[Sca-cooks] RE:quail questions

[Weems, Lora]

(sound of coins)
This is Leofwynn, adding my 2 pence worth, re: the ongoing thread about
quail:

The _only_ thing on my farm that makes money is my quail flock.

The Japanese/Pharoah/Coturnix quail, domesticated in Japan 800+/- years
ago, has been recently (1980's) bred up (by TX A&M) to a large (for quail)
meat and egg bird.  These guys will run live wt. of over a pound, and will
dress to 6 - 12 oz. , mostly breast meat (Many of the recipes I use just use

the breast - and I save the rest to boil for stock)

They take 18 days to hatch, and 6 - 8 weeks to mature, egg-laying birds.

In Texas, you can raise and sell them by getting a Game Bird Breeders
Permit,
which I have.  It allows me to produce and sell these birds, either live
(babies to adults) or dead (processed for human consumption or left
au natural for animals to eat) (Falconers, owners of exotic cats such as
cervals, bobcats, or lynx, and reptile owners).

I sell my quail for local SCA events, either skinless or skin-on.

Other breeders will sell bobwhite quail, that dress to 3 - 6 oz.

The hens, once they get started, will lay an acorn-sized egg about once
every 18 hours, and will 'burn out' at 2 years.  I pickle my excess
eggs, and also sell the raw eggs for traditional Japanese cooking.

You should be able to find a local breeder by contacting your equivalent
of a County Extension Agent, or feed store.  I can ship eggs and live
birds across State lines, but not the processed ones.