How is the slaughter and cutting of quail

Quailing is carried out both manually and with the help of special equipment. The first method is used in small households, while the second is recommended for large farms.

Quail farms have long been a rarity in our time. The meat of these birds has unique dietary properties, and the healing qualities of eggs are repeatedly proved by scientists. however, to get the maximum number of feathers and meat from one individual, you need to be able to properly cut the bird.

Preparing quail before slaughter

This species of birds, despite its small size, It has extremely valuable meat and is prescribed for people with heart or gastrointestinal diseases. Due to its diet, the product has beneficial properties for the human body. However, the small size of the pet is considered extremely inconvenient for slaughter and cutting, especially by hand. Adult individuals rarely reach a weight of more than 200 g, and in order to get the maximum amount of meat and feathers from them, one should adhere to certain rules for slaughtering quails.

In addition to observing the technologies of the slaughter itself, a bird should be prepared.Most often, the following individuals go to slaughter:

• males that are not used in mating;
• young females with poor egg production;
• old individuals whose characteristics already below the norm.

Young individuals begin to be fed after the first month from the date of birth. Already at this point, you can select those individuals that are not needed for mating or have poor eggs. Such birds are transferred to high-calorie concentrated food and restricted in movement. Thanks to concentrates, quail quickly gain weight, and a sedentary lifestyle creates a subcutaneous fat layer that makes the meat softer.

Individuals whose age will not allow them to perform their functions well are also fattened before slaughter. Together with concentrates, they are additionally given a complex of vitamins A and D for better absorption of food. In order for the old individual to gain weight faster, animal protein is also added to its diet. It can be cottage cheese, boiled egg or milk.

Immediately before the slaughter of quail, they carry out the following set of actions:

• Fattened individuals are placed in a separate cage a day before the slaughter.
• The day before the slaughter, the feathered bird is not given food and the stomach is cleaned with saline.
• 12 hours before the slaughter, the wings are not given water.

Similar preparatory actions help protect meat from quick spoilage after slaughter. A good age for slaughter is considered 45 days of their life with a mass of 200 g.

Manual method of slaughtering quails

Slaughtering of quail manually method exists in two forms:

• American – cutting vessels with a knife through the beak.
• Decapitation with secateurs or large scissors.

The quality of slaughter is determined by the amount of blood in the meat. A good slaughter leads to complete bleeding of the carcass.

The American method of slaughtering quail is considered the most popular among poultry farmers. For this, the birds are suspended by the legs on a wire or hook, after which the auditory holes are compressed with fingers. This makes the individual reflexively open its beak. The slaughter knife is used in a special design: narrow and thin.

If you are not confident in your abilities or conduct a similar procedure for the first time, you should watch training videos or consult with more experienced specialists.

Blade is introduced at such an angle that, by cutting the vessels, you can reach the brain. A similar procedure is needed in order to relax the muscles. Due to this, blood flows out of the body faster, and it will be easier to pluck the carcass itself.

If the quail does not have paralysis, the fluff and feathers will remain firmly in the skin and it will be impossible to pluck the individual without disturbing the structure of the feather. Feathers are plucked as soon as possible after the death of the bird, because as soon as the carcass cools down, this material will begin to lose its qualities.

Quails are cut in different ways. Sometimes the carcass is completely gutted.To do this, make a small incision on the stomach and pull out the insides. With this method, it is important not to make the wound too deep: if you accidentally damage the liver or gall bladder, the meat will be bitter.

In another case, the anus is circled with a knife and the gastrointestinal tract is pulled through it. However, this method is considered the dirtiest: the intestines can easily tear and stain meat.

The third way of cutting quail is different in that the carcass is not gutted. Poultry farmers achieve the purity of meat during the preparatory cleansing of the feathered gastrointestinal tract.

Veterinary specialists say that the latter method is the most rational. Whole carcass meat has fewer harmful bacteria than chopped poultry. However, this is often disadvantageous to the breeders themselves, because entrepreneurs prefer to take carcasses without entrails.

After cutting, the birds are processed in order to remove excess moisture. To do this, the wings are firmly pressed to the sides of the bird and wrapped tightly with paper. Separately wrapped with paper the head and neck of the quail. This procedure will help keep the meat fresh longer.

The slaughter of quails and their cutting with the help of decapitation also begins with long cooking. For starters, the largest birds are slaughtered using this method, while the rest are continued to be fed to the desired weight.

For manual slaughter you need the skill

Quails are killed by decapitation with scissors or a special secateurs. The advantage of this method is that the bird bleeds in a few minutes. However, the difficulty for beginners is to cut. Very often, the pruning shears can slip, and the cut is torn, which can reduce the price of the final product. To avoid this, you can practice on strong branches or watch instructional videos. After slaughter, the quail is placed in water with a temperature not exceeding 50 ° C. In this water, the bird should be kept for half a minute, after which you can pluck down and feathers. If the water is too hot, it can damage the skin of the quail during the plucking procedure, which will affect its value.

Some breeders use paraffin for the same purpose. This will require special dishes with high sides, in which a bar of paraffin is melted, after which a dead individual is lowered into the vessel by the legs. After a couple of seconds, the carcass is removed and waiting for the excess wax to drain from the quail. Feathers processed in this way are easily detached from the body and have a good presentation.

Storage of quail after manual cutting

Vacuum freezing is considered to be the simplest and most effective way of storing meat. Before packing, the carcass is gutted and cut into pieces, after which it is put into the thermal package and tightly sealed.In this form, meat can be laid out for sale.

Whole carcasses undergo the same procedure. In this form, the bird can be stored for 2 weeks and withstand long journeys. It is important to follow all stages of the packaging technology: if the thermal bag is not properly sealed, the meat may freeze and start to crumble.

If you cannot pack the carcasses in a vacuum bag at home, you can use ordinary bags made of polyethylene. Birds are also tied up close to the skin with a bag and sent to freeze.

Quail slaughter using specialized equipment

On large poultry farms manual slaughter of domestic quail is often considered unprofitable, because it requires a large number of human energy costs. Machines for slaughtering birds come in different sizes and are suitable for the dimensions of any farm. If the number of birds is already more than 300, then it is rational to use semi-automatic mini-slaughterhouses for quails and pigeons. Usually such a small machine is designed exclusively for killing birds and primary processing. Such equipment is rarely equipped with additional features. Most often, the machine has a blade and a neck holder. Quails are served manually and processed in the same way. The advantages of this machine are a quick and even cut, which can rarely be achieved manually, especially for beginners. Large farms use large slaughter machines that include many features.Most often, this technique has the following settings:

• automatic direction of quail;
• primary processing, which includes electric stunning, slaughter, cutting off heads and paws, scalding and plucking;
• ridding the birds of entrails;
• cooling the meat;
• sorting the birds or specific parts.

The very technique of slaughtering quail in In this case, has special equipment for such actions:

• metal pendant for birds;
• humane function of electric stunning;
• blades and knives for slaughtering and cutting heads;
• hot water supply;
• automatic plumage removal;
• machine for separating and dropping legs;
• automatic sorting and packaging.

Slaughter of domestic quail using such machines is non-stop. For a day, the technique allows you to decapitate and process several thousand carcasses without human intervention. These technologies make it easy to slaughter quail. However, acquiring such a technique is a rather costly solution, suitable only for large farms.

Conclusion

Slaughtering farm quail is an important procedure for any poultry farmer.Quality poultry slaughter provides the farm with a profit. However, to get the maximum quality meat and feathers, quail is not enough to score.

Cutting also plays an important role in this matter. If you are still an inexperienced farmer and slaughter birds for the first time at home, then follow the rules of slaughter and watch the training videos.