Dove meat colors

K

Kevin Layne

Active member
Does anyone know why most dove meat is dark red but a small percentage of them are very light colored to the point of almost looking like chicken?
 
I believe the lighter ones are younger, this years birds. Given that this years birds may be born as early as May or as late as last week, they ones born early can be full size.
 
I've always thought dark meat on a migratory bird was due to flying long distance, like a duck or goose. Light pink, less flying = local bird.

The BBWD's we shoot have light pink meat due to being local ducks.
 

What Carl wrote is spot on. No matter they are delicious. Try plucking the entire bird don't just breast them, they are worth it.


my 2 cents
 
Back when I hunted early teal/ gallinule season and shot a lot of common moorhens, you could tell a clear difference between the breast meat of young birds vs older ones. Same pattern, younger ones were lighter colored and less strong tasting.
 
I don't know the answer but I'm not convinced that it's age. We shot a lot of young birds this year and all of them had darker colored meat (young birds are easy to tell by the buff colored feather tips). Out of the 150ish birds shot by our group I'd say there were 4-5 that had quail colored meat. Every one of the light birds was a big plump bird. I'll post photos after this weekends hunt for further discussion.
 

If one hunts White Geese in the Prairie Provinces for many days you eat plenty of White Geese or you do not hunt. The young Snows & Ross have meat pink like a chicken, and Gawd they taste SSSOOOOooooo Good. Decoy hunters can get all they want as the young are the first to decoy (long as yer shoulder holds out), and the adults hold back. Especially Ross Geese. Pass Shooters can pick and choose. A young White goose is the best goose to eat I believe if ya want good eating.
 
Kevin Layne said:
I don't know the answer but I'm not convinced that it's age. We shot a lot of young birds this year and all of them had darker colored meat (young birds are easy to tell by the buff colored feather tips). Out of the 150ish birds shot by our group I'd say there were 4-5 that had quail colored meat. Every one of the light birds was a big plump bird. I'll post photos after this weekends hunt for further discussion.
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It would not surprise me if the younger, lighter meated birds are local birds. Or birds that have not yet migrated a great distance. I imagine that once they start using those muscles, it doesn't take long for the meat to turn darker.
 
Vince Pagliaroli said:
If one hunts White Geese in the Prairie Provinces for many days you eat plenty of White Geese or you do not hunt. The young Snows & Ross have meat pink like a chicken, and Gawd they taste SSSOOOOooooo Good. Decoy hunters can get all they want as the young are the first to decoy (long as yer shoulder holds out), and the adults hold back. Especially Ross Geese. Pass Shooters can pick and choose. A young White goose is the best goose to eat I believe if ya want good eating.
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I think a specklebelly is the best goose meat IMO
 


I have shot, cooked/smoked and eaten my fair share of Specks. They are good but I think a young Snow is better. As a camp cook they never disappointed our group of friends. To each their own that's part of what makes the waterfowl community go round.
 
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