Jumbo Japanese Quail? Guys, it’s getting worse...

[KhalSancho]

I think if I had known about quail before I got chickens then I may not have chickens.


I love my little egg laying machines.
And I get to feed my addiction by constantly hatching eggs of theirs in my bator.

It’s settled. Done deal. Quail are a go lol

 

[Kiki]

It’s settled. Done deal. Quail are a go lol

Too bad you are close to me....I'd give you some to start with.

 

[KhalSancho]

Too bad you are close to me....I'd give you some to start with.

You’re a gem, Kiki.. guess everything is better in Texas

 

[springvalley123]

I don't have quail, but have heard that in general, gamebirds should be kept separate from chickens because chickens carry germs that can make the gamebirds sick. I found this link about coryza:
https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/how-to-raise-chicken-and-quail-together/

So I don't know if this is a possible issue in your area, but bears ruling out or planning around. Best of luck with the quail!

 

[ValerieJ]

Too bad you are close to me....I'd give you some to start with.

And, Kiki will be a wealth of knowledge to you when you start incubating! This gal can hatch anything!!!

 

[Ebony Rose]

Quail are incredibly easy to process for your freezer. Tools: Sharp pair of kitchen scissors, running water at your sink, two bowls big enough to put the parts you're keeping and the parts that you're not keeping.
While holding your quail in your non-dominant hand, with index finger on one side of the head and middle finger on the other, cut off the head of the quail with the scissors and clean the bird under the running water in your sink until it quits trembling and flapping its wings (nervous system response only, the bird was killed instantly when you severed its head). Cut the wings off close to the body of the bird, and discard. There's not enough meat here to make it worth your effort to save it. At the pointy end of the breastbone, gently slide the scissors under the skin and make about 1/2 inch incision in the skin only. Cut off the feet just above the 'ankle' bone. Pull the thighs out of the skin and cut them off where they meet the back bone. Once both thighs have been removed, removing the skin (plumage and all) is a very simple process, just pull it off gently. Again, at the pointy end of the breast, slide the scissors in gently to open the abdominal cavity without puncturing the bowels, you just need to make enough room there to get your fingertips into. Now pull the breast away from the abdominal cavity and separate these two parts with your scissors. Pull the heart out of the breast cavity. Gently remove the liver from the spleen (green vein looking organ that contains bile), and save that too. Your bird is now clean and ready to cook or freeze. There isn't enough meat on the back to warrant the work needed to prepare it for the freezer, and you can, if you want, feed the raw bones and offal (cut into bite sized bits) to your chickens, dogs, cats and livestock that enjoys meat, etc.
If I'm only processing one or two birds, then I flush the wings and skin & feathers down the toilet. If I'm processing many birds at once, then I dig a hole in the back about four feet deep, put the unwanted parts of the bird into a grocery store shopping bag (they break down rather quickly once buried) into the hole, and shovel the dirt back into the hole. The hole is deep enough that I've not had anything dig it up, and is ready to use again in about four to six weeks.
As for preparing quail. I like to cut the breast in half, put both halves and two thighs onto a broiling tray (serves one person), cover with one slice of bacon, and broil for seven minutes on the first side, flip the pieces over and broil an additional four minutes. Tender and juicy every time.
Cleaning one quail takes me about 3 minutes total. Very very fast prep time.

 

[ValerieJ]

Quail are incredibly easy to process for your freezer. Tools: Sharp pair of kitchen scissors, running water at your sink, two bowls big enough to put the parts you're keeping and the parts that you're not keeping.
While holding your quail in your non-dominant hand, with index finger on one side of the head and middle finger on the other, cut off the head of the quail with the scissors and clean the bird under the running water in your sink until it quits trembling and flapping its wings (nervous system response only, the bird was killed instantly when you severed its head). Cut the wings off close to the body of the bird, and discard. There's not enough meat here to make it worth your effort to save it. At the pointy end of the breastbone, gently slide the scissors under the skin and make about 1/2 inch incision in the skin only. Cut off the feet just above the 'ankle' bone. Pull the thighs out of the skin and cut them off where they meet the back bone. Once both thighs have been removed, removing the skin (plumage and all) is a very simple process, just pull it off gently. Again, at the pointy end of the breast, slide the scissors in gently to open the abdominal cavity without puncturing the bowels, you just need to make enough room there to get your fingertips into. Now pull the breast away from the abdominal cavity and separate these two parts with your scissors. Pull the heart out of the breast cavity. Gently remove the liver from the spleen (green vein looking organ that contains bile), and save that too. Your bird is now clean and ready to cook or freeze. There isn't enough meat on the back to warrant the work needed to prepare it for the freezer, and you can, if you want, feed the raw bones and offal (cut into bite sized bits) to your chickens, dogs, cats and livestock that enjoys meat, etc.
If I'm only processing one or two birds, then I flush the wings and skin & feathers down the toilet. If I'm processing many birds at once, then I dig a hole in the back about four feet deep, put the unwanted parts of the bird into a grocery store shopping bag (they break down rather quickly once buried) into the hole, and shovel the dirt back into the hole. The hole is deep enough that I've not had anything dig it up, and is ready to use again in about four to six weeks.
As for preparing quail. I like to cut the breast in half, put both halves and two thighs onto a broiling tray (serves one person), cover with one slice of bacon, and broil for seven minutes on the first side, flip the pieces over and broil an additional four minutes. Tender and juicy every time.
Cleaning one quail takes me about 3 minutes total. Very very fast prep time.

This thread is making me want to raise quail for meat.

 

[KhalSancho]

I don't have quail, but have heard that in general, gamebirds should be kept separate from chickens because chickens carry germs that can make the gamebirds sick. I found this link about coryza:
https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/how-to-raise-chicken-and-quail-together/

So I don't know if this is a possible issue in your area, but bears ruling out or planning around. Best of luck with the quail!

Thanks for that! Was planning on keeping them separate anyways just due to size difference.. but I’ll give that link a go and see how MUCH space needs to be between them. As I was planning on putting their pen next to the chooks. Cheers, mate!

 

[KhalSancho]

And, Kiki will be a wealth of knowledge to you when you start incubating! This gal can hatch anything!!!

So funny, last night I read an old thread where she was hatching or trying to hatch about eggs.. I got about 23 pages in before I went to bed and didn’t get to see if it worked though lololo glad to have you all on the team as mentors for a newb like me!!

 

[Ebony Rose]

I haven't had issue with my chickens and quail sharing the fully enclosed patio where they sleep. My quail live in their cage, my four chickens live on the same patio with them at night, but get free 'range' time outside daily on my very large, fully fenced (half acre? I'm guessing on size as I rent) but not in cages. The chickens like to roost on top of the quail cages, and to keep their poop from getting all over the quail, I put old 'ugly' towels on top of the quail cages, tidying the towel in the morning of anything solid, and machine washing the towels as needed. I rotate quail cages... keeping one clean, prepared, yet empty most of the time (unless brooding). I then allow my chickens to 'have at' the dirty quail cage while the quail enjoy their fresh clean home... The chickens stir up the litter very well, eating grain, bugs, sometimes larva (I have a water issue with my quail, they seem to think their water dish is a swimming pool) that enjoy the moist and well nourished litter. By the time the quail are done with their dirty cage, and the chickens are done with the quails dirty cage, the contents are ready to be dumped out back to 'fry' a certain section that I call my 'weed garden'. Nothing goes to waste 'round these parts