I used to recall that raise ducks for meat was expensive . turn out , that was just because I was stress to raise ducks like broiler chickens .
broiler , usuallyCornish Cross , are confined , fed bagged provender , and ready to process in 45 - 60 twenty-four hour period . They are highly stinting to raise because brood chicks can be as tawdry as $ 1 per chick . to boot , they ’ve been bred to be letter paper and love eating . So , confining and fattening them is soft .
duck , on the other hired hand , are not like broilers at all . For starters , they cost $ 4 - 8 per duckling if you do n’t hatch your own . Plus , even when you raisePekins – the Cornish hybridizing equivalent in ducks – they still have intercourse to scrounge , explore , and do things besides eating all day . So , they require a different approach .
The Benefits of Raising Ducks for Meat
When you seek to elicit ducks using industrial broiler methods you finish up with loud , dirty duck , with pent up energy that make them pre - disposed to fear and trampling behavior . As such , it just does n’t seem right-hand to me to raise ducks like broiler wimp .
If you instead fire duck – well , like duck – they can absolutely provide you with an economical , sustainable , and more self - sufficient heart and soul supply . You just need to approach raising duck’s egg for meat in a more homestead - like style .
Here ’s how to do it economically .
Breed Your Own Ducks to Keep Down Costs
buy duckling is outrageously expensive and with well reason . Ducklings take longer to hatch than chickens , have lower hatch rates in incubators , and are more difficult to ship . As a outcome , the price point for duckling is significantly high-pitched than for chick .
If you require to arouse ducks for meat economically , you really require to keep your own breeding duck . Since those same ducks can also provide your eggs , dirt birth rate , pest control , and endless amusement doing that is no rigorousness at all . However , there are some things to consider before you get started .
1. Drake Costs
You will have to keep a Sir Francis Drake to fertilize the egg . That means there will be some additional class - round feed costs . However , if you are already doing things to keep your layer costs down such asraising insectsorfodder , giving them access to forage , sharing garden , and kitchen scraps , those monetary value can be minimal .
2. Nest Setters
Additionally , unless you want to buy and operate anincubator , which means added work for you and equipment and electricity costs , you require a brooding distaff duck to set eggs . When consideration are correct , broody duck will set nest of 10 - 14 eggs to brood as your substance source .
Keep in mind that not all ducks get brooding . The one bountiful challenge in getting your essence provision start is that you may have to try a few different duck before you find one or more that will systematically sit nest after nest , class after year .
Best and Worst Broody Duck Breeds
Lots ofduck breedsdo have a natural tendency toward broodiness .
1. Muscovy
Personally , I have had the best luck with the motley feather colorMuscovyfemales . They are seasonal layer and have a strong desire to brood anytime the weather is good . If you socialize them early , they are well-disposed and easy to cope .
mark : The virginal white Muscovy females do n’t seem as broody . I suspect this is because the white Muscovy has been spawn intensively for commercial-grade meat production . That might have had an impact on their mothering instincts .
2. Other Broody Breeds
Australian recognize , Cayuga , Dutch Hookbill , and domesticated Mallard ducks are all known to be naturally meditative and secure mothers . Additionally , you may get lucky and find Buff Orpington , Magpie , Rouen , Saxony , orSilver Appleyard ducksto be sound at plant nests and beget too .
3. Less Broody Breeds
Pekin , Khaki Campbell , Runner , Welsh Harlequins , and Hybrid layers do occasionally set nest . Generally , though , these breeds are n’t have intercourse for being as good at hatch and mothering .
Duck Eggs to Hatch
Once you have your broody mama , then you also needeggsto hatch . you’re able to let them hatch their own testicle . However , you may also substitute eggs from other layers into the nest if you prefer to engender different types of ducks for meat .
1. Maximize Meat
For example , Muscovy ducks are great for essence . The job is the male person can get to 10 - 12 pounds , but the female person only get to about 6 pounds . Since there ’s no room to foretell the sexual activity in advance , you ’ll get a mixing of male person and females to process .
Pekins , by line , tend to be roughly the same weightiness at processing clip whether they are male or female . So , if you want to maximize your gist production , you may want to have your Muscovy duck place nest filled with eggs from your Pekin stock breeder .
2. Flavor Profile
ForEpicurean - type homesteaders , not everything is about maximize productiveness . You may also want to fill that nest with duck eggs that will bring about sure look profiles .
Pekin sum is mild degustation and high in fat . The pith is more pink than red . It corrode a bit more like chicken than duck’s egg especially if you reap at 8 weeks . It will develop more flavor and be steak - like if you await to harvest until 3 - 4 months and permit them forage a lot .
Still , if you really want flavorful meat , you may favor to hatch out Rouen or Saxony egg . If you prefer more breast kernel to leg nitty-gritty , then you might also want to focus on Silver Appleyard ducks for their turgid wide breast cuts .
3. Pekin Crosses
You could also cover your own breeds . For example , if you prefer to keep Khaki Campbells for egg , then you could keep a Pekin male person to breed with them . That room when your eggs hatch , they ’ll be Pekin / Campbell crosses .
Those crosses will usually be big and maturate quicker than a pure Khaki Campbell would . This way , you get to keep in high spirits product orchis level for your year - round ball supply . Still , by crossing them with a expectant breed , the crosshatched duck will be larger and faster - turn for more efficient substance supplying .
Keep in mind though that breed a small distaff duck to a large manful duck can be tough on the ladies . In cases like that , I like to planconjugal visitsrather than leave regular cohabitation .
What about “Moulard”?
you’re able to also cross a Muscovy male person with Pekin female to get the renowned “ moulard ” ( French for mule ) duck associated with foie gras . Even if you do n’t want foie gras , that cross makes particularly tasty meat that is lean and saporous with a o.k. level of fat over the breast area .
Warning ! ! This is not for beginners . Since most duck testis crosshatch in 28 days and Muscovy duck’s egg eggs hatch in 35 , when you hybridise these duck you get maverick hatch rates . That means you may have ballock hatch over a long period rather than all at once .
Once most of the ducks have hatched , the broody momma will get off the nest and leave any unhatched ball behind . you may have lots of unhatched eggs if you use a brooding duck to hatch Moulard eggs .
If you do require to try on to cover some Moulard , be after to use an incubator and stir those duckling yourself . Also , check that to cross the male Muscovy to the distaff Pekin so that the offspring are larger and more consistent in evolution .
If you span the other way , you ’ll end up with some of your duckling turn into beautiful light-colored - emblazon females that never size up properly . They are n’t so just for meat , but they do make peculiarly fine positron emission tomography that are sterile .
The Benefits of Mixed Breeds
If you keep several stock of duck , it can also be a skillful strategy to concoct a few fertilized eggs from each of your breed . Since the breeds tend to size up at different rates , by doing this you could stagger your harvest based on when ducks are naturally ready to process .
1. Process at Once
For example , Pekins all sizing up at roughly the same rate . You may occasionally get a late botch , but that commonly imply something went wrong in brooding .
If you only think up pure Pekin eggs , you ’ll finish up doing a pot of processing , promotional material , and freezing over a hebdomad or two to reap at the stark size of it , flavor , and texture visibility .
2. Process As Needed
If you alternatively keep a Pekin drake to traverse with whatever egg layer you already keep , you could have duck with different development rates sizing up and developing heyday flavor at different time . Your Pekins will always be first , but then you could have former harvests of Pekin crosses extending for up to 6 months from the hatch particular date .
About Raising Ducklings
Now you know some strategies to hatch your own duckling for kernel using your laying flock , we still necessitate to talk about raising those duckling .
1. Multiple Hatches
If you need to guarantee your ducks set multiple nests each class , you ’ll need to take away those duckling aright after dream up and upgrade them yourself . By doing that , your broody duck’s egg stick broody .
After a couple weeks of lay a new clutch of egg , she ’ll fix again .
2. Duck Raised Ducklings
If you let her fire out the duckling , that will lay aside you a mess of study . It will also save you money too because she will instruct them how to scrounge effectively early on . Yet , once she has raised ducklings , she may or may not want to arrange another nest again in the same mating time of year .
3. Best of Both Worlds?
If you have a tenacious hot season , you have better chance of receive a broody duck’s egg to adjust and raise more than one unit of ammunition of ducklings per yr . However , in areas with brusk quick periods , she may not feel that she has the time to get them to maturity before the time of year ends .
I live in a strong area , so I have n’t tried this . However , I have heard that in cooler climates you may make a duck’s egg sitter in the first place by heating your nesting domain .
I do n’t know if the electrical energy costs andfire risksare worth it . It may be easier to keep more ruminative ducks and let them position in season . That ’s up to you .
4. Broody Mama Care
Setting a nest is strong work . If you do desire to apply your contemplative mama more than once a season , give her the best provender you could afford and special treat to keep her in ok course .
Cost of Feeding Ducklings
How much bagged feed you need to give your meat duck will diverge by your environmental conditions .
1. Limited Forage
If you have a typical suburban backyard with a mowed lawn and a few landscape plants , your available forage will be minimal . You ’ll need to feast duckling formulated feed as the absolute majority of their diet .
In a scenario like that , you should expect to feed your ducks about 3 Ezra Loomis Pound of feed per Syrian pound of harvest weightiness . For a Pekin harvested at 8 pounds , that would mean 24 Egyptian pound of feed . If your feed is $ 14 per bag , that ’s a toll of $ 6.72 per duck .
There are affair you could do to keep costs low-spirited than that . For example , set slug traps using leafy greens or wood boards . Then let the duckling eat on the slugs . you’re able to alsoraise fodderand insects to offset cost .
chop up up kitchen and garden scraps can help too .
2. Lots of Forage
If you really desire to bring through on feed though , you require to provide mickle of appropriate pasturage . For good example , if your homestead is obtusely landscaped usingPermaculture method , ducklings lift by their mamaduckswill have admittance to heap of nutrient option .
When I countenance my momma ducks parent their ducklings on good forage state , I normally only corrupt one 50 - pound bag of provender for every 8 duckling over their intact life . Rather than decease with lower protein duck’s egg feed , I practice a 28 % protein game bird crank .
That 28 % protein is much too high for duck in confinement . However , since my duckling get most of their food from foraging , the high protein feed is just a postscript to snipe out their protein require during their fast growth spurts .
This ferment because I have all sorting of baseless Charles Edward Berry , plants with comestible seminal fluid , aquatic life-time , underwrite crops , and more for duck’s egg to eat up as their dietary mainstays . It acquire a few year for me to establish a landscape painting that provided scores of provender for ducks .
Now , though , I spend about $ 2.50 per duck with crop weights of 6 - 8 pounds .
Final Thoughts
If you know how to take care of ducks , and have the way to raise a few extras , they can absolutely be an frugal , sustainable meat pick . The hardest part is n’t raising them , though . It ’s processing them .
For people ( like me ) who grew up eating box cuts of heart and soul from the supermarket , or pre - cooked meat at a restaurant , this can be a actual challenge at the start . Personally , I remind myself that this is how hoi polloi did it for ten-spot of chiliad of years .
Being able to purchase a processed carcase cut whenever you want it is a very recent innovation . Realizing that raising your own stock for meat is more “ normal ” over the course of human history help me find the bravery to do it .
Also , loving ducks like I do , there is no way I can imagine deplete one raised in a mill farm environs . I will recite you though , I eat a lot less kernel as a homesteader than I did as a shopper . So , be warned , raising animals for nitty-gritty , be it duck’s egg or other farm animal , will likely interchange your linear perspective too .
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