fantail

I was wandering how often if at all that you fellas kill a duck with worms in it. When I was a kid my buddy and I killed some divers on our pond and all of them had worms but what's really got me tore up is last monday I took my 10 year old nephew and he killed his first 2 greenheads and one of them was full of worms! Now in a diver I can understand but in a greenhead well that just bothered me. Then I told my dad and he said that back in the 60s and 70s when he duck hunted (he's a workaholic now and doesn't hunt) it wasn't uncommon to kill a mallard with worms but never any other kind. I meant to get a picture of the worms in the meat but for some reason I never did.

SwampTHING

Did it look like this? commonly referred too as "rice breast"





It is a parasitic infestation called "Sarcocystosis”. Parasites are organisms that make a living off of feeding on other organisms. Tapeworms, ticks, fleas, and Sarcocystosis are all parasites. The parasite strategy is simple: feed on the “host” but not enough to kill it. Indeed, parasites not only need a host for food, they also need a host as a “vehicle” to help them complete their life cycle. The only way for a parasite to “move” from one host to another, is to be eaten by another host, or to release eggs some place where another host might ingest them. Because of this lifestyle, scientists refer to parasites as having “life-cycles”.

For Sarcocystosis, the life cycle is simple although not completely understood. The cysts embedded in the muscle of ducks are ingested by a carnivore (such as a fox getting a hen during the breeding season). Once in the carnivore stomach, the parasite reproduces and the eggs are released in the carnivore’s excrements. The eggs survive outside for long periods of time, and may end up being eaten by invertebrates such as snails or flies, which are in turn consumed by ducks. If the carnivore excrements end up in the water, ducks may also consume contaminated water and become infected. The parasite then “migrates” into the muscle tissues of the waterfowl host, and there await to be consumed by another carnivore so they can reproduce again. Skunks, possums, raptors and even humans may function as final hosts for Sarcocystosis. Interestingly, dabbling ducks are more commonly infected than divers. Possibly, divers may escape infections by feeding on pond sediments where invertebrates infected with the eggs of Sarcocystosis are less common. Many waterfowl species such as shovelers, mallards, pintails, as well as snow and Canada geese are vulnerable, but shovelers are most commonly infected. Interestingly, young ducks (duckling to immatures in the fall) have low infection rates, possibly because the parasite is most active in wintering areas. The parasite itself does not cause morbidity or mortality in waterfowl, and the cysts have little effects on the waterfowl host. Apparently, the cysts become “invisible” during cooking, and health officials tell us that ingesting cooked Sarcocystosis cysts (cooking and eating ricebreast ducks) does not pose a health hazard. However, Sarcocystosis infections are one of the most conspicuous parasitic conditions of wild ducks, and infected ducks are definitely not appealing, and most are understandingly discarded by hunters. For hunters that harvest “ricebreast” ducks, it is important to not feed infected birds to pets, or to throw such birds where they can be consumed by wild carnivores as this may only help the cycle of the parasite. Dispose of any infected birds in garbage or by burning.

fantail

That's it right there! Very interesting reading too. The ones I talked about in the divers were longer worms and were not in the meat. I'm going tonight to put that duck in the chicken burner if something hasn't already eat it.

skip0ls

i've definately eaten ducks with those little guys in there... i'm sure they die when you cook them... right?

duramaxnay6

Shot a few spoonies this year with that.

superstrutter

I have killed many Mallards with the worms. About one out of every ten I kill have these worms. Earlier this season two out of the four Mallards I killed one morning had them. I know it's probably safe eating them, but I just can't make myself do it. Other than Mallards and Shovelers I have not killed any more species that had them. As for the worms in the divers, they are probably ones that have been ingested by the duck. When I was younger, we had some ponds close to where I lived. The ponds were usually full of Scaup. Just about every Scaup we killed, and that was a bunch, were full of these red colored worms that they were eating. It was pretty gross looking, but had no effect on the breast of the duck.

fantail

What about gadwalls and wood ducks? That's mainly all we kill around here with the occasional mallard or green wing. Has anybody killed a gadwall or wood duck with rice breast because I never have?

Also I'm hearing that some rivers around here have fish that have worms similar to these if not the same. Our local lake doesn't have them however it's probably just a matter of time till it does.

superstrutter

Never heard of a Wood Duck having them. I've killed tons of Woodies and Gadwalls and have never found worms in them. As for fish, most have some worms. Most of the worms are so small they are almost impossible to see. Some are very visible. When I find visible worms in my fish I just take them out. If I find a Mallard breast full of worms I throw it away.