It's been a very hectic week, but we got a lot accomplished. Most notably, we got the first ducks ready for the freezer. Once we got them rounded up, we cage them overnight with no feed, but plenty of water. This cleans them out so that their crop and gut are empty....which makes butchering easier.
These ducks all hatched the first and second week of March.
I'm really liking the Buff duck for meat production. They averaged about 4 pounds.
Tomorrow these lovelies go into the smoker along with a ham.
If you've never tried smoked duck...you don't know what your missing. It's fantastic!
By the way, not a speck of these ducks was wasted. The heads, feet, and offal went back into the scalding pot, boiled, grain added....and then fed to the pig.
I kept all the feathers except for wing and tail feathers for pillow and quilt making.
3 comments:
Wow. I had no idea they're ready for butchering in that short amount of time. How many do you average butchering before you have enough of the feathers for pillows?
SMOKED DUCK!!??!!!!!!
Don't forget your close personal friends at TUH...anything we can do for ya?
Weldr, these ducks have been such a blessing! I just started saving feathers with these....will let you know when I have enough for a pillow.
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