Tatanka Breeders Club: Meat Quail project with history, discussion, pictures and videos

[lukem5]

Jumbos will get to 16 oz easily with a good high protein feed. I have been able to raise several to size when I can get the 30% protein startina game bird feed. What do you want to know?

Bobwhite flavor is much better, is there any way to breed better tasting coturnix meat? Have you guys noticed any differences in flavor among the coturnix?

 

[dc3085]

Bobwhite flavor is much better, is there any way to breed better tasting coturnix meat? Have you guys noticed any differences in flavor among the coturnix?

So what you are telling us is that you don't like dark meat. Unless you're close friends with mother nature there is nothing you can do to change the taste of coturnix. You can't have your cake and eat it too, white meat birds take 2-3 times as long to grow out as coturnix do. You can either have white meat, or a quick turnaround on raising quail.

 

[lukem5]

So what you are telling us is that you don't like dark meat.

Wrong. Bobwhites do have more white meat but the meat itself has better flavor than the coturnix.

Unless you're close friends with mother nature there is nothing you can do to change the taste of coturnix.

Is there? I'm sure the aim of tatanka was to breed good quality meat as well as size, and I am sure there are subtle differences in taste among the different coturnix.

You can't have your cake and eat it too, white meat birds take 2-3 times as long to grow out as coturnix do.

Develop a better tasting coturnix.

You can either have white meat, or a quick turnaround on raising quail.

You are implying the only advantage of bobwhite meat over coturnix meat is that bobwhite have more white meat. The flavor/texture of the meat is quite different as well and I could care less if the meat is white or brown, it just has to taste amazing and that is where coturnix lack.

 

[dc3085]

You are implying the only advantage of bobwhite meat over coturnix meat is that bobwhite have more white meat. The flavor/texture of the meat is quite different as well and I could care less if the meat is white or brown, it just has to taste amazing and that is where coturnix lack.

You seem to missing the biology of the situation Coturnix are 100% dark meat. Bobwhites are white meat breasts dark meat legs. The meat tastes different because it is physically different. The birds are literally from opposite sides of the world and not actually in not in the same scientific family, although they are both galliformes. That it lacks "amazing" taste is only your opinion, coturnix are consumed by the millions across the world each year. Nothing is stopping you from tying to change the way coturnix taste. It can't be that hard to completely alter all the critical metabolic processes of a species in your back yard.

 

[Sill]

I'm imagining eating a nice big coturnix and thinking that particular bird sure tastes good, but darn, can't breed it now that it's on my plate.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quail are meant for food here. That said, I still treat the breeding groups as pets. Same for the birds hatched! I feed them as well as whats available, Will Be processing the entire flock til spring. Not keeping the older birds, we are expecting a severe winter. Have to look at quality of life too for any birds we keep/

 

[MobyQuail]

some of my current birds and their eggs now in the bator. Tatankas.

 

[Fat Daddy]

some of my current birds and their eggs now in the bator. Tatankas.

The second hen with the typical Tatanka rough feathers is 433 grams on the scale...... The egg is typical at 15+ grams..... So before she laid the egg, she weighed 448 grams..... yeah thats 16 oz eggzactly..... Pretty close to a one lb bird! Good job my friend....... Love to see colonies of them still quietly moving forward. Some say "They're just another jumbo", "Nothing special", "Not any around any more"...... Yeah, I beg to differ!

 

[lukem5]

some of my current birds and their eggs now in the bator. Tatankas.

Is that an exceptionally big egg or are they all in that range? 15g quail eggs sounds good to me. lets get it to 20g!

 

[Fat Daddy]

Is that an exceptionally big egg or are they all in that range? 15g quail eggs sounds good to me. lets get it to 20g!

This line will lay as many 16 -17 gram eggs as 15's, yes and a few 20 gram single yolk eggs too.... Moby has only set the largest eggs for years now...... The 15 gram is actually not among the exceptionally large ones..... What makes the eggs shown unique is their color, not weight. The average eggs run a little heavier but look like normal cot egg, just BIGGER!