Small commercial quail operation

I've been approached by a friend who's been looking for a source of quail eggs and meat for upscale restaurants to see if I'd be willing to start up a commercial operation. I haven't decided whether to breed my own or just buy hens and harvest the spent layers for the table and buy replacements.

Obviously I will want the birds to lay as much if the year as possible, and my reading of these threads seems to indicate that they don't lay when it gets too cold. Has anyone tried keeping layers in a greenhouse environment to keep a relatively warm housing year-round without artificial heat? I assume I'd need humidity control to prevent respiratory ailments, but running a dehumidifier would probably be cheaper than a propane heater in the winter (I'm in western NY, so we have typical New England winters).

Any suggestions you can give on establishing a commercial operation would be greatly appreciated, as I do my cost/benefit analysis and develop a business plan.

Just FYI, I've never raised poultry for sale other than I sell a few silkie chicks now and then, and have brooded out and sold guinea fowl. Most of my experience has been with a small farmstead flock of chickens and geese, so while I enjoy poultry and am fairly familiar with the needs of a small flock, I have never tried anything on the scale that I'm now contemplating.

Thanks in advance for your advice and suggestions.

We people ask me at my farm I always give this link ....it's a good starting point for anybody thinking of getting into a commerical gamebird business....One of the best business plans and general info. I've found and can be focused to any breed in general.....

Good Luck with your research and planning....

How to Begin and Survive A Commercial Gamebird Farm
http://www.lelandhayes.com/pubs/begin_farm.pdf

Thanks for the link. I have been looking into doing something similar.

Wow, thank you! That will be very helpful.

Wow...excellent read! Covers the many aspects of keeping gamebirds.