High-quality plucking of ducks at home is a rather difficult process. Knowledge obtained in advance will help not to get lost and do everything quickly and efficiently, even if it is done for the first time. In this article we will look at how to properly pluck the ducks at home.
When to proceed: immediately after slaughter or wait a bit
The first hours after death to pluck is not recommended. After 3 hours, the subcutaneous fat should harden and this will help not to damage the skin of the bird during the procedure.
Important! Feathers should be pulled out in the direction in which they grow. Otherwise, the work will not be done carefully and the product will not have a presentation.
How to nibble by hand
There are several ways to handle a slaughtered duck. Feather removal can be dry or hot water, manual or mechanical.
Consider all the details of the content of duck breeds such as Peking, Star-53, Gogol, Indo-Musk, Mulard, Mandarin Duck, Blue Favorite and Bashkir.
Dry method
The easiest way to manually pluck a bird is also suitable for handling ducks. It does not need special knowledge, but only requires patience and diligence. Hunters in the field, if possible, pluck the bird warm - this is easier to do. But, as mentioned above, it is possible to damage the skin. Home hunting methods are not entirely applicable, especially if the bird was raised for sale. 
Instruction:
- The duck rests on a tarp, another cloth or several layers of paper, newspapers, film.
- The large feathers on the tail and wings are removed first.
- Feathers from the thoracic and cervical parts are removed - here they are small, therefore the procedure for their removal is rather laborious.
- After oshchipa large feathers, the fluff is removed, which must be removed either manually, or by scorching the carcass.
- The last operation of this method is to wash the bird with water to remove residual feathers and soot from its body.
Important! When burning down fluff from the surface of the bird's skin, this must be done quickly, because after a few minutes the subcutaneous fat begins to melt and this will spoil the presentation of the product.
Plucking after scalding
In addition to the dry method of plucking birds, there are more professional ways that help to do the job better. One of them is scalding a duck carcass. After this operation, the feathers are removed much easier.
Instruction:
- Water heats up to 80 ° С - it is possible to damage the skin of a duck when plucking feathers.
- The bird is dipped in a pot of water for a minute.
- Feathers plucked from the wings to the side of the tail, regardless of the direction of growth.
- The last to remove the feathers in the thoracic and cervical regions.
- A bird is scorched over a fire to remove small inclusions - fluff, feathers, hairs.
- The duck is rinsed with running cool water.
Find out the terms and conditions for growing ducklings in an incubator.
With bag and iron
Another method of plucking ducks is to use a cloth bag and an iron. For the procedure will need an iron, a basin, a bag of cloth and water.
Instruction:
- The bag is soaked for 15 minutes in water and then wrung out.
- The bird carcass is placed in a bag that is tightly tied.
- A bag of duck is immersed for 5-7 minutes in a container with hot water (about 80 ° C).
- While the carcass is in water, the iron is heated to its maximum temperature.
- The bird is proglazhivaetsya through a wet bag with a hot iron. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that there are no folds on the bag and the whole area of the carcass has passed such heat treatment.
- The duck comes out of the bag and is plucked.
Did you know? Not every duck has a full-blown down, because of which it is so appreciated - chicks pull it out of the abdomen and chest to warm its laying.
We pluck a duck with a bag and ironHow to nip with a nozzle
Technological advances have also reached the poultry industry, making it possible to use mechanical devices to pluck birds at home. This will help the so-called perosemny nozzle for a drill, hammer drill or grinder. The device has a rather “prickly” look with multidirectional grooved rubber “fingers”.
Read how to properly pluck the chicken, duck and goose with the nozzle.To use the nozzle used drill, hammer drill, screwdriver or other power tools with adjustable rotational motion. The work of the nozzle consists in picking out feathers from a duck using a device that imitates the movements of human fingers with its high-speed movements. To pluck in this way, it is only necessary to firmly fasten the tool and bring bird carcasses to it.
Pluck the duck with the nozzleWhen breeding ducks poultry farmer must comply with a number of conditions and responsibilities. Learn how to breed ducks at home.
We save duck feathers and down
Feathers and down, obtained during removal from the body of the bird, can be useful, so you should not throw them out. Thermal insulation properties of down of duck family members are highly appreciated by humans and can serve as a heater for clothing.
After the duck is plucked, its down is washed in warm water with a small portion of detergent, and the feathers are soaked in a soap solution for a couple of hours. These measures will help to flush away fat, body residues and unpleasant odors. Next, the fluff is washed with cold running water and wrung out. Raw materials are placed in a fabric bag and hung out for drying (preferably in the sun). From time to time, the fluff must be stirred to prevent it from crumbling and rotting.
Did you know? With not the largest neck size, even in comparison with other poultry, the duck has more cervical vertebrae than the giraffe!
Useful tips
To make the procedure as successful as possible, you should follow some rules:
- plucking a carcass is best done on the street, in order to avoid inhaling carnal odor;
- the body of the bird must be completely drained of blood;
- peel is removed before plucking;
- it is more convenient to remove feathers with sharp tweaks with your thumb and forefinger;
- deeply seated feathers are removed with tweezers or special tweezers to avoid stumps;
- the bird is slaughtered in the period when there is no molt - then it is better cleaned of feathers and fluff;
- a wild duck before pickling and butchering should be checked for the presence of pellets in its body.
It will be interesting to know how to feed the little ducklings and how to raise the ducklings in an incubator.Duck meat is a dietary product. But in order to eat it with pleasure and benefit, the plucking procedure must be carried out correctly and according to all the rules. Then the product will be safe, and dishes from it are well suited for a regular dinner and a festive table.
Video: how to quickly pluck a duck by hand
Feedback from network users on how to pluck a duck
Put the duck on a prepared sheet or paper, start pulling out all the big feathers. Pulling is best for growth, so as not to damage or break the skin. After, proceed for plucking the breast, smoothly moving to the neck and back. When all the fluff is removed, the hair may remain on the body. They are difficult to shoot, so most often the carcass is rubbed with flour and scorched. To get rid of the hairs just hold for a couple of seconds over the fire. But you should not keep it for a long time so that the subcutaneous fat does not melt and the skin does not burn. At the end of my carcass and cleaned up soot.
The duck can be plucked in two ways dry (immediately after slaughter) and wet (3-4 hours after slaughter).
Dry: the bird should be still warm, plucking putting the bird on its knees upside down (this is more convenient). Wet: immersed in hot water for a minute, but not boiling water (70-80 degrees), and then feathers are removed. Then the bird is suspended by the legs and plucked as quickly as possible. This method has a drawback: duck meat turns red if this procedure is performed immediately after slaughter qqq_.
If you plan to keep a bird, then it is better to use a dry plucking method. Do not forget to singe the carcass.
It is necessary to wrap the duck with a wet thick towel, or with a mat. The towel should be well moistened and slightly wrung out, only so that the water does not flow. And then you need a duck ... ironed with a very heated iron :). Well so ironed, to hiss and steamed ... Boiling water does sometimes happen that the feathers are removed along with the skin. And from the iron - never! Only feathers. If in some remote place the feathers are left unpaired, the procedure can be repeated at the "local" level: again thoroughly moisten the towel and iron))).
After all feathers are removed, the duck must be oshmal. To do this, you can use a piece of dried dry alcohol.
