Happy Birthday to ducks4you :)

[flowerbug]

D'awwww!! You guys are great!!!

congratulations! i hope you have/had a wondeful day.

 

[bobm]

All the late ducks are safe. Whew!

The late ducks are expected to give birth for the next generation of early ducks that are then invited to dinner.

 

[Nyboy]

Isn't goose traditional Christmas dinner ? Or is that just from A Christmas Carol

 

[bobm]

My Grandmother and Mother cooked a goose for Christmas dinner until finding a goose became almost impossible. They would spend hours sorting and stripping goose feathers to make pillows as well as bed covers. Then we had duck ... that is until they too became very hard to find. So, one year I raised 96 Pekin ducklings for dinner, and thanks for the freezer, we had duck for Sunday dinner all year. For the last 20 years, dinners morphed to the turkey variety.

 

[ducks4you]

Fortunately, my new friend who sold me the 6 hens last December raises duck and assorted other meat animals for sale. NO questions asked!

 

[Nyboy]

@bob did you raise ducks over goose because they are easier, taste better or eat less ? While I see lower feed bill you get more meat at end

 

[bobm]

@bob did you raise ducks over goose because they are easier, taste better or eat less ? While I see lower feed bill you get more meat at end

We are going back about 20 years ago , ducklings were much easier to find than goslings and I love the taste of duck ...I purchased a dozen Pekin ( the best commercial meat duck for rate of gain in the shortest time frame) ducklings from a commercial breeder in Cal. . I kept 4 hens and 1 drake. The next spring, they started to lay eggs, so I built 6 nest boxes that were pretty well hidden with large branches covering each in a large duck pen. They got the hint and started to set. All in all, each of the hens hatched 2-3 different hatches as I took away the ducklings as soon as each nest finished hatching. I processed 96 ducklings that Summer. Ducks eat a lot of feed for a very short time frame , however they pack on the meat in a matter or weeks, so cost of labor, etc. ( one must charge ALL costs for production as well as holding costs of parents) becomes much less so the price per pound of edible meat becomes much smaller. They rival the Cornish X chicken for rate of gain. The Cornish X are much easier to raise as ducks need lots and lots of water when they eat commercial feed. Then in short order , the mixing of feed, feces and water becomes quite odoriferous, so maintaining a clean and dry as possible environment in paramount especially when fly maggots start to show up. Due to odors, I turned to Cornish X chicks as I could process them for 1 to 2 pound game hens ( processed weights ) in 30-35 days of age. One doesn't get bogged down for weeks on end as one does with any other type of chicken for meat , or especially the egg production types. One can enjoy one's family without mandatory chores for several weeks straight until you start the next batch for only 4 weeks. For eggs, I puchased a dozen Khacky Cambel ducklings and kept back 2 hens and 1 drake... they outproduce the backyard egg layer chickens HANDS DOWN in size of eggs ( most times double the size of chicken eggs as well as many more eggs per hen per year.

 

[so lucky]

We eat early Ducks. Be here at 6pm. My son is a chef so you know it's going to be belicious. I asked him to make potatoes my favorite way, with duck fat.

Mary

Not to change the subject, but I saw duck fat for sale at Walmart yesterday!

 

[ninnymary]

Not to change the subject, but I saw duck fat for sale at Walmart yesterday!

Stores are starting to carry duck fat. There is a small restuarant that sell duck fat and bone broths that are so rich and good. Nothing like store bought or even homemade.

Mary

 

[canesisters]

Roasted a turkey a couple of days ago for dinner tomorrow. Ended up with 2 crock pots of broth! Roughly a gal and a half is in the fridge right now to be skimmed tonight and canned. mmmmmmmm