Looking for Coturnix quail in S. Calif.

[Barbara Wasbin]

Hi, I'm looking for coturnix quail in Southern California. I would like to have 2 or 3 as pets and for the eggs.
Does anyone know where I can buy some?
Thank you!

 

[Sara L]

Hi, I'm looking for coturnix quail in Southern California. I would like to have 2 or 3 as pets and for the eggs.
Does anyone know where I can buy some?
Thank you!

Have you looked on Craigslist? I am in Auburn, CA so would probably be too far but I have some Coturnix quail I hatched on 12/25/17. Mostly brown/white or brown so not sure whether they are males/females yet.

 

[Barbara Wasbin]

Sara, Thank you for the advice. I was able to find some on Craigslist not too far from my house! I haven't contacted the seller yet. We found some at a store nearby called the Wagon Train. They sell a variety of eggs. We bought a dozen. The salesgirl said they had a 30% hatch rate. And they couldn't guarantee that they'd all be Coturnix. Now I'm wondering about the quality of the eggs. Oh well, we'll give it a try.
Thank you again, Sara.

 

[Sara L]

I am glad you found some quail! Why would the eggs not be Coturnix? What do the eggs look like? 30% hatch rates seems low, were the eggs shipped to the store or are they local? If shipped, the low rate makes more sense, but if local then the flock may have fertility issues if they only expect 30% to hatch.

 

[Barbara Wasbin]

I've been doing a lot of reading because I've never had quail. Lots to learn. However....I guess didn't read enough about acquiring eggs. I didn't ask all of the right questions. I'm going to need to call her back. We don't pick them up until Feb 6 so I don't know what they look like yet. Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

[Sara L]

Coturnix quail eggs should look like this photo. They are a bit bigger than a quarter.

Quail are pretty hardy, but any eggs shipped through the mail usually have lower hatch rates due to temperature changes and rough handling. My last hatch (with my own eggs) had over 90% fertility and almost 83% hatch rate.

 

[mk4]

Where in socal are you?