Interactive lesson

Meat, eggs, fat and feathers, step by step

Interactive lesson: duck and goose eggs kept safe, slaughter at the right time, plucking and chilling the carcass, rendering fat and feathers for pillows.

Free sample Chapters 1 and 2 (8 steps) are free. The full lesson comes with the Meat, eggs, fat and feathers module. Already bought? Unlock

This lesson is general guidance, not professional training. Local regulations and expert advice always take precedence. Read our disclaimer.

The whole lesson as text

1. Eggs: collecting and cleanliness

Ducks don't choose a nest the way hens do: they lay wherever they happen to be.

Shut in until 9 am — In the morning keep the ducks in the house until they have laid, usually until 8–9 am. That way crows and rats don't eat the eggs.
Collect at once — Collect the eggs first thing in the morning. Nest bedding must be clean and dry: a dirty nest means a dirty egg.
Egg from the mud: no — Don't use an egg from the water, the mud or the ground outside the nest for food or for hatching. Throw a cracked egg away or hard-boil it for the dog or cat.
Cleaning eggs — Clean a slightly dirty egg with a dry brush or fine sandpaper. If you wash it, use water warmer than the egg, dry it, put it in the fridge and use it first.

Why: A duck egg weighs roughly 70–90 g, a goose egg 140–200 g. Ducks lay early in the morning, in the bedding, on the run, sometimes in the water. If you keep them in during the morning, the eggs are in one place and clean.

With geese, collect the eggs twice a day in the season.
An unwashed egg has a protective layer on the shell: wash only when you have to.

2. Egg safety and storage

Eat duck eggs only thoroughly cooked.

Cook it through — Cook until the white and yolk are firm: a duck egg roughly 10–12 minutes from the boil, a goose egg 15–20.
No raw dishes — No mayonnaise, tiramisu, custard or fried eggs with a runny yolk. In baking, use duck eggs only in recipes that are baked or cooked through.
Cool and in order — Unwashed eggs keep up to 2–3 weeks in a cool larder, roughly 4 weeks in the fridge. Mark the date in pencil and use the oldest first. Wash your hands and bowls after working with them.
Glass of water test — A fresh egg lies on the bottom, an older one stands up, and a bad one floats and is thrown away. Crack each egg into a separate cup before adding it to a mixture.

Why: Duck eggs are linked to salmonella more often than hen's eggs. Ducks lay in bedding and on damp ground, and the shell is more porous. Children, pregnant women, the elderly and anyone ill eat no raw or lightly cooked egg at all, and certainly not a duck egg.

A duck egg is roughly equal to 1.3 hen's eggs, a goose egg to 2.5–3.
For custards and mayonnaise use hen's eggs from a reliable source (in the UK, British Lion eggs) or pasteurised eggs.