How I process Quail... My 6yr old helped... WARNING: Graphic Pics

[ltlchicken]

this was a great post. thank you very much.

 

[CrimsonRose]

Hugs Thanks everyone! I'm sure you could use this method to process chickens... Only tough part might be the feathers... Chickens feathers are harder to pull unless the skin is really warm (you scald them to heat up the skin so the feathers loosen up)

It does seem to get easier each time... Once I came to terms and realized they didn't suffer, It was easier... Just remember though their muscles will twitch for a few seconds but they are already unconscious so they don't feel any pain...

 

[CrimsonRose]

Quote:
They are small I typically stuff them like a turkey so two for each adult and one per kid is usually enough... Then we have a side dish or two... They have about the same amount of meat as 3 chicken nuggets from mcdonalds...

They are super easy to raise compared to chickens... Right now I have 24 in a big box in my dining room with 3 week olds All you need to do is feed and water them... Then change the bedding once a week... At 3 weeks they are fully feathered and can go out into a rabbit type hutch with wire bottom... Then just add food and water and in a few weeks (they mature at 6-8 weeks) you will have a full egg factory... GREAT tasting eggs kids love them and they are bite sized! Then at 10-12 weeks they are full grown meat wise. The one shown in the pic is 9.5 weeks old...

They also aren't as loud as a rooster so easier to keep in the city too... My sister keeps some as pets in her apartment!

So for meat they might not have a lot but considering how easy it is to process (takes me about 10 mins per bird) I did 5 birds yesterday in about an hour and that is with having my daughter take pics... plus they are just too easy to raise... only take 17 days to hatch more too... so every 3 months you have a new generation... unlike chickens who take 6 months just to get to laying age... And they aren't as stinky as Cornish x... LOL a lot less poo!

I raise them mostly for the eggs my kids LOVE them! But we process the extra roos... you have to... If you have too many roos they fight and harm each other and the hens...

 

[HobokenChickenEmergency]

I've been thinking of getting some just for eggs, but now I'm intrigued. What does quail meat taste like? I know the upscale restaurants serve them, but I'm not an upscale restaurant kinda girl. LOL

We did ducks last summer. Talk about stinky!

 

[minifarmer]

hens_and_chicks,
I've done something similar with some of my meat hens. Skinning is great and fast if your not going to roast them whole. The only thing I do differently is cut the wings off at the first joint, and I fillet the breast meat, and cut the leg/thigh off. If your not too keen on liver, heart, and gizzard, you're done. karla

 

[CrimsonRose]

Quote:
Hubby says they taste just like chicken... Which I think they are pretty similar to chicken as well... But I think they taste a tad more like caged rabbit since they are more lean than chicken... I haven't tried any dark coturnix just the A&M's I guess the dark coturnix have a darker meat maybe a richer taste??? The A&M's are supposed to be all white meat... Which tastes great to us! I have a few dark colored birds but still not big enough to process so I will have to wait to compair...

As for eggs They are amazing the yolk is big and rich with a smaller white ratio compared to a chicken egg... Plus the fact that they are bite size makes you eat more than you would of chicken eggs... LMBO I don't know how many times I've boiled them for the kids and added a touch of salt and sat and ate and ate... you just can't stop they are so good!

 

[Emzyyy]

wow, its so little and its looking at you with "the eyes" I would never be able to do that, and its so pretty with its white feathers.

 

[dapper]

Crimson Rose I am gonna send you a PM in just a sec. Got some questions for you.

 

[Appaloosa Hill Farm]

Don't laugh, but I just got the nerve to look at the pictures closely. It's not the blood, it's the eyes looking at me in the first picture. I'm such a dweeb. Thank you for posting this! I agree with a pp, your daughter takes fantastic pics. This will certainly help me as I fumble my way through it with the quail we hope to raise soon.

 

[magikchick]

Thank's for posting this. I have 40 quail eggs in my incubator right now. Trying to work up the nerve to do this too. My DH says I'll never be able to kill one and he sure isn't doing it.