This video will show you how I butcher my quail as humanely and efficiently as possible. My husband and I usually eat 6 quail at a time between us, so I never process fewer than that . When you’re done following the video instructions, you’ll have a clean quail ready for cooking or freezing. IContinue reading “Step-By-Step: Butchering Your Quail”
Category Archives: Quail Tales
Raising Quail: Getting Started
Decide! If you’re still debating whether or not to raise quail, read my post entitled “Why Quail?” before coming back to this page – this post is for those who are ready to bring home Japanese Coturnix quail but aren’t sure how to make it happen. Finding Quail If you are interested in hatching yourContinue reading “Raising Quail: Getting Started”
I Chickened Out
When people want to know why we raise quail, I have so many answers. The little goobers and their eggs are delicious, they mature and reproduce quickly, they have been bred to fit into small spaces, and their stupidity is delightfully charming. But there’s another answer: chickens suck. Sure, when you first bring them home,Continue reading “I Chickened Out”
Queens of Green
One of our key promises to you the consumer is to provide a premium product – one that is clean, green, and delicious. We therefore treat our quail like family until it’s time for processing – our birds roam freely yet protected from predators in a spacious enclosure, and we feed them organic soy-free feedContinue reading “Queens of Green”
Graduation Day
Warning: This post contains graphic photos of quail butchering. Continue at your own risk, and on an empty stomach if you get squeamish. Quail are adorable creatures – but they’re not pets. Part of enjoying their company is stuffing them with goat cheese, wrapping them in bacon, and throwing them on the grill. It’s knownContinue reading “Graduation Day”
(Dust) Bath Time
Hygiene is important for us all, particularly those of us living in swampy Tampa, and the quail are no exception! They thoroughly enjoy taking dust baths in diatomaceous earth, which helps keep them cool, kills small bugs, and keeps feathers primped and sheen. In fact, food grade diatomaceous earth such is also useful for humansContinue reading “(Dust) Bath Time”
Coop Training
Japanese Coturnix quail have been bred for small, intense spaces and productivity. Most quail keeping operations are designed to be as small as possible with maximum convenience for the owner. It’s not abusing the birds to have four or five to a square foot, but it’s certainly not what I would prefer. We believe inContinue reading “Coop Training”
The Babies Arrive
After years of dreaming about raising my own quail, I finally welcomed three dozen hatchlings into my backyard on September 18, 2019. I drove an hour north of Tampa to pick them up, and their nervous chirping from the backseat became the only impetus for me to slow down and not drive with my usualContinue reading “The Babies Arrive”
Why Quail?
Many people ask me this when I tell them about our backyard birds. More people have chickens; wouldn’t that be easier? Aren’t their eggs really small? Do they poop a lot? Why Quail? They’re cute and cuddly, ’tis true, but Japanese Coturnix Quail have been bred to be tiny powerhouses of productivity. They mature andContinue reading “Why Quail?”
Quail and Cotton 