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Post by StepfordRenegade on Jan 14, 2015 18:12:45 GMT 10
I've wanted chickens for a really long time so have been doing my research, but I have just stumbled across what is apparently an even easier way of getting eggs & meat - quails. Perks of quails is they are apparently cheaper, quieter, cleaner and require less space than chickens, with the downside obviously being size (3-6 quail eggs = one chicken egg), and apparently their shells are hard to crack without getting some in the egg so a special tool is recommended.
Has anyone had any experience with quails? What are your thoughts?
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Post by Peter on Jan 14, 2015 20:31:48 GMT 10
Quails are very fiddly to prepare and eat. Although they are delicious.
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Post by Peter on Jan 14, 2015 20:33:23 GMT 10
I had quails when I was a kid. I'd also be interested to know if a quail could tackle a large snail... maybe a mix of quails and chooks..
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Post by Joey on Jan 14, 2015 21:06:40 GMT 10
Have you considered turkey? or ducks? or even geese? This article has a good write up comparing the different birds for prepping situations. theprepperproject.com/top-6-poultry-for-preppers/Random bird related trivia: Peacocks were used in the early days as an intruder alarm around houses and properties. The seemingly innocent bird sleeping at night are easily awoken to any intruders and would alert the home owners with their loud shreaking noise we all know. |
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Post by Fractus on Jan 14, 2015 21:17:09 GMT 10
Quail tastes really good. You butterfly and cook in a sandwich press.
A mix of birds is good, ducks chickens geese etc as there is an overlap in the food required but varied enough to be useful. But geese can kill chooks and turkeys can transfer a disease they from slugs get to chickens. I think it is called blackleg
Eating pidgeons is also a handy food as they will travel a little way to forage if they are not too fat.
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Post by SA Hunter on Jan 15, 2015 20:26:23 GMT 10
Had both.
For me, I loved the quail - can be tamed, delicious to eat,lay eggs ( though tiny ).
Chooks - eggs, larger, a good feed.
Both are good scavengers in the garden ( eating bugs etc ).
It really depends on the size of the yard/cage. And what will work best for your situation - honestly, if I had a choice, I'd get both!!
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token
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Post by token on Oct 22, 2016 18:47:33 GMT 10
Quails are easy to harvest, cut the head off, the wings and legs at the stump, press in hard on the chest and skin, cut the backbone straight up and gut, wash and set aside, do another...bout 22 seconds a bird.
Meat tastes great. However, you need to selectively breed them to get them bigger, and there is a limit on the species of jap quail size. Currently, i can get you well over 300 grams of meat quail.
Eggs are seasonal, unlike many breeds of chicken.
Feed can be an issue and the Achilles heel if you raise them where they cannot free range. Lots to tell, happy to help and supply good genetics for folk who want to learn from our story there.
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