Slaughtering quails: at what age do they cut at home and how to cut them with their own hands

Two-month-old quails are slaughtered in several ways. Usually poultry is cut off the head on a wooden block. This is the easiest and fastest method of killing quails. After cutting off the head, the bird is held by the leg for about a minute to drain the blood. After that, they are scalded, plucked, the insides are taken out, cut and sent to the freezer for storage.

Selection of quails for slaughter

Quails are relatively small poultry, weighing a maximum of 200-400 grams. They are bred for meat or eggs.Meat breeds (Pharaohs, Texans) at 2 months of age reach their maximum weight (350 grams). Moreover, quails are heavier than quails. At the age of two months, meat birds are slaughtered. The yield of meat from the carcass is about 70 percent. Some poultry farmers keep meat quails for up to 4-5 months. Broilers at an older age can weigh almost 500 grams. True, old birds have tough meat.

Egg breeds of quails begin to lay at 2 months of age. They give eggs almost every day. The productivity of quails decreases over time. At 9 months old, the birds left behind to receive eggs are sent for slaughter. But the males of egg breeds grow up to slaughter in only 40-60 days. The quails that have gained the maximum weight (about 200 grams) are sent for slaughter. After cutting, the carcass can weigh just over 100 grams.

Features and principles of fattening

There are broiler meat breeds of quails (Pharaohs, Texans), which are distinguished by precocity, quickly gain weight, and at 3-4 months weigh about half a kilogram. Egg quails receiving the same feed gain no more than 200 grams before slaughter.

The birds are fed 3-4 times a day. Quails are given special feed, crushed cereals (corn, wheat, barley, oats). Birds that are raised for meat are fed with bread, wet mash, cereals and boiled potatoes. Be sure to give carrots so that the meat acquires a reddish tint. Quails are fed with finely chopped vegetables, grass. Be sure to give bone and fish meal, meal, crushed chalk, s alt, fodder yeast, premixes.

On an industrial scale, quails are kept in cages during the fattening period. Birds are kept in semi-dark rooms. Grain feed is poured into feeders 3-4 times a day. They make sure that the quails eat plenty. Throughout the entire period of fattening, the quality of feed is monitored. They start with millet, millet, gradually switch to crushed corn, wheat or mixed fodder. To prevent the incidence of quails on the third day of life, they are soldered with a weak solution of multivitamins and feed "Biomycin".

Preparation of poultry before slaughter

Before slaughtering quails, it is necessary to collect all the necessary tools and materials and prepare the birds. Usually meat breeds are not fed for longer than 3-4 months. Over time, poultry meat loses its fat content. Quails are intensively fattened, and before slaughter they are kept on the same water for a day.

Tools, items and materials needed for slaughter:

• sharp knife, pruner, scissors or axe;
• dessert spoon or fork for gutting;
• bucket of boiling water;
• plastic film;
• wooden table or cutting board;
• several containers (for waste, blood runoff, entrails and meat);
• rags, napkins for hands.

It is not recommended to delay the slaughter of birds. With age, quail meat becomes tougher. Only he althy birds are allowed to be slaughtered for meat. Sick individuals are recommended to be disposed of.

Execution technique

Quails are slaughtered in different ways. The main thing - in the process of slaughter, do not cross the boundaries of what is permitted. Bird cruelty is punishable by law (in some countries). You can entrust the slaughter of quails to specialists (special firms involved in the slaughter of domestic animals).

Manual method

Usually, birds are killed with an ax, putting their head on a wooden block and striking on the neck. You can stab quails with a knife or secateurs. In this case, the quail is placed on the board and its head is cut off. You need to cut birds with your own hands quickly and vigorously. It is advisable to cut off the head in one go.

You can pre-make a conical funnel from a plastic bottle or tin. Such a device is attached in a vertical position to a board or wall. A quail is inserted upside down into the cone and the neck is cut. Immediately after cutting off the head, you need to hold the bird in an upright position for about a minute over the pelvis to drain the blood.

Using semi-automatic technique

Poultry farmers who grow more than 100 quails per season are better off buying a semi-automatic bird slaughterer. This technique simplifies and speeds up the slaughter procedure, allows you to slaughter quails more efficiently. The device consists of cone-shaped funnels, inside which quails are inserted upside down. The head of the birds is cut off automatically with a blade. The blood flows into a special trough. After killing, the carcass is removed, plucked and gutted by hand.

American way

For slaughter, the quail is hung upside down on loops made of wire and attached to a vertical board. They take a bird's head in their hands and put pressure on their ears. After the quail opens its beak, a sharp knife is inserted into its mouth. The throat is cut on the right side at the place where the skull ends and the neck begins. After that, the brain is pierced through the palatine fissure, and the knife is turned around the axis. After killing, the bird is kept upright for about a minute to drain the blood.

Carcass processing

Immediately after slaughter, the carcass should hang upside down for 1-2 minutes to drain the blood. After bleeding, they begin processing and cutting.

Scalding

The carcass decapitated after slaughter is held by the legs and lowered into a bucket of boiling water for 30 seconds.If the bird has thin skin, then scalding can be done in a different way. For example, holding the legs, the carcass is dipped ten times in boiling water for exactly one second. Scalding is done in order to open the pores, and the feathers can be easily removed from the skin.

The main thing is that the water temperature is not lower than 60 degrees, but not higher than 80 degrees Celsius. Immediately after scalding, the carcass is removed from boiling water and plucked. Do not keep the quail in hot water for too long (the skin may come off).

Plucking

It is recommended to pluck a slightly cooled carcass immediately after scalding. Quail should be put on the table on plastic wrap. Feathers are plucked against their growth with quick and vigorous movements. It takes no more than 5 minutes to pluck a quail. After removing the feathers, the carcass is treated with a burner to remove the fluff.

How to butcher a quail

Before cutting, the carcass must be scalded and plucked. Only then can it be gutted and cut. First, a small incision is made longitudinally on the belly. Using a fork or a dessert spoon, carefully take out the insides (intestines, organs). In the process of extracting the liver, it is important not to damage the gallbladder, otherwise the taste of the meat may deteriorate.

From the inside you need to pull out the esophagus, goiter, trachea. To do this, make another incision, but in the neck. After gutting, the carcass is cut into pieces (thighs, drumsticks, wings are separated). After cutting, the meat and cleaned organs (heart, liver) are washed in cool water.

Fast processing

Quail carcass can be processed in a quick way. The bird's head is cut off, the blood drained, and immediately placed on a cutting board. Cut off the wings and legs of the quail. They make an incision on the chest and, like a stocking, pull the skin together with feathers.It takes a couple of minutes to process the quail. True, the meat left without skin dries quickly and becomes less juicy.

Refrigeration and storage

Usually quail chicks appear in the spring. In the summer, the birds are fattened, and closer to the autumn all the livestock are sent for slaughter (if it is not an egg breed). It is not advisable to feed broilers at home for longer than 3-4 months. Meat becomes tougher with age. Old quails eat a lot of food, but do not get better.

Several dozens of birds slaughtered in one day are recommended to be cooled and frozen in the freezer. First, the meat must be washed, held for one hour in cold s alted water and dried. It is recommended to put a dry carcass in a container or a plastic bag. This is done so that the meat is not saturated with the smells of the refrigerator and freezer. First, the carcass is cooled in the refrigerator at a temperature of 0 degrees. Chilled meat is transferred to the freezer. Frozen carcass can be stored in the freezer for up to six months.

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