At what age do you dress Quail to eat?

[sega]

Wondering at what age do people on here dress quail to eat? I think I waited too long to clean my last pen full of Quail. They had a lot of fat on them. They were 12 to 15 weeks old.

 

[dc3085]

8-12 weeks for coturnix 18-24 for bobwhites. It helps when you tell us what kind of quail you raise.

 

[veggiecanner]

7 weeks or the males get to noisy

 

[dc3085]

Yeah i didnt think about that. Bachelors will literally crow all night. Or they will start at 3 am right before a big day at work and wont stop.

 

[sega]

Ended up cleaning most of them. Still have some in the freezer. Sold over 200 of them for $2 each, just got tried of cleaning the little fellows. Will not raise as many next time.

Thanks for all the comments.

 

[DoubletakeFarm]

So what happens if you wait too long? Say you eat a two yr old quail...too fatty? Too tough?

 

[veggiecanner]

So what happens if you wait too long? Say you eat a two yr old quail...too fatty? Too tough?

Crock pot quail pot pie.

 

[Sycamore27]

The one I have butchered was 13-14 weeks old. I didn't notice a ton of fat in the innards and when I skinned him there wasn't any stuck to the carcass underneath the skin. After I cleaned him I soaked him in cold water with a little salt in the fridge for about 36 hours, that was just how long it happened to take for me to be ready to cook. I baked it in a covered casserole dish. I left the wings on and that was the only thing that was at all tough to me, the rest was pretty tender, especially the breast. My bf said it was a little tough to him, but still ate it all up.

Cheers,
Jessie

 

[Quailsong]

Veggiecanner, love your answer. Haha.

My bf said it was a little tough to him, but still ate it all up.

Yep. I've one of those 'complainers' too. eg, "Not really a fan of this..." *munch munch lick bowl clean*

Also, OP, fat is great for stock. So if you've an old quail to cull they'll make an excellent soup base.

 

[buttercup95]

So I have some quail that are about 9 weeks old texas A&M aka White Coturnix would you say it's an optimal time to eat them? I'm in the country and the males have been crowing (if you can call it that) I don't mind it or anything but I just wanted to know if I should just go ahead and eat them now. I keep thinking they should be bigger...