Insane amount of fat in quail

[maycwindu]

I harvested a 2 yo quail this fine winter morning. While dressing I was astounded by the amount of fat. She was bursting in the cloaca area and had gobs surrounding liver and gizzard. My cast iron will be well seasoned after frying her up, gosh!

Tasty meat aside, this is way too much fat for my liking. I want my quail to be long-lived and healthy as can be. They are fed Bar-Ale 24% corn/soy gamebird pellet, mixed with some Bar-Ale 16% pea/wheat base (no corn or soy) layer pellet for variety and extra calcium.


I'm considering having the flock forage/fast on greens in the tractor for a day of the week to help lose some of this fat, assuming the rest are like this too. Any thoughts/recommendations to get my birds less fatty?

 

[Nabiki]

It's winter. They need the layer of fat to keep warm. The feed sounds good as long as you're not adding much of the 16% protein feed. I like Bar Ale, but I'm biased since that feed is from my home town.

Edit: I've also noticed that older quail have more fat.

 

[Susan Skylark]

If she’s not laying, fat accumulation on that high quality of a feed is normal. Quail are production animals, bred for centuries to lay eggs or grow muscle efficiently and when not producing they store the excess as fat. You’ve either got to drop the overall quality of the diet in non productive animals or put up with a little excess fat (which is likely the better option!).

 

[007Sean]

If she’s not laying, fat accumulation on that high quality of a feed is normal. Quail are production animals, bred for centuries to lay eggs or grow muscle efficiently and when not producing they store the excess as fat. You’ve either got to drop the overall quality of the diet in non productive animals or put up with a little excess fat (which is likely the better option!).

Wrong!!! You don't limit the quality of the feed, you limit the amount of consumption.
Birds in the wild will come off their roosts and make their way to water, feeding along the way. The same thing happens when returning to roost, they feed along the way, wild birds very rarely gourge themselves, as oppossed to confined birds.

When I pick my birds up and handle them I check to see if they feel corky, muscular, and not overly fat.