Culled my first quail. Debrief thread.

[CrazyQuailLady]

Hi. This is sort of a debrief for myself because yesterday I killed my first quail. I'm also curious about other people's first experiences killing quail or other poultry/livestock.

It's my first time raising coturnix quail and I hatched this quail out of the egg. She had a crooked neck and a paralysed leg, but I couldn't bring myself to cull her as a tiny chick, so I sort of coddled her and gave her lots of TLC but she never got better. After 5 weeks I finally decided I needed to end her suffering. I looked up a bunch of YouTube videos how to slaughter and process as humanely and quickly as possible, and I watched them over and over until I was confident I knew what to do.

So, onto the killing. She was calm when I held her over the sink. I snipped her head off with sharp scissors. Her eyes closed, her wings flapped around and I let her body bleed out. And that's the end.

How do I feel about it? It wasn't pleasant to do. But it certainly gives me a renewed respect for where our meat comes from and that it is a part of life, that many animals die so that we can live. I am grateful for its life and glad I could face the reality of it.

There was hardly any meat on it, but I didn't want her to have gone to waste, so I cooked her up today and tried quail meat for the first time. She was delicious,

What are your experiences culling for the first time?

 

[FossilPeak]

Grew up hunting so have a different perspective on things. Killed my first deer when I was 5 and remember feeling more amazed by it than sad. I remember sitting there petting it and I couldn't quit looking at it. Was always involved in the cleaning and butchering as well. Never really bothered me. I've had to put down several dogs and that really gets me. My son's wiener dog that he grew up with got a back injury a couple years ago. He'd seen it in another wiener dog that we nursed for months and she was in constant pain. The boy was 10 at the time. As soon as the dog got hurt it was obvious. There was a distinct hump in the spine and his eyes were dialated from the shock. The boy looked at me and said "we have to put him down he's hurting". I asked him if he wanted to go with me. He said he couldn't. I took the dog out and swiftly ended the suffering. That was probably the hardest one. The black dog that now goes everywhere I do literally every day is gonna be tough. I know that day will come and man it's gonna be hard.

 

[cookiesdaddy]

How timely is your post! I need to cull many of my first batch of quails and I said this week's the week, but kept delaying. Tonight is the night then, when I get home

 

[CrazyQuailLady]

Grew up hunting so have a different perspective on things. Killed my first deer when I was 5 and remember feeling more amazed by it than sad. I remember sitting there petting it and I couldn't quit looking at it. Was always involved in the cleaning and butchering as well. Never really bothered me. I've had to put down several dogs and that really gets me. My son's wiener dog that he grew up with got a back injury a couple years ago. He'd seen it in another wiener dog that we nursed for months and she was in constant pain. The boy was 10 at the time. As soon as the dog got hurt it was obvious. There was a distinct hump in the spine and his eyes were dialated from the shock. The boy looked at me and said "we have to put him down he's hurting". I asked him if he wanted to go with me. He said he couldn't. I took the dog out and swiftly ended the suffering. That was probably the hardest one. The black dog that now goes everywhere I do literally every day is gonna be tough. I know that day will come and man it's gonna be hard.

Thank you for sharing that.

How timely is your post!  I need to cull many of my first batch of quails and I said this week's the week, but kept delaying.  Tonight is the night then, when I get home

Did you do it?

 

[Quail Jailer]

Bird Murder...lol, just kidding, its tough but they wont kill themselves...

 

[CrazyQuailLady]

I beg to differ lol. I think they would kill each other and themselves. I have one female quail that went crazy attacking her cage mates and even drew blood. I had to separate her. I then put in one other quail to keep her company and she chased him around and it looked like she was on a murderous rampage. He was terrified! I took him out but then I put in a quail from a different cage and the two of them are happy as can be together. I don't really understand it but I'm glad she no longer wants to kill lol.

 

[Quail Jailer]

I beg to differ lol. I think they would kill each other and themselves. I have one female quail that went crazy attacking her cage mates and even drew blood. I had to separate her. I then put in one other quail to keep her company and she chased him around and it looked like she was on a murderous rampage. He was terrified! I took him out but then I put in a quail from a different cage and the two of them are happy as can be together. I don't really understand it but I'm glad she no longer wants to kill lol.

Well, Allow me to say it a different way...They wont chop their own heads off.

One day it'll be an old hat for you, for example when I get a headache, I kill two at once and hold them to my temples while they quiver, ..brain massage

(JUST kidding)

 

[Dragons4u]

Only you would think of that Q.J.

 

[Pinkaboo]

Hi. This is sort of a debrief for myself because yesterday I killed my first quail. I'm also curious about other people's first experiences killing quail or other poultry/livestock.

It's my first time raising coturnix quail and I hatched this quail out of the egg. She had a crooked neck and a paralysed leg, but I couldn't bring myself to cull her as a tiny chick, so I sort of coddled her and gave her lots of TLC but she never got better. After 5 weeks I finally decided I needed to end her suffering. I looked up a bunch of YouTube videos how to slaughter and process as humanely and quickly as possible, and I watched them over and over until I was confident I knew what to do.

So, onto the killing. She was calm when I held her over the sink. I snipped her head off with sharp scissors. Her eyes closed, her wings flapped around and I let her body bleed out. And that's the end.

How do I feel about it? It wasn't pleasant to do. But it certainly gives me a renewed respect for where our meat comes from and that it is a part of life, that many animals die so that we can live. I am grateful for its life and glad I could face the reality of it.

There was hardly any meat on it, but I didn't want her to have gone to waste, so I cooked her up today and tried quail meat for the first time. She was delicious,

What are your experiences culling for the first time?

I have a lot of admiration for you
I know I couldn't do that, and I doubt I ever would.
Preparing it made me feel queezy

I guess I'm lucky I have local farmers of my husband that could cull any sick chickens
But like you I'd want to be sure it was done in the most humane way
Well done

 

[Pinkaboo]

Grew up hunting so have a different perspective on things. Killed my first deer when I was 5 and remember feeling more amazed by it than sad. I remember sitting there petting it and I couldn't quit looking at it. Was always involved in the cleaning and butchering as well. Never really bothered me. I've had to put down several dogs and that really gets me. My son's wiener dog that he grew up with got a back injury a couple years ago. He'd seen it in another wiener dog that we nursed for months and she was in constant pain. The boy was 10 at the time. As soon as the dog got hurt it was obvious. There was a distinct hump in the spine and his eyes were dialated from the shock. The boy looked at me and said "we have to put him down he's hurting". I asked him if he wanted to go with me. He said he couldn't. I took the dog out and swiftly ended the suffering. That was probably the hardest one. The black dog that now goes everywhere I do literally every day is gonna be tough. I know that day will come and man it's gonna be hard.

Maybe you could take your black dog to the vets when he needs to be put to sleep
You can be with them while its done
Or even better your dog might just die naturally of old age