Thinking of raising quail for meat, but...

[teradragon]

Just like to share this picture...



Happy quail will be tasty quail right? 5 weeks until they are ready. I only have 8, so was thinking of keeping 3 female and a male (biggest ones) for eggs and extra chicks and culling 4 for the table. If I decide I don't like quail, I can just keep the 4 for eggs

My dream is to make miniature scotch eggs

 

[owlett5]

Sounds like a good idea! And trust me, quail are out of this world delicious! The scotch eggs thing is a great idea, I should try that tonight! Would make a great new years eve snack hehe.

 

[dc3085]

Just like to share this picture...



Happy quail will be tasty quail right? 5 weeks until they are ready. I only have 8, so was thinking of keeping 3 female and a male (biggest ones) for eggs and extra chicks and culling 4 for the table. If I decide I don't like quail, I can just keep the 4 for eggs

My dream is to make miniature scotch eggs

Since you are doing so few you might not want to butcher them right at 8 weeks so you can maximize your meal. 8 weeks is the number we use to say ok this is as much growth per cost as this bird will obtain. From that point forward you are feeding it more dollars than it is gaining weight, its a production cost thing not a production quality thing. Its called the growth curve (each animal has a suggested growth curve) and there are several articles out there about it. But they will still gain a healthy amount of weight after that 8 weeks. when I'm doing less than 30 I let them go to at least ten weeks and sometimes 12. The more you raise the more you will notice that they really fill out after that 8 week timeslot. You will also notice they get a little more fat on them if you let them go longer.At 8 weeks there wont be any fat. Fat translate to flavor storage if you are braising them or marinading them in any way.

 

[bigrob83]

its natural to feel a little guilt

I just hold the bird in one hand and snip the head with the shear from the back
bird never feels a thing, hold the bird with a good grip for a few seconds over a bucket and thats that
no mess no fuss no crazy wing flapping

I know people sometimes dont like talking about it but its good to learn what works best for you
generally I process after dark. birds stay calm and easier to manage

my advice is GOOD shears I bought 3 pairs of shears before I found a pair that worked for cutting through bones
trust me and my bad experience when i say crappy shears are not what you want when your trying to quickly process a quail
are we allowed to recommend brands on here?

ETA: DC already covered it with the video... already hit on how it has to be done properly

 

[teradragon]

Ah ok... Will leave them a bit longer then. It's just an experiment for me really, wanted to try something new!

 

[marksouth]

Since you are doing so few you might not want to butcher them right at 8 weeks so you can maximize your meal. 8 weeks is the number we use to say ok this is as much growth per cost as this bird will obtain. From that point forward you are feeding it more dollars than it is gaining weight, its a production cost thing not a production quality thing. Its called the growth curve (each animal has a suggested growth curve) and there are several articles out there about it. But they will still gain a healthy amount of weight after that 8 weeks. when I'm doing less than 30 I let them go to at least ten weeks and sometimes 12. The more you raise the more you will notice that they really fill out after that 8 week timeslot.  You will also notice they get a little more fat on them if you let them go longer.At 8 weeks there wont be any fat. Fat translate to flavor storage if you are braising them or marinading them in any way. 

That's good info, we hear so much that they mature at 8 weeks I've wondered how much we can extend that. Just catching up and caught the videos. Good job Don, very helpful.

 

[dc3085]

Glad to be useful. I figured out to let them go longer than 8 weeks because a lot of people who buy them from me want colorful birds and when I would have overflow they just all headed to the freezer. It was really disappointing how small some of the goldens, whites, and rosettas were. I started running them an extra 3-4 weeks and it was like the difference between a 16 year old athlete and a 20 something as far as filling out.

 

[dc3085]

its natural to feel a little guilt

I just hold the bird in one hand and snip the head with the shear from the back
bird never feels a thing, hold the bird with a good grip for a few seconds over a bucket and thats that
no mess no fuss no crazy wing flapping

I know people sometimes dont like talking about it but its good to learn what works best for you
generally I process after dark. birds stay calm and easier to manage

my advice is GOOD shears I bought 3 pairs of shears before I found a pair that worked for cutting through bones
trust me and my bad experience when i say crappy shears are not what you want when your trying to quickly process a quail
are we allowed to recommend brands on here?

ETA: DC already covered it with the video... already hit on how it has to be done properly

I used cutlery scissors for the video because I figured most people would have some in the kitchen but for shears I use a pair of fiskars gardening shears as they seem to be the sharpest i can find locally(i think we can recommend brands..we'll see lol) That is good advice about the shears, good shears work much better than scissors do esp. if your queasy about it and chose that method.

I too like to keep them as calm as possible because it makes me feel better about it. It doesn't matter so much for meat quality when youre doing poultry but it is good to make a practice of keeping the animals calm. Obviously for humane reasons but when it comes to red meat animals adrenaline taints the meat and leaves a foul taste, so in processing many animals (especially beef) it is imperative.

 

[Chickety Charcoal]

I am researching quail to raise for eggs and meat and often ask myself if I am ready for it. It is a tough question as I have never dispatched an animal before. I will see how it goes.

 

[marksouth]

I used cutlery scissors for the video because I figured most people would have some in the kitchen but for shears I use a pair of fiskars gardening shears as they seem to be the sharpest i can find locally(i think we can recommend brands..we'll see lol) That is good advice about the shears, good shears work much better than scissors do esp. if your queasy about it and chose that method. 

I too like to keep them as calm as possible because it makes me feel better about it. It doesn't matter so much for meat quality when youre doing poultry but it is good to make a practice of keeping the animals calm. Obviously for humane reasons but when it comes to red meat animals adrenaline taints the meat and leaves a foul taste, so in processing many animals (especially beef) it is imperative. 

ditto on making sure the shears are sharp. My wife wouldn't let me use her cutlery sizzors so My first attempt was my hand held pruners which I considered sharp, they weren't sharp enough and although the bird didn't suffer it was a nasty job I don't recommend. After that bird I snuck in, got her sizzors and they worked like a charm. To this day I still sneak them out of the kitchen lol