Ducks in the Freezer

Experiment # 5 in all our farm animal experiments for 2007, has passed a milestone. We processed the ducks this weekend for Thanksgiving dinner. As stated earlier this year on Regina's blog, I decided to raise ducks instead of turkeys this year for Thanksgiving, because we didn't have enough time to grow turkeys. After 3 months, the ducks were full grown and ready for the chopping block.

For the sake of our Thanksgiving guests, I will not include pictures of the event, but everything went well. They are just like processing chickens, except ducks are a lot cuter (did I just use that word?) than chickens, so it makes it a little harder to deliver the coup de grace. I also discovered that ducks have A LOT more feathers to pluck than chickens, but in some ways they're easier to pluck. Most of the feathers are downy, fluffy ones, and pull right out.

The next test is how good they taste. Only time will tell. I expect everyone will tell me they taste great, even if they don't, because they don't want to hurt my feelings. Luckily I can count on my wife to be honest behind closed doors about how they really tasted. Regina has also decided to buy a small turkey breast because, in her words: "we might not have enough meat for everyone." Maybe she's trying to have a back up in case the ducks are horrible. Either way, it's probably a good idea.