gmharrison

I am new to hunting waterfowl, most of the guys I know skin their ducks and geese. I would like to pluck them, any tips on how pluck my birds ( assuming I actually get some)

JimPic

I just cut the breast out-that's about all I eat on a duck or goose.

drgildy

It is quite easy to pluck a prime mallard or Canada goose just lay them on their back to begin with and start picking. If they are not prime. Prime to me means pinfeather free. If they are pinny then just cut on either side of the breast bone and fillet the breast meat off. I don't like to waste meat so I always cut the legs off also. I guess this comes from being hungry enough when I was a kid that we were taught not to waste anything. I have seen where slobs have taken about half the breast meat because they were not proficient enough to get all the meat. They then pile up the carcasses in a ditch and left them for the varmints to clean up. I would they could at least bury the evidence so they don't give the anti hunting crowd some more ammo to use against us hunters. Good luck this fall I hope you have a very sucessful season.

RoadKillCafe

I pluck just the breast , then cut it out and throw the rest away...

rbduck

You HAVE to try a whole roast duck! Roast it until just pink, there is nothing better!(just MY opinion)

If your birds have a lot of pinfeathers, just breast them out as you tend to rip a lot of the meat while trying to pluck them. For plucking, use your forefinger and thumb to "pinch" the feathers away. With a bit of practice, you can be an expert in no time at all. My 11 year old can pluck ducks and geese better than some adults I know. When you have finished plucking, singe the down off over a small open flame and then rinse uder cold running water to ensure you get all the blood out of the inside. Good Luck with your hunting.

Ron<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Let em land!

spanky289

I find the best method for plucking a duck is to do a rough pluck to get the large easy feathers of the bird then slowly dip the bird in a large pot of hot water with about an inch of melted wax on top of the water. I use a coat hanger though the bill to hang it up with in a cool place so the wax will harden, then I just peel the wax off with all the fethers. I have a pot in the garage that is just for this and I place my wax back in the pot I change the wax a couple of times a year to keep it fresh.I do this befor i gut the duck or goose.

kolb7

hye if u was u i would just breast the birds out cuz like 2 years ago we shot some ducks and they were the bigest healthest out of the bunch we shot and when we went to cleant them we pulled back the skin and there were worms of some kind so we called the game and parks the next day and told them and they said that people who pluck there ducks just get a little more protiene so i guess its up to you i have heard somep people say both ways are the best but after that we stay with filleting the breast out.

jackel

I have plucked and skinned geese and duck. The best way in my opinion is ( which I just started to do) is to cut the breast out, and the legs off, then throw the rest away. I totaly disagree with the people that throw away the legs, that is almost a whole breast in compaison of meat. Why would you waste that much? It all taste the same.

seadog

If you can, pluck the birds while they are still warm, the feathers come off real good.

drgildy

Jackel, you said it all. Why waste perfectly good meat?