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sealhunter

sealhunter

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Without too much detail right now, I need to know your guys common practice for dressing game birds.
How long do leave the bird/waterfowl before cleaning/dressing

This is very important as I have found my self in a bit of a situation with a C/O.

Also, have any of you been taught a proper time limit for such in your hunting education program.

thanks
 
I clean them when I get home. My grandfather used to hang them on the clothesline by the neck till they fell off, then clean them. Upwards of 7-10 days...

AFAIK, in Ontario there is no limit on how long you take to clean game, only that you can't let it spoil. It must be consumed...
 
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I have never heard of a time limit for cleaning game. The reg's state that you can't let edible meat go to waste. Ducks/geese I've gone 4-6 hours from kill time/uncooled. If you put it in the fridge, no reason it can't go 12-16 hours.
 
Grouse - do the undressing dance and leave a wing on for ID purposes, as per BC laws.

Waterfowl - just bring 'em home and dress. I've left some overnight in the garage without any complications as far as meat quality goes.
 
I know of guys who feeze their waterfowl whole and undressed. They claim this prevents freezer burn. When they want a feed they just pull one out, thaw it and either pluck or breast. Upland I like to cool down asap but I've never heard of a time limit. As Blargon stated, people of european decent used to age fowl until the neck separated from the body. Not my cup of tea but to each his own.
 
I had a C/O come up and notice ducks in my truck a few hours ago.
The ducks were shot Saturday evening, and I kept in the cool til today when I would go clean them. I had them in the truck on my way to a field to clean them and this is when the C/O stopped.
He said that it looked like I had a few birds, and I engaged him. He asked when they were shot, and I had just got back on Night shifts yesterday, so I stumbled a bit with the days, but said Saturday.
He then said, "you obviously don't eat them". I said oh yes, I really like ducks.
He said that is a very long time. I said, you think so? He said that I wasn't taught to leave them that long if my firearms course. I would have corrected him, but said, so you wouldn't eat them, he looked at me like I had done something and said, no he wouldn't. I then said "strangething hey, my pop lets them hang until maggots come on them," I added that these are not the first birds I've ever shot, and simply walked away from him annoyed. He got in his truck and I went in to pay for my gas. I came out and he was still there, now on the phone, and I drove away...
Cleaned the birds, and they felt refridgerated to the touch, no maggots, no rot, just lovely cool tender duck.

For his part, he didn't count the birds, or ask for a license, etc etc etc.
 
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I have never tought about it, I just do it

I clean all my small game as soon as I get home or the morning after if it is too late at night.

In your case, I do not think that 2-1/2 days is that long if they were in a cool place.

Dress, wipe and freeze, you should be ok.

Enjoy the stews
Robert
 
Ive known guys to hang them, guts and all, in cooler weather, to achieve a higher flavor. (In France they spread the guts of woodcock on toast) Yuck!

I normally gut all birds as soon as possible and age for as long as possible.

Hope I helped...:)
 
rlg said:
I clean all my small game as soon as I get home or the morning after if it is too late at night.

In your case, I do not think that 2-1/2 days is that long if they were in a cool place.

Dress, wipe and freeze, you should be ok.

Enjoy the stews
Robert
Click to expand...

This is also what I usually prctice, but somethings came up, so I waited til today. I have eaten wonderful birds hung for 5 days, though I don't do it myself. Two days however, if the birds are cool, I have never had a problem.
I actually prefer to do it immediately in the field and not drag all the feathers home.
 
I wouldn't worry about. Birds can go a long time in the cool weather without spoiling. They're also well insulated. I've aged a few geese breast up on the floor of my garage (in late fall) for up to about a week with no ill effect.
 
sealhunter you know how you always run down African hunting? Well duck hunting is utterly boring to me, I don't know why anyone would waste the time.



Just wanted to make the point...
 
I always thought it was interesting that with big game, skinning and cooling the meat is stressed as a key to quality, and leaving a deer uncleaned overnight would be frowned upon, but with birds, some leave the guts inside for quite some time and think it's a good thing.

I can see leaving it until the end of the day, of course, but don't know why anyone leaves them overnight...I'll remove the guts and leave them to hang a day or 2 in a cooler, though.

Yes, I am aware of some European hunters that would leave thier game birds to putrify, but I still don't think it's a good idea for meat quality, unless you enjoy the flavour of full intestines.

There are some CRAZY old recipes from the old days. Thier stomachs must have been VERY strong. It's also possible they had quite a bit of gastrointestinal issues:p
 
We often leave birds for a couple days. This can be done with both waterfowl and upland. Just keep them cool. One way is to leave them on a cold cement floor in the shade.
Birds like hungarian partridges are easy to pluck when absolutely fresh, within a half hour of being shot , but it seems after even a couple hours the feathers tighten but the skin remains very delicate. Trying to pluck them then results in many tears of the skin After a day the skin is tougher and less prone to tear.
 
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Now like I said, I'm not a big fan of letting the birds sit too long, and preder to clean in the field, but have very often had birds that were hung for a few days, some were cleaned , some weren't,... Pop often waited for maggots. Maybe it's the descent in Newfoundland that makes it a bit more popular.

I was just surprised and a bit annoyed with C/O for being so... (uninformed?)
 
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