Duck plucking

[Crazytrout]

Want to hear about all your secrets when it comes to taking those feathers off a duck.
Have been an avid waterfowl hunter, however always cursing the friend who got me into waterfowl hunting when it comes to plucking them birds.

Has to be an easy way or gadget.


Regards

CT

 

[KodiakII]

buy or make a mechanical plucker..seriously. Also watch out for lice crawling up your arm!

 

[sjemac]

This thing mounted to an electric motor. Does a duck in about 30-40 seconds. Will even do a goose in a couple of minutes.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...cabelas/en/common/search/search-box.jsp.form1

 

[GSXRMyers]

I just breast them out

 

[sjemac]

I just breast them out

Which is fine if that's what you like, but you are really missing a treat when you don't leave the skin on a bluewing teal or prime late season mallard so that the skin can get nice and brown and crispy like pork cracklings.

 

[thebigslide]

Pluck the large feathers off the duck by hand (until it's just covered in down).

Get a large (gallon and a half) stainless steel pot from princess auto or the like. Fill half with water and add a half a pound of parrafin wax. Heat the water to boil the wax. Cut out the duck wings and one foot. Use the other foot to dunk the duck in the paraffin. Peel it like an orange. Dip the duck in another pot of just hot water to get any remaining wax off.

You can do the same thing with a good, just use about 2 Lbs of paraffin.

 

[JamesM]

Do it while they're still warm.

 

[Turkeyslayer 1300]

Pluck while they are still warm, do a rough job and use a blowtorch for the pinfeathers. Plucking isn't that bad once you get the hang of it, especially if you do it with fat warm birds.

 

[CROWCA]

I just give them away no plucking required.

 

[Turkeyslayer 1300]

...........

 

[stuckon308]

Do it while they're still warm.

Absolute best advice. If you can't.... suffer through it. But if you can help it, do it while they are warm.

 

[Mercury0_0]

Watch this. It's actually kind of funny and disturbing at the same time.
[youtube]jMGZMoENjcU[/youtube]

 

[M12shooter]

Wax dipping is my method. I only pluck prime mallards, redhead, and canvas. Rough pluck and dip in hot water with wax floating on the surface. Be sure the duck is dry as wax will not stick and carcass should be as cold as possible for best results. Rip off wax when it cools and all the down small feathers and other stuff will rip clean leaving a duck as clean as one would find at Sobeys. Wax can be reused over and over even if its full of feathers and stuff. I don't shoot all this young pinfeathery early stuff anymore but pluck late birds for "spatchcocking". Google the method if interested.