Trying To Make "Bone Meal" From A Wild Duck

The other day, our friend got it into his head that he was going to go and shoot some wild geese for our guys. They weren't exactly cooperative—in fact, they knew exactly how to avoid him. Always hanging around the pond until he showed up. Then gone.


Hubby was making fun of him for not having any luck with his goose-hunting efforts.

That afternoon, he grabbed his gun and I could see that he wasn't coming back until he brought SOMETHING. It was getting late and I worried he was going to spend the night out there. Then the door flew open and he walked in victoriously, holding two wild ducks. He looked so happy that he didn't have to return empty-handed! I was so happy for him too!

The guys were VERY interested in the catch.

Hubby, as a punishment for all the teasing, had to learn how to clean them. Since we didn't care about keeping the skin, it was quite easy.

I then happily tossed them into a slow cooker.

First I just cooked the meat and took what I could off the bones for treats. Then I was going to cook the rest to grind it up for what I call a bone meal, just like I do with chicken or turkey.

Waste not—want not, right?

Since the bones were all quite small, I figured they should become tender easily. I was wrong.

First I cooked them for twelve hours like I normally do. They were as solid as a rock! Determined to use them, particularly since there isn't a whole lot of meat on a duck and it's hard to get it off the bones clean, I cooked them for another twelve hours.

The bones were as if made from some hardened glass!

Still totally hard and not brittle either. They looked more like some kind of glass than a bone and I couldn't break them if my life depended on it. Stubborn as I can be, I did get them ground. But it was an unreal effort and it did sound like grinding glass!

So I wonder.

What makes wild duck bones so unlike poultry bones? What the heck to they eat? What mother nature gives them. No balanced diet from a bag or a can. Whatever they can find.

"Small fish and fish eggs, snails, worms and mollusks, small crustaceans, grass and weeds, algae and aquatic plants and roots, frogs, salamanders and other amphibians, insects, seeds and grain, small berries, fruits and nuts, and sometimes sand, gravel and small stones." ~Source: about.com

It certainly is good for their bones, anyway.

I'm reserving further comments, just throwing it out there because it did make me stop and think. I wonder what their bones would look like if they shopped for their groceries in an animal feed store.

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"Natural" With Regard To Dog Nutrition (Part I): What Does It Mean And Does It Matter?
The Whole Food Philosophy: The Nutrients, And The Mojo
The Whole Food Philosophy And The Tale Of A Giant Sugar Beet
A Rant About Breast Milk And Dog Nutrition

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