Ducks for meat

We have regularly bought in day old meat chicks to grow on in batches to 12-14 weeks. Once a year we do the same with day old turkey poults which, unlike the chickens which are a commercial variety, are traditional Norfolk Blacks which are slow grown for six months. This year for the first time we have done the same with ducks for meat. 

A smallholding friend kindly sourced and organised on behalf of some of our smallholder club members the supply of pekin duck chicks. We collected 20 to grow on. And grow they did -  amazingly quickly. They are now ready for dispatch. 

We processed one last week as a trial, not having previously plucked a duck. True enough it proved to be a lengthier and more laborious process than we are used to with chickens with whom we have become quite proficient in producing a clean finish. We used the same dunking in hot water method to loosen the  feathers but  ducks seem to need hotter water and a longer period of dunking to saturate and loosen the feathers more sufficiently. Care is still needed not to scald the flesh in the process so a little trial and error is required.

We've done six so far. Their dressed weight ready for the freezer has so far ranged between 2.58 and 3.33 kilograms which is quite acceptable.