For those with a quail hobby business

[MomFoldingLaundry]

Hey Guys,

I’m trying to breed out my quail enough to start a little business. (COVID has not been kind to Us financially.)

I know a few people around here do poultry hobby Farms. (Or small farms.) What do you find to be the best/lowest stress product to sell?

Hatching eggs/chicks?
Quail eggs in cartons?
Pickled quail eggs?

I could do all three, but it seems to me the only operations in Hawaii with quail (and there are only two) focus on chicks and hatching eggs. I’ve never seen quail eggs for sale anywhere in Hawaii. Despite the high Japanese population.

Opinions?
I’m interested to hear you guys’ take.

 

[NY Coturnix]

I'd watch myshire youtube video's. Here's one but they have several great how to make money with coturnix video's. You can't go wrong with these guys.

 

[NY Coturnix]

actually watch this one first. It's shorter but I think he hits some of your questions.

 

[Nabiki]

I have quail as a hobby. They pay for themselves with a bit extra. The birds themselves are my biggest money maker. Since Facebook banned egg ads, I don't sell many eggs these days.

Make sure that you know the local laws regarding sales. I'm allowed to sell birds. I have a CA egg handler's license, so I'm allowed to sell eggs in California. If you want to sell food, you need permits for that, and inspections, etc.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

On Oahu, a couple of stores sell quail eggs, but they are brought in from California. At $5 a dozen, they're definitely a gourmet item. On Craigslist, you can occasionally get a dozen for $2.

You can also get 8-week roos for $5 on Craigslist, but I notice there are rarely takers for those. Egg-laying hens fetch a little more, maybe $20 each. Selling chicks seems easy enough, those usually get $10 or so on Craigslist and are quickly sold out. I've never seen hatching eggs advertised on Craigslist.

Other than raising them for your own household, it might be hard to turn a profit on quail. Also, you live on Kauai, where chickens are an all-you-can-grab buffet. If you did decide to sell chicks or hatching eggs, you'd probably need to invest in a better incubator.

As it is, I question my own sanity in raising quail. If it wasn't for the global uncertainty, I'd still just buy processed chicken from Costco. It has been a fun adventure though.

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

Kauai is a really different market from Oahu. The one local chicken farm's stuff sells at high end markets for like $11.

People will literally spend $11 to buy "Kauai fresh eggs." Granted, at the same kind of market even regular eggs are $6 per dozen.

I don't think I'll make a business off selling chicks, as there really aren't enough people here who's want to raise quail to buy too many. But I may as well package and try selling eggs.

People at a farmer's market here would easily spend $7 a dozen. They'll spend $7 on a glass of lemonade. LOL

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

As for our local chickens: you can't eat them as they are too tough. It's not like people hunt them, or would ever keep them for eggs. LOL

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

I have quail as a hobby. They pay for themselves with a bit extra. The birds themselves are my biggest money maker. Since Facebook banned egg ads, I don't sell many eggs these days.

Make sure that you know the local laws regarding sales. I'm allowed to sell birds. I have a CA egg handler's license, so I'm allowed to sell eggs in California. If you want to sell food, you need permits for that, and inspections, etc.

Facebook has banned egg ads??? How weird!

I'm so over Facebook animal groups. People ban so many things you can't even have a conversation. How are actually farmer's supposed to talk to one another?

 

[Nabiki]

Facebook has banned egg ads??? How weird!

I'm so over Facebook animal groups. People ban so many things you can't even have a conversation. How are actually farmer's supposed to talk to one another?

They're considered part of animal sales. You can't sell animals or any parts of animals. I guess eggs are animal parts?

 

[FloorCandy]

It has taken me a while, but I found a reptile keeper who buys eggs and chicks from me in bulk. He has said he will recommend me to friends as well. So maybe try talking to people in reptile social groups online?