Prior to this experience I had never killed an animal before. Taking a life is not something I take lightly but I realize it is a necessary part of our food system. I try to give my animals a decent life but I have to remember the reason I raise them is for food.

When I tell people I raise animals for food many times they give me a look of disgust. Then I typically ask them, “Where does your food come from?”

The point here is that a cow has to die for a cheeseburger to exist, a few chickens have to die for that bucket of KFC, a turkey is killed to make lunch meat, etc. Our current food supply has left us somewhat disillusioned as to where our food actually comes from. I realize rabbits are very cute animals, but chickens are awesome too. Some have really funny personalities. The same goes for larger livestock as well.

How do you kill the quail?

The process of killing the quail is relatively simple. You hold the bird in one hand and use a kitchen shears behind their neck with the other hand. With one good cut you can sever the spine and neck and the follow through cut will take the rest of the head off. Their bodies will spasm for a minute or two and the blood drains out the neck. From that point you cut off the wings and feet. The feathers don’t need to be plucked. Instead you can pull the skin off starting by making a tear at the top of the breast. The rest of the skin pulls off. Then you must cut along the spine to remove it. The internal organs scoop out of the ribcage easily. I keep the heart by feed the rest of the entrails to my black soldier fly larvae.

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