← Ducks and geese H21-06 · Module 6 of 7 · Pages: 20 · Worksheets: 7

Meat, eggs, fat and feathers

Safe duck and goose eggs, when and how to slaughter, dressing the carcass, rendering fat and feathers for pillows, with a cost-benefit sum

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Meat, eggs, fat and feathers

In short

  • Ducks lay early in the morning: keep them shut in until 9 am and collect the eggs at once.
  • Eat duck and goose eggs only thoroughly cooked, no raw custards or mayonnaise.
  • Pekins are killed at 7–9 weeks, geese in autumn at 5–7 months, before or after the moult.
  • Chill the carcass below 4 °C (40 °F) within a few hours; cook the meat to 74 °C (165 °F) in the centre.
  • Render fat over a low heat, strain it and keep it in the fridge or freezer, without raw garlic or onion.
  • Feathers only from dead birds or the natural moult. We don't pluck live birds.

What's inside

Chapters

  1. Eggs: collecting and cleanliness
  2. Egg safety and storage
  3. Meat: which birds and when
  4. Slaughter in brief
  5. Plucking and dressing
  6. Fat and crackling
  7. Feathers and down
  8. Offal: nothing wasted
  9. Manure and compost
  10. Plan and value
  11. Common mistakes
  12. Printable checklist

Worksheets

  • Yield calculator
  • Cost-benefit calculator
  • Egg record
  • Slaughter and meat record
  • Fat and feather log
  • Freezer and jar labels
  • Egg, meat, fat and feather calendar

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