Culling Injured Quail

[HeatherQ]

So I have to cull today for the first time. I'm surprised at how 'okay' I am with the prospect, even if I am upset with myself for the situation. My first hatch of nine was two females, one (still) questionable, and six males. I knew that I would cull down to one male for that batch, and I figured this weekend would be a ripe time. They'd be six weeks old and I wanted to avoid infighting *before* it happened.

Well, I was clearly too optimistic about these 'brothers'. I went out to the pen this morning to find one dead, and two moderately injured. I have no idea who the aggressor was. I'm a bit upset because the one that was dead was the one I was planning on keeping. He was only the second largest, but he was the tamest of the males- I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he was the one to get killed first.

Anyway, I have isolated the two damaged ones because they are hurt enough that I don't think they are going to make it and I intend to cull them here in a bit. I guess my question to you guys here is this:

Is there any reason not to eat these two birds? I honestly don't know. Both are bleeding, so I know the injuries punctured the skin. Does that introduce harmful pathogens? The injuries are from overnight, and none are infected yet or anything, but I just don't know if these are safe to eat or if I shouldn't risk it.

 

[HeatherQ]

Well, I culled the first one, which was also the one with the worst injuries because I couldn't let it suffer any longer. I decided that no matter what, I would go through the motions on this bird to get a feel for what it would be like (since we are raising ours for meat and eggs). I decided we definitely couldn't eat this one- the damage was more extensive than I had realized and there was blood in places there shouldn't have been blood and saturating the meat on one side of his little body. This seemed like a fair reason to call this one a learning experience and move on.

The other injured one is resting comfortably for now and we'll see what happens. I'm still curious though how the rest of you deal with this kind of situation/if you consider the meat still good. I'm erring on the side of caution with these two, but I'd still like to know.

 

[TheCrazyClucker]

I guess my question to you guys here is this:

Is there any reason not to eat these two birds? I honestly don't know. Both are bleeding, so I know the injuries punctured the skin. Does that introduce harmful pathogens? The injuries are from overnight, and none are infected yet or anything, but I just don't know if these are safe to eat or if I shouldn't risk it.

Just to be on the safe side, I wouldn't eat them. Bacteria could have gone into the wounds.

 

[veggiecanner]

If they have infections in the wounds , then no, don't eat them. Other wise cook well and enjoy.

We had one had a itty bitty cut on it's toe. When I found her she was drenched in blood. We thought she was big time injured. After we gave her a Bath and she spent some time by her self she went back with her sister wifes and male.
I wouldn't give up and toss all your work so easy.

 

[HeatherQ]

Thanks for the responses.

I'm not 'giving up my work' really. These were males who were going to be culled for food *anyway*. I just didn't want them to get completely beat up before that happened, poor guys.

I haven't culled the second one yet (though really, it's just a matter of time). I was inspecting more closely and he only has a couple of small pecks that drew blood so he's got a stay of execution for the time being. I was originally planning on my first butcher day being this coming Sunday, but it might get bumped up to tomorrow morning. Hubby will be home and he can wrangle the other critters (baby girl, puppy, dog, and 11 yo boy.... and quail, I've clearly lost my mind) while I take care of business.

The killing and butchering was both easier and harder than I expected it to be. Easier than I was worried about emotionally, harder to do without making a mess of the meat than I wanted. I suspect that comes with practice though.