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

[MobyQuail]

I've got several pens set up now with young 2015 birds that all made the marks, generation over generation over generation. Plan on hatching through summer to build up my numbers again and get back into more eggs than the dogs can eat...

I have found my new favorite way of cooking the culls...I take the time to debone and then batter fry the boneless chunks of quail meat... flippin' delicious.

 

[Anniekins]

sounds amazing! I haven't tried deboning them yet but I'll have to give this a try.

 

[wmcarl]

I read where alot of people are buying eBay eggs because they are "cheap". I too have made this mistake! Now I am culling entire flock and starting over with jmf.sure I could get size up with these eBay birds but rather start with big birds and get even bigger birds! Sometimes cheap isn't always so cheap!!looking forward to the learning process breeding cots brings about.great thread!no updates?

 

[Fat Daddy]

Wise choice wmcarl.... Robby has nice birds and always willing to help you get started. As to updates, there is a practical limit to the size of anything. This has been go'n on for a very long time.... There are only a handful of pure Tatanka flocks left these days... We did what we set out to do..... Raised some really nice birds... Paid it forward to some others. Documented what we were doing in the open for all to see. And had alot of fun with friends. What more is left to do? But there are still birds being hatched with that "rough feather" gene........ These are 4 weeks and hit'n the standards. ;-)

 

[PaintsRule]

Well I had my Texas A & M up to size comparison with the Tatanka goals, then thought, I would love to have easier to sex variety so I ordered some eggs from a guy that bought direct from JMF. He stated his adults were 400 grams and bigger and even hit 500 grams with some of his. At 6 weeks, none of the 30 that hatched reached 280 grams and in fact some of my TAMS that were hatched 2 days after them are bigger by 25-30 grams! UGGG I JUST want to have some Pharoahs that I can raise, keep the bigger ones and feed the ones that dont make the cut to the dogs, and eat them myself! Pretty frustrating seeing I spent almost $200 by the time I Paid shipping on 100 eggs..... OH well. Maybe I will take my 430 gram TAMS male and breed to the biggest females from that bunch and take the 2 cross TAMS with my own Pharoahs females (they are Pharoahs) and cross onto a male from this bunch...... The guy I got them from does not weigh til 8-9 weeks and I like mine to keep up with your goals for Tatanka because I want a bird that matures fast, not slow maturing.

Do you guys find that the size breeds true? ie if you breed 2 400 gram birds, do you get many 400 gram offspring?

 

[supersymmetry]

Line breeding is the best way to reach uniformity with whatever metric you are trying to standardize. I usually pick 2-3 metrics to improve (or remove) with each line. Cross breeding can work, but it will take several generations or years to isolate what you are looking for... always better to start with a great (and tight) genetic line.

 

[MobyQuail]

I've become so coturnix cynical that I rarely respond to claims of weight without seeing a video of a bird on a scale...Ive seen some simply post on this thread to drum up egg sales for themselves.

I have plenty of young, big, brown hens and roos (that all hit the standards) ready to go for this fall's hatching. Been pickling lots of eggs lately.

good luck to everyone.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

JMF eggs go into lockdown Saturday! I was very pleased how well they were packaged. Be nice to have eggs again soon, and quail back on the menu!

 

[PaintsRule]

I agree it has to be a video, not just a photo, cause a photo, you can add weight to the scale!

 

[vladsko]

I started raising quail several months ago. I am so glad i found this thread. I've become a little obsessed with raising them. They are such great birds to raise.