out ladies!!

Bahahaha.....

 

[Mylied]

I’ll take them!

It's actually funny because for once in my life I'm actually looking for a male animal, a drake. I sold all my ducks a couple years ago and then someone gave me 3 ducklings. All were surprisingly hens. I want to raise some meat ducks, so looking for a drake to make babies.

I hate male anything that's not fixed..If not using for breeding purposes they are not needed. Livestock should be controlled.
Same as pets.

2nd this. I am not a fan of intact male animals. More trouble than they are worth most of the time. If he's well behaved and serving a purpose, he can stay. Humans tend to have a little more self control (most of the time) so they get a pass. Lol.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Id like to think everything we hatch under our care would have equal chance. That’s only humane. We work hard to rehome then next would be food for our table or someone else’s. Not just kill because they are drakes and we don’t need any more. My birds are not live stock to me. And this is just how I feel I am not trying to force my beliefs on anyone.

 

[johntfs]

Do. Not. Even. Dare. And. Try. Vent. Sexing. Your. Ducklings!!!​

Unless you have been trained and plenty of experience. The back end of a duckling is very delicate and you can easy injure and even kill a duckling if you don't know how to.

I suppose I was being way too casual in suggesting it. I remember watching a PETA video shot in a "Fois gras" factory with workers grabbing ducklings (Pekins by the looks of them) and sexing them. The males were kept to produce fois gras. The females got tossed into a hole leading to a chopper/grinder.

I'm not a vegan. I eat and enjoy steak, pork and chicken. I'd eat duck if it was offered. But that was just effing Evil. I really wanted to round up the owners and feed them into their grinder feet first. So they'd suffer more, the bastards.

Back on topic, where would you get the training to safely vent sex ducklings? Because it seems like that would be a useful skills in raising/dealing with ducks.

Meanwhile, how exactly would you neuter a drake? As I understood, their penises fall off and then grow back seasonally. Plus I thought it was difficult and unsafe to try to do it.

 

[Jpat]

I suppose I was being way too casual in suggesting it. I remember watching a PETA video shot in a "Fois gras" factory with workers grabbing ducklings (Pekins by the looks of them) and sexing them. The males were kept to produce fois gras. The females got tossed into a hole leading to a chopper/grinder.

I'm not a vegan. I eat and enjoy steak, pork and chicken. I'd eat duck if it was offered. But that was just effing Evil. I really wanted to round up the owners and feed them into their grinder feet first. So they'd suffer more, the bastards.

Back on topic, where would you get the training to safely vent sex ducklings? Because it seems like that would be a useful skills in raising/dealing with ducks.

Meanwhile, how exactly would you neuter a drake? As I understood, their penises fall off and then grow back seasonally. Plus I thought it was difficult and unsafe to try to do it.

sexing ducklings can be easy and safe but its the rough handling not the actual sexing that bothers them. Their penises arent supposed to fall off seasonaly, and neutering a drake would be an invasive surgery because the gonads are in the ducks back

Altho female birds can get an inplant that stops them from laying eggs

 

[shawluvsbirds]

sexing ducklings can be easy and safe but its the rough handling not the actual sexing that bothers them. Their penises arent supposed to fall off seasonaly, and neutering a drake would be an invasive surgery because the gonads are in the ducks back

Altho female birds can get an inplant that stops them from laying eggs

×2

The vent sexing itself is not really that big of a deal as long as your not doing it with the force of gorilla. .
It's mostly the the fact that little 'lings are so squirmy it's hard to hold on to them without hurting them. .and focus on trying to inspect their tiny little parts at the same time.
I've tried it a few times. . it's not worth it to me either. I've raised enough of them now I have a pretty good guess by 4-6 weeks. I'd rather wait.

 

[aart]

I slaughter my extra cockerels by 16 weeks......can ducks be eaten that young?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes I believe as young as 12 weeks for Pekins

 

[johntfs]

I slaughter my extra cockerels by 16 weeks......can ducks be eaten that young?

Well, you could make "Day-Old Duckling" soup if you really wanted to. This article suggests the timing for harvesting ducks for meat:

http://www.suburbanhomesteading.com/raising-ducks-for-meat/barn

Basically, you want to do it when the ducks don't have any immature "pin" feathers because that makes removing their feathers much easier.