Is a Permit/Licence/Testing/etc... Required to Sell Dressed Quail ?

[RAREROO]

I am hopeing to start raising some quail soon and I was talking to my aunt today about it and she asked if i would be killing and cleaning/dressing them and then selling them or selling them live and I had originally planned on selling them live but I told her that I would dress them and all but I think there is some kind of licence required since I would be selling them for food and not live to be used of breeding or other purposes. So does anyone know what is required for this, if anything?

Also what do you all think would be a fair price for quail as far as live price vs. dressed price ?

And I am also looking for other sources for hatching eggs for Texas A and M and Jumbo Browns if any of you have any or know anyone who does.

Thanks

 

[Tony K T]

You may need a permit to raise bobwhites,but not other breeds of quail.You would have to check with your fish and game dept.As far as selling for food.i would think you would need a food license and need them inspected by the usda.I could be wrong,I have been many times before.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That first sentence is really hard to read. Punctuation was invented for a reason.

Each state has different requirements for processing animals to sell as food. Many counties, cities, towns, homeowner's associations, and other legal entities have their own requirements. You need to check locally. For me in Arkansas to try to tell someone in Georgia what their local requirements are does not work. There is a pretty good chance your operation is too small to come under federal requirtements, but state and local requirements are usually more intense than federal anyway.

You can talk to your county extension agent, in the phone book under county government. The agent will probably not know the specific requirements for you, but the agent's job is more to find the right contact for you.

You can talk to your local health authorities. Bear in mind that city and county officials don't always care what the state rules are and the state officials don't always care what the county or city rules are. The good ones will, but you are dealing with people. Not all are good.

You can go to the library and get the librarian to help you find the information, but I consider that real risky. You have to interpret legalese and you might not find everything.

Good luck with it.

 

[ranchhand]

Ridgerunner pretty much said it all. Start by checking for your neighborhood and then expand your search outward, until you eventually get to Federal level. I'd suggest neighborhood, town, county laws and health dept., state level laws and health dept., then on to federal. You will also need to check the business license requirements.

It's not easy to get started, but the key is to do the research first! Good luck with it!

 

[Rozzie]

You'll almost certainly have piles of health department restrictions.

Technically, most people who even hold a bake sale are violating health department restrictions. They don't go after that much. However, selling raw poultry might raise a lot more red flags.

You'll have state laws regulating this, almost certainly. Then laws at virtually every local level of government, plus the health department.

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
ROZZIE'S LIKELY VERY ACCURATE ON THIS... THERE'S A REASON WHY MOST QUAIL FOR TABLE FAIR COME FROM THOSE MEGA FARMS.... THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES WITH THE RESOURCES TO DO IT LEGALLY. LOOK CLOSELY AT YOUR REGS AND YOU MAY FIND A LOOP HOLE--- SOMETHING LIKE SELLING THEM LIVE QUAIL 1 DAY, THEN HAVE THEM BRING 'EM BACK THAT WEEKEND AND PAY YOU A WAGE FOR MISCELLANEIOUS LABOR? LIKE SAY KILLING SOME QUAIL THEY HAD JUST LYING AROUND???

I DONT KNOW FOR SURE, DEFINATELY CHECK YOUR LAWS AND ABIDE BY THEM. THERE'S A LINK HERE IN THE STICKY SECTION THAT SHOULD TAKE YOU TO YOUR STATES GOVERNING BODIES AS RELATED TO GAMEBIRDS... IT MAY OR MAYNOT COVER PROCESSING. I SELL SURPLUS ROOS LOCALLY ON CRAIGS LIST JUST TO GET 'EM OFF THE FEED BILL...THEY LEAVE HERE ALIVE AND LOOKING AROUND WITH THAT "OH BOY WHERE ARE WE GOIN?!" LOOK ON THIER FACES. IF I AM GOING THROUGH THE PAIN OF PROCESSING THEY GO IN MY FREEZER, NOT SOMEONE ELSE'S

 

[RAREROO]

Ugh OK Thanks for the replys. Thats what I figured and its probably more than I have time to deal with so I'll just sell them live.

 

[rockinpaints]

I think it is worth checking into. I think you can sell a certain amount from your farm that you dress your self without too much of a problem. I would call the local health department and maybe the farm bureau in your area. Good luck

 

[jespere]

LOVE county extension! Like mentioned above, they may not know now the exact laws but will most certainly have the resources and contacts to find out. They are usually very excited for **new** topics because it is an academic atmosphere.

ANYWAYS, the real reason I am replying is because I think you would have a LOT of local laws to deal with selling dressed birds (as mentioned above) but as JJ said, there is usually a loophole for killing them with the customer there. Sell them live but charge a service fee for dressing and require them to bring a cooler and ice. Check with your local laws about this but if you have the permitting for the selling of live birds, dressing them for the customer might be doable. Get a waiver as well, lol.

I do something similar at Publix

I don't like buying the cut fruit because I can't pick the whole fruit i want or try it before i buy it. HOWEVER, the produce workers are more than happy to halve or quarter my cantaloupe after I purchase it for free because it is a quality check for them. I would never make them chunk it, but asking for it quartered is reasonable and allows you to be sure your cantaloupe is ripe.

My mom makes fun of me but my BF used to work in produce and said he did it all the time for people.

 

[RAREROO]

Quote:
Ok Thanks, I may look into it and like you said I'm sure there is somekind of loophole to work around the legalities, but it isnt really a big deal, I doubt I would make a business or anything out of it, just an addition to the other birds I raise.

And I wouldnt need a permit to sell live Coturnix Quail, in Ga we only need a permit for Bobwhites as they are our local strain.