(I originally posted this on the Incubating/Hatching Eggs board but was advised to ask here instead.)
Last year I got three pairs of Mountain Quail that Ive been raising as a hobby; they live together in a colony inside an outdoor aviary resembling their natural habitat that I built and designed as a personal project last summer. Turns out this "project" ended up costing about 20 times more than I had anticipated, as did the quail themselves. Still, they've been thriving and it's been very interesting and rewarding having them around and watching their behaviors.
About a week ago I got my first eggs from them, a total of four that had been laid in a nest they built out of pine branches, and have gotten seven more eggs since then. In doing some research into Mountain Quail eggs I discovered two things: A.) they dont lay them very often (between 5 and 30 a year according to most sources) and B.) there seems to be quite a high demand for them online with prices ranging between $8.00 and $15.00 per egg. This makes me feel like Im wasting a precious resource by not having any plans to hatch the eggs (I was just intending to eat them) and also of course has me thinking about recouping some of my extensive financial losses from my 2010 Outdoor Quail Aviary project by selling the eggs to those whod like to purchase them.
But Im new to this so I figured I would check here to find out what exactly would be involved in selling the eggs online on a site like Eggbid or eBay. Here are my big questions:
1.) Whats the general process involved in selling hatching eggs? I searched for a how to guide on it but couldnt find anything. What are the basics and the need-to-know info?
2.) How fresh do the eggs have to be when being sold/shipped? Should they be laid on the same day as shipment, several days prior to shipment etc
3.) What care of the eggs needs to be taken between the time theyre collected and the point at which theyre shipped out? Is any special equipment needed?
4.) Does the shipping need to be overnight, next day/2-day air etc?
5.) Whats the process for determining whether the quail eggs are fertile or not? Is it any different than with regular full-sized chicken eggs?
6.) Each of my three pairs of Mountain Quail comes from a different breeder and a different bloodline and all six birds are raised together. Does this make their eggs more or less valuable?
7.) How big a factor is temperature when shipping the eggs and is there a point in the year when it becomes too late to still try to sell/ship them?
8.) Any other information I should know? I want to be sure that if I do this I have all the facts first and do it right since its my first time attempting anything like this and Id hate for people to spend so much money on eggs that never hatch due to some failure of mine.
Thanks in advance for any and all help/info!
Last year I got three pairs of Mountain Quail that Ive been raising as a hobby; they live together in a colony inside an outdoor aviary resembling their natural habitat that I built and designed as a personal project last summer. Turns out this "project" ended up costing about 20 times more than I had anticipated, as did the quail themselves. Still, they've been thriving and it's been very interesting and rewarding having them around and watching their behaviors.
About a week ago I got my first eggs from them, a total of four that had been laid in a nest they built out of pine branches, and have gotten seven more eggs since then. In doing some research into Mountain Quail eggs I discovered two things: A.) they dont lay them very often (between 5 and 30 a year according to most sources) and B.) there seems to be quite a high demand for them online with prices ranging between $8.00 and $15.00 per egg. This makes me feel like Im wasting a precious resource by not having any plans to hatch the eggs (I was just intending to eat them) and also of course has me thinking about recouping some of my extensive financial losses from my 2010 Outdoor Quail Aviary project by selling the eggs to those whod like to purchase them.
But Im new to this so I figured I would check here to find out what exactly would be involved in selling the eggs online on a site like Eggbid or eBay. Here are my big questions:
1.) Whats the general process involved in selling hatching eggs? I searched for a how to guide on it but couldnt find anything. What are the basics and the need-to-know info?
2.) How fresh do the eggs have to be when being sold/shipped? Should they be laid on the same day as shipment, several days prior to shipment etc
3.) What care of the eggs needs to be taken between the time theyre collected and the point at which theyre shipped out? Is any special equipment needed?
4.) Does the shipping need to be overnight, next day/2-day air etc?
5.) Whats the process for determining whether the quail eggs are fertile or not? Is it any different than with regular full-sized chicken eggs?
6.) Each of my three pairs of Mountain Quail comes from a different breeder and a different bloodline and all six birds are raised together. Does this make their eggs more or less valuable?
7.) How big a factor is temperature when shipping the eggs and is there a point in the year when it becomes too late to still try to sell/ship them?
8.) Any other information I should know? I want to be sure that if I do this I have all the facts first and do it right since its my first time attempting anything like this and Id hate for people to spend so much money on eggs that never hatch due to some failure of mine.
Thanks in advance for any and all help/info!
