At About Twelve Weeks
The ducks continue to be cared for by highly skilled farmers, and are fed a whole cooked corn diet for the following two weeks. This old-fashioned feed contains no antibiotics or hormones, and results in a more flavorful foie gras and meat.
The feeding buildings are temperature-controlled, and the birds are housed in spacious group pens. The managed feeding utilizes the duck’s physiological capacity to transform the excess feed into fat and store it in the liver and skin. They are fed twice per day by the same feeder, using a pre-measured quantity of feed. Each feeding takes only a few seconds. The funnel is easily inserted with no harm to the ducks due to their esophagus being expandable and pliable.
Ducks do not have a gag reflex, throat or stomach, and the esophagus serves as a holding area for the feed while it is digested. The feeding is not harmful to the animal, as proven by scientific studies.
Since the process of producing foie gras is physiological rather than pathological, the fattened liver, or foie gras, created by managed feeding, would return to its normal size if the process was stopped.
The processing takes place in close proximity to the farm, with special care taken in every step. The evisceration is performed once the carcass is cold, which avoids any damage to the structure of the foie gras and meat. These are air-chilled overnight and then vacuum-packed, resulting in a clean, easy to work with product.