Pekin Duck Feed Conversion Ratio Help Please!!!

sunshinytraci · #1 04/01/12, 11:10 AM

Recently, I was approached by a food distributor who wants me to raise and process these (Pekin) ducks for him. I've raised them before for my family table, so I never paid attention to how much they ate. I have read that the ratio is about 3 lbs of feed to 1 lb of weight gain. The finished weight is about 8-10 lbs with the average processed carcass weighing about 4 lbs.

Is this correct? What has your experiences been with raising ducks commercially. I do a small amount of chickens commercially but that's a different ball game. Also, I would be locked into a contract which is completely new so if I mess up on my figures, I could lose my shirt on these ducks.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

tinknal · #2 04/01/12, 11:31 AM

Are the buyers committed to Pekins? This study shows better rate of gain with Muscovies.

A comparison of live weight and carcass gain of Pekin, Kunshan and Muscovy ducks on a commercial ration

sunshinytraci · #3 04/01/12, 11:37 AM

Thanks for that information, tinknal!

The buyer did ask for Pekin, but I am not sure if he is committed. These ducks are for high end resaurants in the area. How does the muscovy dress out? Does it look nice and clean like a white skinned Pekin would? Appearance of the product is critical, I was informed.

tinknal · #4 04/01/12, 11:42 AM

I know you can get white Muscovies. Will availability and price of ducklings be a factor or will you be brooding your own?

Sounds like a good project. Please keep us informed.

As far as pricing would the customers agree on a price for a test batch that could be altered depending on outcome?

wogglebug · #5 04/01/12, 11:54 PM

Muscovies are radically different to all the other ducks. They are not just a different species but a different genus. They produce lean, fine-grained meat, rather like lean pork or lamb; whereas the other ducks produce a rich, fatty meat. They lay a lot of eggs for a non-laying type, and they hatch as many of them as they can get away with. Muscovies, if one were prepared to dissolve and eat the bones, would make about the ONE complete homesteading animal. However, if one were looking for a traditional duck experience, Muscovies wouldn't do it.

oregon woodsmok · #6 04/02/12, 11:56 AM

Try Metzer's website. They breed and sell specialty Pekins for the meat production market. They have all sorts of good information on their website; I am sure they must offer advice on feeding those Grimauld Pekins, including feed conversion.

I would buy from them. They offer 3 types of Pekin, so be sure to get the French ones.

Some advice you didn't ask about but I will offer anyway: Buy quality ducklings.

Last spring I bought a batch of show ducklings and a batch of hatchery ducklings. Exact same breed and only a couple of weeks difference in age. The hatchery ducklings were high strung and unpleasant to be around. My son dubbed them "The Nut Cases". They ate twice as much feed to grow to half the size. They dressed out at 2 to 2 1/2 pounds. My show ducks didn't get butchered but they grew to twice the size and ate a lot less, while being a lot more pleasant to deal with.

It matters where you buy your ducklings. Quality ducklings cost more, but they are worth every penny extra and will end up cheaper in the long run.

I raised some Pekin last year. 8 pounds at 8 weeks and at 8 weeks, the largest drake weighed 9 pounds. No health issues of any kind. Dressed weights were in the 4 1/2 to 5 pound range. Temperaments were excellent.

The last of my Pekins left yesterday to go to a start up duck egg farm as breeding stock. I've got exactly 4 Pekin hatching eggs left and if nobody buys them today, they are going to make a nice omelet.

airotciv · #7 04/02/12, 05:07 PM

I don't know about your State but mine has so many rules/regulations that it is not profitable to go here. Commercially, 10 years ago when we looked into this, it was going to cost a least $10,000 just to get started. How many birds do you have to produce to make a profit? Now you said you sell chickens commercially, Ducks are the same. Now for the contract, you don't say how much land you have and how many birds they what? Now as my Grain/straw sky rockets , don't know what to yes.

Welshmom · #8 04/02/12, 07:03 PM

One thing to be sure of before you jump in is processing the birds. Doing ducks yourself is laborious, but it can be near impossible to find processors who will butcher ducks. Check that our first!

Judy in IN · #9 04/02/12, 08:16 PM

My question is...How do you keep the little boogers in water? I've got 14 Pekin ducklings in a movable tractor on grass. They will happily go through 20 gallons of water per day.

They have a five gallon waterer. They will run through that in less than an hour, and be crying for more.

honeyrobber · #10 04/02/12, 10:54 PM

It not to local but I know a slaughter house that is FDA approved for all sizes of chickens, duck, turkeys and a few others. I know about it from a fellow farmers market person. I was growing quail at the time and thought about it. The price for them to set up for the quail was a problem as they did not have a enough people ask about them. It is in southern Kentucky.