Aging Ducks; Anyone Try This?

[Pete McMiller]

Yes. William Mink, aging divers works great. I still got the odd Buffy that even the dog wouldn't eat but all others were much proved after aging. My favorite duck to eat became the Common Golden Eye. It may have had something to do with what they ate when arriving in Wisconsin - shot most on the Mississippi River where there was an abundance of wild celery. Try aging and see for yourself.

 

[Carl]

Yep, greater scaup and redheads come out great via aging.
Buffies were almost always jerky though

 

[Nick Zito]

I too do this. Gut shot are cleaned quickly. The remainder hang in the garage. Hopefully it doesn't get cold enough to freeze them solid in there.

 

[Steve Sanford]

Great video. Strange, because while I have done this for years with venison, I have never given a thought to doing it with waterfowl or other birds. Next springs turkey will definitely be hung. RM

Good morning, RM~

To the chagrin of my long-time partner, I have always aged/hung my ducks and geese - depending upon the weather. Whereas my Dad hung our birds in a Flowering Dogwood tree, I hang mine beneath the eaves on the North side of my shop - out of the sun and rain/snow and out of reach of mammalian scroungers. I watch the weather to decide when to clean them - but always pick a nice day where I can sit in the sun for the plucking and filleting - right near my "abattoir" - where I leave carcasses for both avian and mammalian scavengers.

Although I know I have photos of birds hanging 'neath the eaves of my shop, I have no efficient way to find them on my hard drive. This one was staged - to get the birds down near my Dad's Winchester Model 50. I adjusted the cord lengths for reasons of composition (and used an East-facing wall). In fact, I have a row of nails from which I hang birds - one on each nail.



Searching my hard drive with the term "hanging" found no photos with ducks aging on the aforementioned nails. First I found this image - some freshly-varnished Broadbill "aging" in the sun on the South side of my shop. (BTW: These are balsa-bodied Herter's Model Canadas - with Tenite Model 72 heads, sold sometime in the 1960s.)



And this canoe - SWEET GHERKIN - avoiding the aging process up in my loft - and out of the sun altogether.



All the best,

SJS