How to prepare whole duck?

[Draugr]

And I do mean WHOLE duck, as in, the duck was alive a few hours ago, and I have the entire body.

I have a source for free whole ducks. A good amount them, and pretty constant. Now, of course, I am not going to be using ducks that had to be culled for sickness, but there are some that are culled for lameness or for being a "waterbelly" that I am pretty sure would be fine to feed. They would just wind up buried in a compost building so I think they are better off providing for another creature (my dog!)

Do I just...gut the bird, then feed it? Do I need to remove the feathers? What about the head? Need some advice of some more experienced raw feeders . I've only been doing this for about nine months, and it's all been pre-processed, off-the-shelf meat, not *actual* whole prey.

Thanks! I appreciate any advice. Even if it is for some reason I shouldn't feed them.

[gsd_newbie]

Dogs don't eat feathers, so you have to kill it (cut the throat and let it bleeding til dead), then remove all the feathers (warm-water needed). Ducks sound too much fat compare to chicken, thus I might suggest to remove some internal fatty parts, head is okay to feed your dog. You might feel like sh*t at first, but after few times you will feel nothing. I also have to prepare whole chicken and whole duck for my dog, much cheaper compare to pre-processed at local co-op.

[Draugr]

Originally Posted by gsd_newbie

Dogs don't eat feathers, so you have to kill it (cut the throat and let it bleeding til dead), then remove all the feathers. Ducks sound too much fat compare to chicken, thus I might suggest to remove some internal fats.

Where I get these ducks from, they would have already been culled that day by cervical dislocation (wringing the neck, colloquially). I wouldn't use sick ducks of course but the ones culled for lameness should be okay, I'd think.

Thanks for the tip about the fat though. Given that this is a commercial operation I am sure they will be pretty "fatty." Samson is a young dog and has great metabolism but there's no reason to overload him with fat either.

[Jax08]

kill it, take the feathers off, gut it (save the organs!!! heart, liver, pancreas, etc) and throw out the guts. hack it up just like you would any other poultry. How much does he eat? Ducks aren't generally that large so half a duck might be a whole meal for him.

I personally wouldn't worry about the fat to much. But duck is rich so would alternate with a different meat

[Draugr]

Originally Posted by Jax08

kill it, take the feathers off, gut it (save the organs!!! heart, liver, pancreas, etc) and throw out the guts. hack it up just like you would any other poultry. How much does he eat? Ducks aren't generally that large so half a duck might be a whole meal for him.

I personally wouldn't worry about the fat to much. But duck is rich so would alternate with a different meat

I'm not planning to go to duck-exclusive or anything but since they are free it would help cut costs for me . I'm "between jobs" of sorts right now so any place I can save money helps. I had to get a new freezer for him recently too so I'm struggling to make up the gap that caused in my funds. He may have to go a bit duck-heavy for awhile but I'll definitely put other meats in there to keep up the variety.

He eats about 2.5lbs a day, sometimes a little less. Sometimes not at all when he decides to get picky and turn up his nose at perfectly good organs that he was fine with eating a week ago >.>.

These ducks would probably be in the 5-6lb range (before being butchered). About half a duck would be right, maybe a little bit of supplementation here and there to make up weight lost from feathers, guts, the head, etc (unless he can eat the head?).

Is there any way to easily de-feather them? Or do I just...hang them up, and start plucking?

[CassandGunnar]

I've never done it with a duck, but I think you can skin them. Should be able to google that. If you're going to be doing a lot of them, look into a chicken plucker. Hand plucking a lot of birds will get old fast.

[Jax08]

I think we used to dunk the chickens in hot water to make it easier to defeather but it's been a very long time. I think he could eat the head and feet, but I would take the beak off.

Just add a lighter meat in for supplementation. I usually give turkey breast or something similar when feeding duck necks.

[gsd_newbie]

No, not to dip the duck in hot water, it is not easier but you will slow down the de-feathers progress. Instead, try the following: kill the duck (throat cut or head smash); wetting the duck with cheap spirit or vinegar (some table-spoon) and leave it for 10 minutes to help faster de-feathering; dip the duck in semi-hot water (about 70 degree Celcius) for 03 minutes; pull off all feathers; remove fatty and other organs and parts which you don't want your dog to eat (intestine, stomach, legs, beak, etc.); chop it into few pieces (depends on size of the duck).

Hope this helps.

[Lauri & The Gang]

Originally Posted by Draugr

Where I get these ducks from, they would have already been culled that day by cervical dislocation (wringing the neck, colloquially).

If you aren't getting the ducks freshly killed (as in they JUST died) I would go with skinning. The greater the time between death and processing the harder it's going to be to defeather the duck.

[Draugr]

Originally Posted by Lauri & The Gang

If you aren't getting the ducks freshly killed (as in they JUST died) I would go with skinning. The greater the time between death and processing the harder it's going to be to defeather the duck.

It would be within a few hours. I might just go with skinning them anyway, it sounds like it might be less of a hassle.