Processing quail, few questions

[Bettacreek]

Well, I will have to process the birds in my home when that time comes, so I'm trying to plan for it. Can I do it in the sink, or would I be better off to rig something up and cut the heads in the shower?

Also, slightly off topic, but, with the chest feathers, I was hoping to save them and make a new homemade feather pillow... What's the best way to keep just the soft fluffy feathers, and how would I sanitize them?

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
I'm not sure about the feathers... but (and this might get gross for some) for processing the birds we wound up doing it in the garage. We used a 30 gallon trashcan, lined, and one person would hold the bird firmly and the other would quickly cut the head off with a sharp pair of scissors. The deep bucket comes in handy, because (here's the gross part) they can spurt blood a LONG ways... you have to hold them down in the can until they stop squirming, and then it is an easy matter to clean them.

Whew... that was harder to write than I thought... I don't particularly like the processing part, for any birds, but that seemed to be the quickest and most humane, IMHO.

 

[becky3086]

I never did the killing inside but I have brought them in and done the rest of it inside.
I have never done the feathers myself but did once have someone tell me that they would put theirs in a pillowcase and tie something around the open end, then wash it in the washing machine. I really don't know how well that would work though.

 

[PurpleChicken]

We process Coturnix in our kitchen. I cut off the head over the
garbage can, let it bleed out while pointing down, the do the rest
in the sink. I process as we need them and have never done
more than 6 at a time.

Compared to chickens quail are a breeze.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
Truer words never spoken!

 

[Snakeoil]

I just a pair of kitchen sissors to remove the head then I skin the breast out, a quail will skin like a rabbit, very easy.