Whole Prey Feeding

[yeva2292]

I might go to a quail farm/slaughter house this weekend and was thinking about picking up some quail for Smokey (intermittent feeding only - maybe to give her one every week or every other week).

For those of you who have experience feeding whole prey, do I ask for adult or baby quails? Also, should I ask them to leave feathers on and just clean out the innards, not to clean anything, or clean the entire bird, just leaving heart/liver/kidneys? Since the bird will be freshly slaughtered, would you recommend that I freeze it for a couple days before feeding or would it be ok to feed it straight?

 

[dhammagirl]

I'd get a couple baby quail, fully intact with feathers, guts.
Give him one that's fresh, and freeze the other(s) for future feeding.
(A benefit of freezing is that it should kill any parasites the bird may have)
I give my boy Zeke the occasional whole adult mouse, small guinea pig, or chick (baby chicken).
I get them frozen from Hare Today.
He eats them all whole, no problem.
Occasionally, one of the outside cats will kill a small bird :-(
When they do eat it, they eat it feathers and all.
If you get an adult quail, I'd remove the large feathers and intestines.

 

[yeva2292]

Thanks! Also, as a follow up, you don't wash the quail, right? Just give it straight?

 

[dhammagirl]

Thanks! Also, as a follow up, you don't wash the quail, right? Just give it straight?

Right.
I don't wash them or anything.

 

[yeva2292]

Thanks again! I can't wait to see Smokey's reaction lol.