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Thanks for the well-wishes! It was really pretty easy considering the last time I "processed"
(love that term... great euphemism!) anything was about 11 years ago and a rabbit that I'd snared. My 9yr old daughter - surprise surprise - looked on and was right there during the whole time. There are now 6 fewer man-quails on the planet and we shall make a feast
(albeit a meager one) on Thursday!
In fact, it went so well, that while we were at it... we culled one of our 6 hens as well. She was a lazy one and though here sisters have been laying since August... she never has. What's more, she began being really aggressive and pecking the proverbial "hand that fed her"! The nerve!
THAT was a bit more of a chore, but she's marinating right now and will be part of a memorial dinner in her own honour tomorrow!
A couple of questions re anatomy:
- I assume the biggest "innerd" ... deep purple-ish thing just at the bottom of the rib cage & the first to be seen is the heart. Correct?
- There are 2 little white "beans" in most of them
(didn't remember noticing them in all). Are these kidneys? part of the male quail anatomy?
- Inside one of the six was what looked like a tiny but numerous bunch of eggs (about the size of what I imagine caviar to look like)... had the bird been alive & standing, they would've been up under the back bone... and about 1/2 way into the cavity. Were they in fact eggs?
- Which leads me to a question about the
colouring of the Golden Speckeld Coturnix...
With the brown ones, it's easy to distinguish the females because of the numerous & very obvious spots. Is the "spotting" as evident in the Goldens? We thought they were all guys, but one male strutted around a few more
(so we spared them... we figure... SURELY the male-quail isn't gonna make that mistake! )
All for now! Thanks monarc for the great instructions. You've helped a city-boy get back to the primeval desire to kill something
(besides underperforming office equipment! )
Mike
