Thoughts on quail for personal meat production?

[birbdabble]

Hi! I'm considering raising celadon quail for occasional meat for 2 people (maybe 12-20 birds a year). Does anyone here do something similar, and was/is it worth the effort for you? My dream is to always have 6ish quail, and then to periodically raise more for processing, but I'm not sure if this is realistic.

This would be my first time raising animals for food. I am going to help slaughter some chickens with a friend before getting quail to make sure I have the stomach for it.

Thanks!

 

[Nabiki]

I raise quail for eggs and meat. I also sell some eggs and birds, so it's not all for me. I eat all of the extra boys, though.

Your option sounds doable to me. Raise the extras, process and freeze them.

 

[jnicholes]

I don’t raise quail, but I do hunt them. If you want to feed a lot of people, you’re gonna need a lot of quail. I don’t know how many Quail you’ll need to feed two people, though.

quail tastes really good, and I do believe it’s worth the effort to hunt them, so for you, it may be worth the effort to raise them. They are better than chicken in my opinion.

i’m sure someone else will chime in and give better information.

 

[Nabiki]

I only prepare one quail per person. That's a serving of meat. The rest of dinner is veggies and a carb such as rice, potato, bread, etc.

 

[jnicholes]

I only prepare one quail per person. That's a serving of meat. The rest of dinner is veggies and a carb such as rice, potato, bread, etc.

well, I guess I learned something.

 

[Kiki]

Sounds reasonable to me although you should start with 'regular' Coturnix first. You will probably be over charged for celadon layers who may not even lay blue eggs.

 

[Xouie]

We have our egg flock and occasionally incubate a batch of eggs for meat. we raise jumbo browns, but pretty much by accident got some blue egg layers and others along the way. That’s ok, they all taste the same — deeeee-lish!!!

the glory of these wonderful little birds is that they are approximately 2 months from egg-to-egg or egg-to-table. 17 days of incubation, then ready to process after another 6 weeks of high-protein feed. Our current batch heads for the freezer on Saturday.

I’m not a huge eater so one is a meal for me. My husband and son eat 1-2 each. Soooo good grilled or roasted. The eggs are also really good for cooking and baking.

if you can handle butchering chickens, quail should be no problem. They’re easier and faster IMO. The first time is the hardest, and remember we’re all here to support you if you need it.

 

[jnicholes]

We have our egg flock and occasionally incubate a batch of eggs for meat. we raise jumbo browns, but pretty much by accident got some blue egg layers and others along the way. That’s ok, they all taste the same — deeeee-lish!!!

the glory of these wonderful little birds is that they are approximately 2 months from egg-to-egg or egg-to-table. 17 days of incubation, then ready to process after another 6 weeks of high-protein feed. Our current batch heads for the freezer on Saturday.

I’m not a huge eater so one is a meal for me. My husband and son eat 1-2 each. Soooo good grilled or roasted. The eggs are also really good for cooking and baking.

if you can handle butchering chickens, quail should be no problem. They’re easier and faster IMO. The first time is the hardest, and remember we’re all here to support you if you need it.

I second that. If you can handle butchering a chicken, you can handle butchering a quail. But the first time is the hardest. No doubt about that. Let us know if you need help.

 

[Xouie]

Sounds reasonable to me although you should start with 'regular' Coturnix first. You will probably be over charged for celadon layers who may not even lay blue eggs.

Excellent point! And you can feather sex the browns as early as 3-4 weeks, making it easier to sort out keepers vs. grillers.

 

[birbdabble]

Thanks everyone, what a friendly community! ^_^

Sounds reasonable to me although you should start with 'regular' Coturnix first. You will probably be over charged for celadon layers who may not even lay blue eggs.

Great advice on getting regular coturnix first, I hadn't thought of that. I'm learning how to etch eggs (pandemic hobby) and the blue ones are so pretty, but especially since I'm aiming for meat regular seems like a good start. Maybe I'll even luck in to a blue one!