➡ Quail Hatch Along🥚

[RUNuts]

Little spot. Big spot is camera shy. Collecting this weeks eggs for the incubator. Turns out the rat cage works VERY well.

 

[mixedUPturk]

We'd go the zoo. I'd call it grocery shopping. Surprising the number of looks I'd get when I'd ask for recipes.

The Houston Zoo has some Easter Eggers running around outside the cages. Shocked and tickled me. Didn't get an answer from the staff on what they were doing with chickens. Guessing, fresh, warm eggs for the reptiles and carnivores? Or just keeping the bugs down? All that manure goes somewhere.

They did tell me the ostrich eggs were used for enrichment purposes for a lot of the animals. Glad to hear they aren't going to waste.

Baton rouge zoo has chickens too and i couldnt get any straight answer either on the reason. I hope they go to good use like over there.

Like ive said before to each his own. Feral animals are big problems all over the world and yes they euthanize So SO many. I worked in a kill shelter for about 6 months before i couldnt do it any longer. Those euthanized animals haunted me in nightmares. So as long as i dont have to eat Rover or my rabbit catcher (his Christian name is Richard .)

 

[R2elk]

I get it, I'm having a hard time seeing my ducks as meat right now.

I have no problem seeing ducks as food.

It wasn't that long ago that horse was the preferred meat, beef was considered junk. We ate all sorts of critters growing up, that's what you do when bullets are cheaper than food.(at the time)

Horse is still a preferred meat in certain countries.

 

[007Sean]

I have no problem seeing ducks as food.

Horse is still a preferred meat in certain countries.

My ancestors only ate horses if they were starving or there were no other animals available. Chances are if you have eaten at Mickey D's then you have eaten horse meat at one time or another.

 

[Kiki]

I'm in favor of people using all viable meat sources if it's a need or part of their culture, but most people only see cute, fluffy pets and would likely tar and feather me for mentioning it. Meanwhile, shelters are overrun and euthanizing is mean.

Cows are sweet, affectionate animals and pigs are more intelligent than a typical dog, but we eat those. I digress...
I get it, I'm having a hard time seeing my ducks as meat right now.

 

[RUNuts]

Smoked duck. I wonder if I could...

Smoked quail. Now there is an idea. Bacon wrapped, smoked quail. Now I need to buy a smoker. Last one rusted out.

 

[BantyChooks]

I'm in favor of people using all viable meat sources if it's a need or part of their culture, but most people only see cute, fluffy pets and would likely tar and feather me for mentioning it. Meanwhile, shelters are overrun and euthanizing is mean.

Cows are sweet, affectionate animals and pigs are more intelligent than a typical dog, but we eat those. I digress...
I get it, I'm having a hard time seeing my ducks as meat right now.

I think the pet/food dichotomy is one of the most arbitrary systems around. Personally, I'd say that what makes an animal a pet (or not) is what their owner thinks of them, not what species they are. Pets are another arbitrary classification, but I digress. (I don't see it as a harmful one. Not all illogical standards have to be evil. I butcher extras regularly for food, and I have had other birds—just a few—that I'd have moved Heaven and Earth to save. Why? I liked them. No other reason. I am under no delusions that their lives were somehow 'worth' more.)

I see no reason why my pet ducks/chickens should be valued as less than a dog just because they don't bark and tear up my furniture. I also don't see why we shouldn't eat unwanted dogs/cats/horses. It makes more sense than letting them strain overcrowded shelters or starve on the streets. I think it's a bigger shame to euthanize them and leave their bodies to rot in the name of 'respect' for their bodies. Just give them a quick bullet and then toss them on the grill. They won't care, they're dead.

Some people say "Well, then how do you draw a line between animals and humans? Why don't we eat our own dead?" First, that's a stupid idea from the viewpoint of transmitted diseases. Second, at some point, everybody has to decide for themselves how lives are valued. I've made my decisions; others have made theirs. No matter if animals are 'friends' or 'food', they should still be treated kindly at all times. There is NEVER a reason to be a jerk to the lives in your charge.

 

[BullChick]

Don’t ask what you’re eating, and don’t be a jerk if you serve someone horse. Let them think it’s cow.

 

[007Sean]

Smoked duck. I wonder if I could...

Smoked quail. Now there is an idea. Bacon wrapped, smoked quail. Now I need to buy a smoker. Last one rusted out.

I like smoking ducks, quail, fish, etc...but I do find it's hard to keep them lit!

 

[RUNuts]

I like smoking ducks, quail, fish, etc...but I do find it's hard to keep them lit!

You're doing it wrong. You got to roll them TIGHT!

Neighbor brought me a mess of Spanish Mackerels. Said he was tired of them. I smoked the whole mess and brought him 2 fillets. My mistake. He ate them both (big fillets, I thought he'd share with his kids) AND (this is the hard part) he never brought me any more.

Smoked mackerel is GOOD!