What to do with male ducklings once they hatch?

[Miss Lydia]

Is that suppose to be a joke day old duckling soup?

 

[johntfs]

Is that suppose to be a joke day old duckling soup?

A little bit. Mostly I was getting at there's not some "minimum safe age" for eating them. Figure you'll want to wait until they're at least mostly full grown to get a good amount of meat.

Still, you don't really have even to wait to eat them until they've actually hatched in some cases.

 

[DuckyDonna]

Male only flock or gift/sell them to somebody you know as reliable/competent. BTW, I posted one elsewhere, but here's another video about vent-sexing:

You need to be careful doing it, but it's something you can do to determine their sex a day after they hatch so you can more readily re-home them by taking advantage of their duckling "Awwww" factor.

Yes well it's not as easy as it seems so don't count on this being accurate!

 

[Mylied]

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.

I personally don't kill just to kill. I'll euthanize a baby animal only if it's suffering. There's 4 ways it goes here with males: I need one for breeding and it doesn't try to attack me or be too aggressive with the females, it stays. I sell/give it away. I put it in our freezer. I kill and feed it to the pigs, which ultimately goes in our freezer. Now if I'm really attached and it's a castrateable animal, then snip snip and it lives it's life as a pet. Birds are not easily or safely neutered, so it's one of the first four.

 

[NatJ]

there's not some "minimum safe age" for eating them.

There's also no single size that's "big enough," although I notice the article mentions a few magic ages that are free of pinfeathers. (Well, not really magic, but plucking enough pinfeathers can make it feel magical to avoid them!)

 

[Duckfarmer1]

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.

I completely understand..I may use the term livestock to make it easier in conversation, but these are my pets and I care about their options...I was totally opposed to any being eaten, but then. Had to accept farm life. Some need to, it’s just a fact of sorts. Doesn’t make it any easier..and they are still my pets up to that day.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Surprizingly, I have found good homes for my excess drakes but it really hard. I have a back up to process them if I can't find them a home. I can't do it but I could eat them if someone else does. I have one excess drake now. He is only 7 weeks old so I have some time to find him a home.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

My husband ate a few of our drakes...I’m not sure how many...I didn’t want to keep count, but it wasn’t more than 5...he said he can’t do it anymore. We’re finding other alternatives for the drakes...nice homes...I have them in a drake den until then. If I can’t rehome them, then I suppose we will, after all, be building, yet another large pen for ducks.

 

[aart]

although I notice the article mentions a few magic ages that are free of pinfeathers. (Well, not really magic, but plucking enough pinfeathers can make it feel magical to avoid them!)

Timing can be difficult.
Too many pins on the cockerels or old hens and I just skin them.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I practice birth control here to keep from having to go through this every year. This year I decided to let my ducks and chickens hatch some eggs. Boy did that end wrong. Out of 6 Runner ducklings that hatched 5 were drakes and out of 4 chicks 2 were roos. Thankfully a good friend on here found homes for 4 of my boys all I had to do was meet her in Va. day trip. I'd have driven further to know they got good homes. My 2 extra roos ended up food. But I am through hatching. I haven't told my flock this yet but I am in control of all that happens here and they will just have to accept it. lol My birds are for pleasure first[I enjoy them so much] eggs second and only food when we end up with extra roos. My females go into retirement and live out their lives here. My roos that I keep get to do the same.