Posted: 11/29/2013 11:36:46 AM EDT
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Four months ago or so I got a one year old male and female, and two six month old females.
Turned out the male wasn't so interested in sex, and one of the female decided she was actually a he. So we killed the older male Monday and ate him for thanksgiving. He tasted pretty damn good, especially considering my GF has never cooked a duck before and she overdid it a bit. Turns out plucking really sucks ;-). I can see it being easier on younger birds, but man that took forever I also tried waxing, which worked ok but was a mess, for doing a bunch of birds at once it would be worth the mess. Rabbits are a lot easier ! I'm hoping the young male will start to do his job, the older female laid 30 eggs right when we got her but didn't sit and they weren't fertilized. She should be starting to lay again soon and the younger one should be laying for her first time soon. I'm hoping for 50 or so duck a year. I also started rabbits and they are the easiest damn thing ever. We butcher our first four for Christmas and then seven more six weeks later. |
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That's interesting. Down here they are a nuisance and disgusting.
An LEO friend of mine went to an emergency call in the ghetto and found an entire Haitian family sick and throwing up. They had caught, butchered and eaten a bunch of Muscovy ducks. They called them "water chicken". LMAO. I guess when you raise them and feed them, it makes difference. Congrats on the livestock. I wish I could raise some chickens or rabbits. |
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Quoted:
That's interesting. Down here they are a nuisance and disgusting. We've got a bunch of Muscovies at the duck pond at our local university. They are definitely messy free-ranged around a popular walking and picnic area. On the plus side, ours grow just about as big as the Canadian Geese that we see periodically and are much more docile. The Muscovies will bob their heads and hiss at you, but I've never seen one try to goose anyone. Ours are hassled by people's kids and dogs all the time-- including when they have chicks. They seem to be pretty resilient. |
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I've heard a lot from people down in FL etc that they aren't good, but people that raise them for food say otherwise. I'm sure it's the garbage water and food they eat.
The boy dressed out at seven pounds, about 14 people all had a portion and everyone liked it. Brined and roasted. Their head bobs are pretty funny, they also really wag their tails and they grow Mohawks when they are mad. Pretty fun to watch. Next time I'll do thing more correctly, on this one time got away from me. Next time I'll really make sure the pond is clean for the last couple weeks, lots of clean water. Probably segregate them and cage the ones we plan to butcher and make sure they only eat and drink super clean. And then it's suggested not to feed them for a day or two before butchering , just water. All in all, I'm happy with it. I just need to figure out how to pluck fast , either that or they are getting skinned. |
| We had some Muscovy ducks for a few years then sold them all. We started off with 2 males and 2 females and by the summer end had almost 60 total, that was with losing a few along the way to predators. Butchered a few out and tasted fine and was actually pretty good. Ours ran loose on the 20 acres we lived on and had two ponds for them. We would give them some corn for feed and they were pretty good at hunting bugs between the pond and chicken house. They would catch small snakes routinely and eat them. Give them some form of deworming medication at least in the spring and that will help with them being healthier. |
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The only thing mine get dirty is the kids pool I got them. They can make it pretty disgusting damn fast.
Otherwise if they have clean water they keep themselves looking pretty nice. Mine are also pretty shy. They come to get fed, to be let out in the yard etc but don't want to be picked up If I raised some from babies (which we might ) we would be able to hold them anytime like our chickens. |