I had a similiar experience, I had a baby duck given to me as a gift and I figured since it was old enough to be outside I would let it in with the others, which were 4-6 months old. They nearly killed it! I had to separate it again until it was full grown. Then they accepted it fine.

Search Update!!! What luck; I found the duck ...recipe. My "Drunken Duck" recipe has re-appeared today! Happy Dance!!! It was in an old file box I'm slowly clearing out. I wonder what other jewels may surface? I had made two copies of this recipe from a library book and then put both copies in the same place. What was I thinking? The book - a history review of cooking, restaurants, and recipes of the late 1800s - came from the Dover, DE, Library. I think it was long out of print when I checked it out in 1992. The dinner is called "Positively Ducky, A Small Spring Dinner for Four." It's Chapter 29 of the book and begins on page 305. Apparently the recipes were broken down into seasons and the duck recipe came under "Spring." I know everything about this book - except the title and author. I had made photo copies of the pages, stapled them together, and did not bother to reference the book, author, or publisher on the pages. Again, what was I thinking? The menu for this dinner is includes... Crisp Savory Almonds Chilled Spring Green Soup Aromatic Duck (which I named Drunk Duck; it's soaked in Brandy) Gingered Red Cabbage Slaw Fresh Grapefruit Gelatin with Cream I won't copy all the instructions right now - I have birthday treats to prepare - but the marinade/rub for the 5 lb. duck includes... 2 teaspoons black peppercorns 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 bay leaves, crumbled 6 whole cloves 1 Tbls. coarse Kosher salt 1 Tbls. brown sugar 1 Tbls. gin, vodka, or brandy 1 garlic clove, peeled I am so thankful I found this recipe. A copy will be put in my computer; my friends will have emailed copies, a paper copy will go in a proper file folder and cabinet, and another copy will go in my Betty Crocker cookbook. My ducks will never be served sober again!

I love duck breast, but I haven't seen it at Costco! I typically would bake it, using maybe a raspberry glaze? (You can reduce down frozen raspberries). Brown it skin side down in a skillet first. Or here's something else I have done: 1 duck breast (double for two people, etc.), skin on. Lemon juice 3-4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed Celtic sea salt Ground pepper Lettuce leaves for garnish Poke holes in the duck skin with the tines of a fork, to let juices drain out. Add lemon juice and the salt and pepper, rubbing the ingredients into the skin and flesh side. Brown the bird in your skillet, skin side down — do not add oil, the skin will baste itself. Meanwhile, have your oven preheated to 350 F. Place the breast on a pan, skin side up, and cook for 25 minutes in the oven. Meanwhile, cook the shiitake in the skillet you just took the breast from, using the spatula to mix the mushrooms around. You should not need to add any oil — but if you do, a little olive oil is fine. This should take about ten minutes or so. Serve on a bed of lettuce. If you go the raspberry reduction way, omit the lemon in the above, reduce down the raspberry (use raspberries without added sweeteners!) and then coat just before putting in the oven.

ritaweeda, I think a lot of it depends on the age of the deer and what they've been eating. Old bucks are going to be tougher and taste gamier than young ones. Those old ones make nice trophies but they aren't very good eating. When my grandfather grew grain on his cattle ranch, the deer often grazed on it and they were always more tender and less gamey than the deer who foraged mainly in the forests. I've made venison stew several times and the meat becomes tender through the long cooking time, but retains it's wild flavor. We've also grilled venison tenderloin which was both tender and flavorful. Venison sausage or salami usually has some pork added to it for the fat because venison is so lean that ground meats will be too dry. I have a friend who has a husband who is a duck/goose hunter so they eat a lot of wild birds. I'll bet one of their roasted goose dinners would be delicious with some sort of fruit sauce or glaze.