A hawk got my duck. How do I process it?

[Woodland Woman]

A hawk got one of my ducks today. She was about 5 months old. I am really not happy about it because she was almost ready to start laying. But the hawk only ate her head and her body is intact. I put her in the fridge in case we would be able to eat it. She was laying outside for probably up to 4 hours and temperature was 40-60 degrees during that time. Would it be safe to eat it? How do I process it?

 

[Wifezilla]

I think it would be safe since it is cool outside.

I just lost a duck too. Not sure what got it though so we didn't eat it.

 

[SKR8PN]

I lost a hen two weeks ago to a hawk, and the only thing I found was a few feathers!

 

[i_am2bz]

I'm sorry for ya'll...I keep all my girls in a pen because I'm so obsessively afraid of the hawks here...

 

[Wifezilla]

Mine used to free range in the back yard. After the hawk attack I made them a huge covered pen. Whatever got my drake climbed over a 6 foot fence, broke the netting and then got Cartman's neck. Now we lock them in a secure night pen when it gets dark. Our latest predator likes to strike around 3 am.

 

[Woodland Woman]

I do have a covered pen for them but they just happened to be free-ranging this morning. Believe me, the rest were all hiding but when I went looking for them and they were happy for me to lead them to their pen. They would not go out in the open without my protection. Hopefully they are all smarter now. Sorry Wifeziila that you lost your drake. I was really thankful when I found mine.

Now I need to figure out what to do with it. Do I remove the feathers or gut it first? How long is it ok to wait before I do it? I figure it has been about 12 hours now. Can I wait till morning? I wasn't planning on learning how to do this till next spring.

 

[Wifezilla]

Gut and bleed is first. Not sure about times though. I wasn't planning on doing any of that until spring either!

 

[Calliopia]

If they are processed like chickens, you take off the feathers first and then when they are nude you gut them.

There are some great videos on Youtube about how to process a chicken. I can't imagine it is any different for a duck.