Freeze dried quail

[gravybones]

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I’ve been seeing these advertised recently, mostly as cat treats but also for dogs. Has anyone tried them? I’m kind of wondering if my small dogs would like them but are they a choking or other safety hazard (I’m an anxious mother lol) and also where do they source them?

 

[JoanneF]

Is it whole quail?

 

[gravybones]

Yes, whole chicks.

 

[lorilu]

I’ve been seeing these advertised recently, mostly as cat treats but also for dogs. Has anyone tried them? I’m kind of wondering if my small dogs would like them but are they a choking or other safety hazard (I’m an anxious mother lol) and also where do they source them?

Do you have a link? I think quail chick bones would be very soft.

PS I searched US options and found some on Chewy, for $219 (USD) per bag of 20!

 

[Torin]

Do you have a link?

Waita is the brand that's most commonly available where I am, who do quail DOCs. I get them occasionally. Their level of dried has slightly higher moisture levels than others, which reduces the bone splintering risks further. Not non-existant though, as with all cooked (air-dried is still cooked) bone, so like, informed risk decisions. But much safer than dried chicken feet, necks, tails etc. that have been on available for longer.

Sourcing-wise, it's iffier though. Battery cages are banned for laying hens, but not quail. Quail flush vertically when startled and hit their heads, so rather than minimising stressors many farms keep them in extra low housing so they can't get up speed to reduce injury that way. Meat birds tend to live in barns like chickens (lower and higher welfare versions exist), and there's very small numbers of free range farms around. I would feed them more if not for the welfare implications.

 

[gravybones]

Do you have a link? I think quail chick bones would be very soft.

PS I searched US options and found some on Chewy, for $219 (USD) per bag of 20!

That’s crazy! Some very spoiled American pets out there haha. I think this is the brand I’ve been seeing around, nowhere near that much

Freeze-Dried Quail Pet Treats by FURMILY 30g

🐾 Pamper Your Pets with Furmily Freeze-Dried Quail! 🐾 🐦 Luxury Treats for Dogs and Cats – Give your furry friends the best with our high-protein, grain-free, single-ingredient quail treats! 🔥 100% Natural Goodness – Our freeze-dried raw quail retains nearly 100% of the natural nutrients...

furmily.co.uk

Waita is the brand that's most commonly available where I am, who do quail DOCs. I get them occasionally. Their level of dried has slightly higher moisture levels than others, which reduces the bone splintering risks further. Not non-existant though, as with all cooked (air-dried is still cooked) bone, so like, informed risk decisions. But much safer than dried chicken feet, necks, tails etc. that have been on available for longer.

Sourcing-wise, it's iffier though. Battery cages are banned for laying hens, but not quail. Quail flush vertically when startled and hit their heads, so rather than minimising stressors many farms keep them in extra low housing so they can't get up speed to reduce injury that way. Meat birds tend to live in barns like chickens (lower and higher welfare versions exist), and there's very small numbers of free range farms around. I would feed them more if not for the welfare implications.

That’s really helpful, thanks I’ll have a think about it.

 

[excuseme]

I worked on a quail farm for 6 years supplying the London market
Quail chicks are about the size of a large bumble bee on legs and are fully grown birds at 6 to 7 weeks of age.
I used to bring home every week Quail necks for the dogs and heads for our ferrets, NEVER cooked or dried but all fed raw. (If we had too many heads the dogs would get these too)
They were started on wooden floors for the first week and graduated at week 2 to wire floors covered with strong paper bags, thereafter they graduated again and were reared on small 1/2"wire mesh floors where they were ready for slaughter at 6 - 7 weeks.

I would no more consider feeding dried Quail bodies than I would intentionally feed cooked chicken bones! However, our dogs do manage to find a number of old and naturally dried out bones around the countryside ( probably Pheasant bones ) which we allow them to consume in their own time and we do not try to snatch them away.

We have never suffered because of splintered bones, certainly the raw ones are absolutely fine, but would never intentionally feed them cooked or "dried".