My 5 mth. old Bobwhite Laid an Egg! Anyone eaten their BW Quail eggs before?

[quailchick]

I'm so excited! We got our first egg! It is from our runt, the little bird I had to pick out of the shell because she was drying up inside. Her name is Slow Poke. We do not plan on eating the birds, we only have 4 total, 5 months old - 3 fm, 1male, and we won't be breeding them at this point. We are only going to eat the eggs. Has anyone else here eaten their Bobwhite Quail eggs? The egg is slightly larger than the eggs they hatched out of, and more pointed on both ends. The eggs they all hatched out of had a round bottom and a pointy top, not this egg. I immediately put it in an egg carton in the fridge.

If you have eaten the Bobwhite quail eggs before, can you tell me how long they will last in the fridge before we have to eat them? I am saving this one, waiting for some more so our family of four can each have an egg. Kind of hard to share one egg between four people! LOL

 

[QChickieMama]

Thank you for your post. How many do you get per hen/per day do you think? Slow Poke laid one yesterday and today....I know it's too soon to tell, but is it possible I will get one per day per hen?

I was reading about how the commercial coturnix quail egg farmer washes their eggs in a bleach mixture and all sorts of sanitizing practices, I was just planning on cracking em open unwashed. Do you wash them and in what? I don't want to use bleach.

I was planning on putting the quail eggs in some Japanese soup, can you share any other things you use them for? Thank you so much!

My hens probably lay every day or at least every other day right now. When fall comes, they'll slow down unless I put a timed light in the pen.

Some of the eggs will look clean; it's best not to wash those. However, many of mine come filthy. Those I put in a mild bleach solution just briefly and wash them with a scrub sponge. It's just SO easy to get bits of shell crumbling into the cracked egg, I want to make sure they're clean.

I've made quail egg appetizers (impressive & delicious), deviled eggs, etc. Mostly I use them scrambled for the kids' breakfast or in baked goods. I do have 1 friend who buys them from me once in a while b/c her son is allergic to chicken eggs and he can tolerate these fine.

 

[UndergroundQuailRoad]

Should last you a while in the fridge(Weeks). Depending on the light availability, your hen will Probably lay every other day and once the others join in you can expect about a dozen a week. They will stop laying when day light wanes.

 

[Fat Daddy]

I remember chatting about this bird. I didn't realize they were inside thou. I don't really think its your time zone as much as the light hrs she's getting. It could be as little as a desk lamp if it's close to the same everyday. If your wanting to " force" them to lay, set up a timer with a lamp, 14 hrs a day will work, up to 16 ish... The others will only start laying when they are ready. And then only if they have enough light hrs... This works fine for eating eggs, but for hatching, the fertility will be poor.... Harder to get Mr roo go'n good with artificial light... Good luck, Bill

 

[Fat Daddy]

I feed all my game birds startena the whole of their lives.... I feel that the extra protein is good for a bird that is crank'n out eggs. Its rare that a feed store or pet shop employee, knows diddly squat about game birds! Treats are rare here on the farm, but we have different goals as well. Its been my experience that you can raise coturnix in a smaller area than bobs. And your right, coturnix lay big eggs and more of them as a rule. They are also much more friendly. I'v had some almost chicken tame. But they also eat twice as much and POOP twice as much.... If kept inside, cots are going to require alot more cleaning. What I'm trying to say is THEY STINK!

But in small numbers you sould be ok... I hope your plans work out the way you want! I think birds are a addiction, I dont know if there is a cure. If there is, I have yet to find it. Bill

 

[SiTran]

I think birds are a addiction, I dont know if there is a cure. If there is, I have yet to find it. Bill

No cure here, but I do know one thing.....the addiction is very progressive and if you hang around the right people it gets even worst!

 

[quailchick]

I paid a little over a dollar for 10 eggs, I can't remember the exact amount, but they tasted like nothing, like the commercial chicken eggs. Those were definitely commercially raised and my eggs taste completely different, rich tasting and creamier. If you are producing rich tasting eggs, probably due to a variety of insects being offered to the quail, then I would say charge around 3-4 dollars per dozen. I think it depends on where you live, and if there is a demand of course. If I were producing eggs for profit, I would make sure to give my birds lots of treats of insects, greens and fruit. I would have a tasting party. Take your quail eggs to every gathering you go to. Make deviled quail eggs, hard boiled quail eggs with dipping sauce, and try making sushi with sunnyside up quail eggs. Wow the guests and they will become your customers!

 

[quailchick]

She laid another one today! This time it looks exactly like the eggs they hatched out of. Maybe we will get one egg a day? We shall see!

 

[quailchick]

 

[quailchick]