QuailShaQ 101.1
- Thread starter MobyQuail
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #672
Quote:
hmm, thanks!
then you may approve of this, your birds progeny...?
a lil brown coturnix japonica 42 days old (6 weeks)
hmm, thanks!
then you may approve of this, your birds progeny...?
a lil brown coturnix japonica 42 days old (6 weeks)
So that birds at 10 oz at 6 weeks. By the past history of its kin, It should be 13 to 14 oz by 8 weeks... Still not up to moby standards yet, but their nice birds.... I really hoped this gen would have been bigger, but dont look like we gained much. Im sure it has white breast meat under those feathers thou!!! If ya look in the back of the bird, they've had a hidden "pouch" bred into them right above the tail... Its where they keep their little pistol. When they hit 8 weeks of age, they will whip this out and off themselves to aid in the butchering process. Ya may want to be sure they are outside at that point... MillieB is working on a zipper for their feathers, up in QuailShaQ area 69, but the storm has all experiments shut down until further notice... Bill
- Thread starter
- #675
Quote:
well. big birds nonetheless. and I like the numbers and the way they add up.
still have to cross them with the whites from waccassassa, that will be new blood for both sides...and then get them back to Solid Whites after that, so we have several more generations coming down to the Judge. following up on the moon hatch theory will be a good idea for me, as I met set eggs monthly from here on out.
there we have an issue with the judge (scale). only weighs up to 300 grams and I am not running out to buy another scale. so, will weigh all lil brown birds this evening, and for them it is really a race to 300grams...~10.75 ounces. the ones that make it there fastest stick around.
I was in it for the eggs and the hatching but we are very close (several weeks) to having the breeders for an inexpensive self sustaining gourmet meat supply. if hatching ~24 chicks should provide around 10 lbs of Quail every 6 weeks and for just 2 of us, that is plenty.
thanks Bill, and everyone that worked on these cool lil brown birds before ya'll... all the way back over a thousand years...
well. big birds nonetheless. and I like the numbers and the way they add up.
still have to cross them with the whites from waccassassa, that will be new blood for both sides...and then get them back to Solid Whites after that, so we have several more generations coming down to the Judge. following up on the moon hatch theory will be a good idea for me, as I met set eggs monthly from here on out.
there we have an issue with the judge (scale). only weighs up to 300 grams and I am not running out to buy another scale. so, will weigh all lil brown birds this evening, and for them it is really a race to 300grams...~10.75 ounces. the ones that make it there fastest stick around.
I was in it for the eggs and the hatching but we are very close (several weeks) to having the breeders for an inexpensive self sustaining gourmet meat supply. if hatching ~24 chicks should provide around 10 lbs of Quail every 6 weeks and for just 2 of us, that is plenty.
thanks Bill, and everyone that worked on these cool lil brown birds before ya'll... all the way back over a thousand years...
Bill,
I got about the same results as Model A at 6 wks and one or two girls a bit bigger. The male is the biggest thing I have ever seen. It is amazing. And they are docile, quiet. That big beautiful boy is as big if not bigger than his ladies and triple the size of anything else I have in house. He is going to see a lot of action. He is my man. That is my new strong foundation to mix to my faves of Alex's & JJs.
Raised under normal circumstances with no blue light and straight game bird starter with a transition to organic turkey starter, alfalfa fines, hardboiled egg alternating with mealworms and dark greens pinned up on the cages each eve at feeding time. They'd be monsters if I did indeed do that lighting trick delaying onset of maturity...but I am to eager to get goin on the hatch along with this boy. Too busy to do anything else fancy raising them, other than what everyone else gets, so they proved themselves on their own. NICE.
I think I am going to name that lone, giant, red striped male, Fat Daddy.
.
Thanks my buddy.
Tonya
I got about the same results as Model A at 6 wks and one or two girls a bit bigger. The male is the biggest thing I have ever seen. It is amazing. And they are docile, quiet. That big beautiful boy is as big if not bigger than his ladies and triple the size of anything else I have in house. He is going to see a lot of action. He is my man. That is my new strong foundation to mix to my faves of Alex's & JJs.
Raised under normal circumstances with no blue light and straight game bird starter with a transition to organic turkey starter, alfalfa fines, hardboiled egg alternating with mealworms and dark greens pinned up on the cages each eve at feeding time. They'd be monsters if I did indeed do that lighting trick delaying onset of maturity...but I am to eager to get goin on the hatch along with this boy. Too busy to do anything else fancy raising them, other than what everyone else gets, so they proved themselves on their own. NICE.
I think I am going to name that lone, giant, red striped male, Fat Daddy.
Thanks my buddy.
Tonya
- Thread starter
- #677
well, just did some pen re-arranging.
out of 9 browns, 4 boys and 5 girls.
2 of the young men and 4 of the the girls are moving to spacier digs.
also sorted the 3wk old whites, 4 of them look promising and got moved up by the Quail housing authority.
my older whites #s are getting cut in half, very shortly, pending collecting eggs for the hatchalong.
reminds me of a quote... something about a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...
good stuff, from the student to the masters- thanks everyone.
out of 9 browns, 4 boys and 5 girls.
2 of the young men and 4 of the the girls are moving to spacier digs.
also sorted the 3wk old whites, 4 of them look promising and got moved up by the Quail housing authority.
my older whites #s are getting cut in half, very shortly, pending collecting eggs for the hatchalong.
reminds me of a quote... something about a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...
good stuff, from the student to the masters- thanks everyone.
- Thread starter
- #679
good stuff.
http://www.almanac.com/content/setting-chicken-eggs-moons-sign
and more good stuff.
http://urbanrancher.tamu.edu/retiredsite/animals/l5215.pdf
http://www.hpj.com/archives/2005/mar05/mar21/Gourmetquailbusinesstakingw.CFM
http://www.almanac.com/content/setting-chicken-eggs-moons-sign
and more good stuff.
http://urbanrancher.tamu.edu/retiredsite/animals/l5215.pdf
http://www.hpj.com/archives/2005/mar05/mar21/Gourmetquailbusinesstakingw.CFM
Gourmet quail business taking wing
Texas
The soft "churtle" of quail can be heard when you pull into the driveway of the Diamond H Ranch in this Hill Country town. That's the sound of money to Tom and Polly Herrington. Advice from Texas Cooperative Extension has helped their business soar.
"We were in the game bird--bobwhite--business," Herrington said. "It started out as a hobby, and the first year I sold every bird I had. I raised twice as many the next year and sold all of those. Pretty soon it wasn't a hobby any more."
Herrington had been seeking bird health and nutritional advice from Dr. Fred Thornberry, now professor emeritus with the department of poultry science at Texas A&M University. About nine years ago, Thornberry told the Herringtons he thought there was a niche coming for the meat bird, and that he had a nice, big healthy bird in College Station that he'd like to see them raise.
"We did a little market research, and sure enough, it looked like he was right," Herrington said.
That bird carried the Texas A&M Coturnix quail blood lines that Thornberry had been genetically selecting to improve the poultry industry. The Herringtons received eggs from Extension and began experimenting with blood lines.
Thornberry was so right that last year Diamond H Ranch sold more than 550,000 meat birds across the United States under their registered trademark of Texas Gourmet Quail. This year they are expecting to sell even more. Tom and his son, Jim, operate the grow-out facilities and state-inspected processing plant that employ 18 workers. Polly operates a bed and breakfast at the farm.
"It's going great, we've expanded every year. We happened to be at the right place at the right time," said Herrington. "We're about the only sizeable meat bird place in Texas."
Thornberry began developing a bloodline of heavier meat birds from the Coturnix--also known as Japanese or Pharoah--quail lines about 15 years ago as an Extension poultry specialist.
"Through (A&M's) support of the game bird industry, we have cultivated the industry and provided information to the industry for a number of years," said Dr. Lee Cartwright, Extension poultry science specialist in College Station.
When Thornberry began his work, the Coturnix was the only quail grown for the gourmet dining market. The smaller bobwhite quail were hunted and eaten, but are too small to be effectively raised for meat.
Thornberry had the opportunity to get many eggs from a Coturnix producer, who had birds of all sizes. For two years and six generations, the birds were crossbred to eliminate carcass abnormalities and for uniform size.
"During the course of my work, I was able to improve the breast musculature on the birds and maintain optimum egg production," to get a bird that was highly desirable for the gourmet industry, Thornberry said.
Then, as an Extension specialist, he began supplying gamebird hatcheries with the eggs to distribute the strain he called the Texas Gourmet Quail.
"Today, the Texas Gourmet Quail is in about a dozen countries and is widely produced for the gourmet gamebird market," Thornberry said.
When Cartwright began working for Extension, he further improved the quail line by crossing the meat line back to produce a white quail with most of the carcass characteristics of the larger brown bird.
"I believe the brown bird is still a superior bird," Thornberry said, "but most people prefer the white bird because they feel it has cleaner picking characteristics and an absence of dark melanin pigmentation in its feather follicles, the inner abdominal lining and its hock joints."
Both types of birds are raised for the gourmet market.
Chef Jon Bonnell of Bonnell's in Fort Worth said the Texas Gourmet Quail has been the centerpiece on every menu he has had in the three years the restaurant has been open. Other quail, including the bobwhite, have dark meat and have a "gamier" taste. But the Texas Gourmet Quail has lighter meat and, "It's the tastiest quail I've got."
Bonnell sold about 3,500 quail in his restaurant last year. He featured quail on the menu last year when he was invited to the James Beard Foundation forum in New York--which is like "Carnegie Hall for chefs," he said.
The Texas Gourmet Quail is extremely hardy in comparison to bobwhite quail, Thornberry said. The birds reach slaughter weight at 6 to 7 weeks of age and realize 50 percent egg production at 8 weeks with no detrimental effects because of early maturity.
"These birds also have a meat coloration that very closely approximates that of the bobwhite quail. The flesh and carcass appearance of the bird is very appealing to the gourmet consumer," he said.
A "dressed" Texas Gourmet Quail weighs between 6.5 and 7.5 ounces, while a bobwhite quail weighs about 4.5 ounces, he said.
"The Coturnix will eat more in six weeks than a bobwhite in 18 weeks," Herrington said. "He has to, he puts on more weight. The meat bird is a fast grower. You can almost watch it grow from day to day."
The Herringtons process their birds at 7 weeks of age and market them from Florida to California. Whole quail or quail legs or breasts can be purchased at the farm, at the Herrington's website at http://www.texasgourmetquail.com or by telephone. The quail are shipped frozen or fresh.
"Word of mouth has been really good to us," Herrington said. "And the product is selling itself. It's a good product. And if you prepare it and package it nice, it's awful hard to compare it to anything else."
Not only did Cartwright help the Herringtons "answer a bunch of questions," but former Extension poultry specialist Dr. Sarah Birkhold helped them set up their processing facility. That facility is the only state-inspected quail processing plant in Texas.
"A lot of the other (meat quail) companies are trying to duplicate some of the (Herringtons') products and also trying to improve their quality," Cartwright said.
"Things are going to grow and improve even further. We estimate that the gamebird industry has been growing at approximately 20 percent per year for the last 10 years."
According to a survey conducted by the North American Gamebird Association, gamebird production (pheasants, quail and partridge) have a $5 billion economic impact nationally, Cartwright said.
"The gamebird industry will be expanding for many years to come, and the Diamond H Ranch and the Texas Gourmet Quail will continue to expand with the trend."
Texas
The soft "churtle" of quail can be heard when you pull into the driveway of the Diamond H Ranch in this Hill Country town. That's the sound of money to Tom and Polly Herrington. Advice from Texas Cooperative Extension has helped their business soar.
"We were in the game bird--bobwhite--business," Herrington said. "It started out as a hobby, and the first year I sold every bird I had. I raised twice as many the next year and sold all of those. Pretty soon it wasn't a hobby any more."
Herrington had been seeking bird health and nutritional advice from Dr. Fred Thornberry, now professor emeritus with the department of poultry science at Texas A&M University. About nine years ago, Thornberry told the Herringtons he thought there was a niche coming for the meat bird, and that he had a nice, big healthy bird in College Station that he'd like to see them raise.
"We did a little market research, and sure enough, it looked like he was right," Herrington said.
That bird carried the Texas A&M Coturnix quail blood lines that Thornberry had been genetically selecting to improve the poultry industry. The Herringtons received eggs from Extension and began experimenting with blood lines.
Thornberry was so right that last year Diamond H Ranch sold more than 550,000 meat birds across the United States under their registered trademark of Texas Gourmet Quail. This year they are expecting to sell even more. Tom and his son, Jim, operate the grow-out facilities and state-inspected processing plant that employ 18 workers. Polly operates a bed and breakfast at the farm.
"It's going great, we've expanded every year. We happened to be at the right place at the right time," said Herrington. "We're about the only sizeable meat bird place in Texas."
Thornberry began developing a bloodline of heavier meat birds from the Coturnix--also known as Japanese or Pharoah--quail lines about 15 years ago as an Extension poultry specialist.
"Through (A&M's) support of the game bird industry, we have cultivated the industry and provided information to the industry for a number of years," said Dr. Lee Cartwright, Extension poultry science specialist in College Station.
When Thornberry began his work, the Coturnix was the only quail grown for the gourmet dining market. The smaller bobwhite quail were hunted and eaten, but are too small to be effectively raised for meat.
Thornberry had the opportunity to get many eggs from a Coturnix producer, who had birds of all sizes. For two years and six generations, the birds were crossbred to eliminate carcass abnormalities and for uniform size.
"During the course of my work, I was able to improve the breast musculature on the birds and maintain optimum egg production," to get a bird that was highly desirable for the gourmet industry, Thornberry said.
Then, as an Extension specialist, he began supplying gamebird hatcheries with the eggs to distribute the strain he called the Texas Gourmet Quail.
"Today, the Texas Gourmet Quail is in about a dozen countries and is widely produced for the gourmet gamebird market," Thornberry said.
When Cartwright began working for Extension, he further improved the quail line by crossing the meat line back to produce a white quail with most of the carcass characteristics of the larger brown bird.
"I believe the brown bird is still a superior bird," Thornberry said, "but most people prefer the white bird because they feel it has cleaner picking characteristics and an absence of dark melanin pigmentation in its feather follicles, the inner abdominal lining and its hock joints."
Both types of birds are raised for the gourmet market.
Chef Jon Bonnell of Bonnell's in Fort Worth said the Texas Gourmet Quail has been the centerpiece on every menu he has had in the three years the restaurant has been open. Other quail, including the bobwhite, have dark meat and have a "gamier" taste. But the Texas Gourmet Quail has lighter meat and, "It's the tastiest quail I've got."
Bonnell sold about 3,500 quail in his restaurant last year. He featured quail on the menu last year when he was invited to the James Beard Foundation forum in New York--which is like "Carnegie Hall for chefs," he said.
The Texas Gourmet Quail is extremely hardy in comparison to bobwhite quail, Thornberry said. The birds reach slaughter weight at 6 to 7 weeks of age and realize 50 percent egg production at 8 weeks with no detrimental effects because of early maturity.
"These birds also have a meat coloration that very closely approximates that of the bobwhite quail. The flesh and carcass appearance of the bird is very appealing to the gourmet consumer," he said.
A "dressed" Texas Gourmet Quail weighs between 6.5 and 7.5 ounces, while a bobwhite quail weighs about 4.5 ounces, he said.
"The Coturnix will eat more in six weeks than a bobwhite in 18 weeks," Herrington said. "He has to, he puts on more weight. The meat bird is a fast grower. You can almost watch it grow from day to day."
The Herringtons process their birds at 7 weeks of age and market them from Florida to California. Whole quail or quail legs or breasts can be purchased at the farm, at the Herrington's website at http://www.texasgourmetquail.com or by telephone. The quail are shipped frozen or fresh.
"Word of mouth has been really good to us," Herrington said. "And the product is selling itself. It's a good product. And if you prepare it and package it nice, it's awful hard to compare it to anything else."
Not only did Cartwright help the Herringtons "answer a bunch of questions," but former Extension poultry specialist Dr. Sarah Birkhold helped them set up their processing facility. That facility is the only state-inspected quail processing plant in Texas.
"A lot of the other (meat quail) companies are trying to duplicate some of the (Herringtons') products and also trying to improve their quality," Cartwright said.
"Things are going to grow and improve even further. We estimate that the gamebird industry has been growing at approximately 20 percent per year for the last 10 years."
According to a survey conducted by the North American Gamebird Association, gamebird production (pheasants, quail and partridge) have a $5 billion economic impact nationally, Cartwright said.
"The gamebird industry will be expanding for many years to come, and the Diamond H Ranch and the Texas Gourmet Quail will continue to expand with the trend."
Quote:
Chef Jon Bonnell of Bonnell's in Fort Worth said the Texas Gourmet Quail has been the centerpiece on every menu he has had in the three years the restaurant has been open. Other quail, including the bobwhite, have dark meat and have a "gamier" taste. But the Texas Gourmet Quail has lighter meat and, "It's the tastiest quail I've got." ................. Huh???
A "dressed" Texas Gourmet Quail weighs between 6.5 and 7.5 ounces, while a bobwhite quail weighs about 4.5 ounces, he said. ................. Huh???
Boy Howdy, am I confused!!!!!!
Chef Jon Bonnell of Bonnell's in Fort Worth said the Texas Gourmet Quail has been the centerpiece on every menu he has had in the three years the restaurant has been open. Other quail, including the bobwhite, have dark meat and have a "gamier" taste. But the Texas Gourmet Quail has lighter meat and, "It's the tastiest quail I've got." ................. Huh???
A "dressed" Texas Gourmet Quail weighs between 6.5 and 7.5 ounces, while a bobwhite quail weighs about 4.5 ounces, he said. ................. Huh???
Boy Howdy, am I confused!!!!!!
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