We raise a limited number of meat ducks in the spring and fall each year when our pasture is too wet for chickens but good for ducks that like the water.
Free Range Meat Ducks
Just like our chickens, our ducks are raised outdoors, on pasture, after they get feathers and lose their duckling fuzz so they can keep warm outside of the brooder. We raise them in the same mobile coops we use for the chickens during chickens season and just as with the chickens, we move the coops regularly to fresh pasture and put electric fence around them to keep out predators. The ducks are more active at night than are chickens, and they pretty quickly grow large enough that an owl isn’t likely to carry them off at night, so we have ended up free ranging them full time and just leaving the coops open at night for the ducks to go inside if they want.
Ducks do not, in fact, need or particularly thrive in a duck pond. They just like those for food and protection. They do require ample water to bathe in and with which to wet their food. We provide them with wading pools of water, and we also raise them during seasons when much of our pasture experiences aerial flooding, so there is always plenty of water nearby for the ducks to splash around in.
Ducks cost us a whole lot more to raise than do chickens and this is reflected in our pricing. We like them as a (smaller) alternative to turkey for a special occasion or holiday meal. While ducks are much smaller than turkeys, the meat is very rich so a little goes a long way. You can pre-order duck for $13.00 per pound, or $11.70 with a ten percent “growing family discount” for families with children.
In order to ensure the ducks are processed with the utmost care for food safety, we have them processed by family-owned local poultry processor Mineral Springs Poultry Processing. They have done an excellent job for us and we are happy to support local, independent meat processors. We do not have the capacity to safely process your ducks on the farm with our current infrastructure.
We raise Pekin ducks, a fast-growing, common, standard (not hybrid) breed that is more than 100 years old. They are sourced from family-owned Metzer farms in California. Despite the name, these are not “Peking” ducks; that is a cooking method, not a breed.
There is a $20 deposit per duck. We will email you an invoice once we confirm your order, and the balance is due after you pick up your order, based on the finished weight measured by ODA-inspected scales at our local poultry processor. Our spring batch of ducks averaged about 5 pounds each.
Pick up at the Farm
You can pick up your duck fresh (unfrozen) at the farm when we bring them back from our poultry processor. If you want the duck livers, hearts, or other giblets, please let us know in advance, and we’ll sell you those at the processing cost. It does cost extra to clean and package the giblets. You can pick up your ducks, fresh from the processor, at the farm on the day of processing.