Harvesting Protein

I have been keeping Japanese quail for several months. They are delightful little birds, cute, quiet and prolific layers of tasty delicate eggs. They are similar to chickens and lay an egg a day. I have been keeping our quail on our balcony. They are a great option for people who would like to keep some livestock but only have a very small space.

No prizes for guessing which are the quail eggs.

The eggs can be eaten exactly like any other eggs. They take 2 minutes to hard boil, 12 eggs for an omelet for two! I hard boil them and serve them in salads. They are great as mini scotch eggs. In a rabbit hutch we keep one male and four females. The kids all have names for them and often take them out and play with them in the living room. I, of course, have to follow around with a tissue in hand to clean up the little messes.

We have had success with hatching them in our incubator. In fact much more success than any chicken eggs we have tried. Obviously the little male has been very busy ensuring that all the eggs are fertile. The chicks are so cute. Newly hatched they are like fuzzy bumblebees. They grow really quickly and the girls start laying eggs when they are around 7-8 weeks old.

We have raised a batch of 7 new quail with 3 boys and 4 girls. The girls are getting “harassed” by the boys. Sometimes the three boys are all after one girl! My boys think they are wrestling. I don’t have the heart (or inclination) to burst their bubble and explain what they are really doing! That sex talk can come later.



How can I cook these so the kids don't know what they eating?

Becoming very tired off watching the daily assaults I decide it has come to the time to dispatch a couple of the males in preparation for the pot. Killing is fairly easy. The hardest part is doing it quickly so that Quinn, my four year old, doesn’t walk in on me and start telling me how nasty I am to kill his bird! A sharp pair of garden secateurs does the job of cutting off the head and then plucking only takes 5 minutes. Much faster than plucking a chook or duck! After the body cavities are cleaned I place them in a ice-cream container in the fridge to soak in a salt solution  overnight and then they go into the freezer.

I need to start looking for quail recipes.