Culling and Shears

[Sefirothe]

Any shear recommendations? Or is this typical?

I have a pair of poultry shears, nothing fancy, just a pair off of Amazon. They haven’t been used often prior to this and should be fairly sharp.

When culling my quail, the jumbos especially, the first cut with the shears seems to more break the neck. I have to make a second or third cut to cut thru the skin and remove the head to let the quail bleed out.

I’d prefer to remove the head with the first cut if possible. Do I just need a better set of shears or is this just how it works?

 

[BorbQueen]

I like the big Quinn brand ones from harborfreight

 

[BorbQueen]

I have no problem removing the head in one cut

 

[Sefirothe]

I have no problem removing the head in one cut

Thanks, I have a Harbor Freight a couple blocks from my house. I’ll swing by and take a look.

 

[farmer90]

I've tried poultry shears, which will dull pretty quickly and my scissors sharpening skills are not great. Eventually it took 2-3 snaps to remove the head which was a stressful culling method for me and for my quails.
I found 'Fiskars amplfy' scissors and culling became more easier. One snap each. I haven't sharpened them once and I've had those scissors for half a year. This product is made specifically for cutting leather and other heavy materials.

 

[CliftonQuail]

It may seem a bit gruesome, but I hold the quail's body firmly with one hand and pull the head off with the other. No struggle trying to get shears around the neck or having the bird yank its head out just as I start to cut. A single strong tug and the head pops right off.

 

[Nabiki]

The regular poultry shears should be fine. You can buy knife sharpeners that have scissor sharpener built in. I find that it works best if I close the scissors and give a sharp tug at the same time. If the scissors aren't cutting the head off, the pull will take it off.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HU2TMEA

 

[Sefirothe]

It may seem a bit gruesome, but I hold the quail's body firmly with one hand and pull the head off with the other. No struggle trying to get shears around the neck or having the bird yank its head out just as I start to cut. A single strong tug and the head pops right off.

Not sure I have the hand strength left for that after decades of untreated carpal tunnel. A sharp pair of shears/scissors is much more sure in my case.

 

[Sefirothe]

The regular poultry shears should be fine. You can buy knife sharpeners that have scissor sharpener built in. I find that it works best if I close the scissors and give a sharp tug at the same time. If the scissors aren't cutting the head off, the pull will take it off.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HU2TMEA

I think we have one of these somewhere in the house. The shear blades split apart for easy cleaning and sharpening too. Maybe I'll try giving them a touch up.