What is the value of raising quail? Share your thoughts.

[CovidtimeQuail]

It's a theme I hear over and over on this forum: what is the value of raising quail? From a financial standpoint, I see very little if any value. Eggs sell in our supermarket from under $3 for 10 and the birds themselves are so much of a specialty you can't count on how much you'll receive. I've seen prices as high as $15 for day old chicks to as low as $10 for laying hens. By the time you factor all the time and materials to raise quail, it's hard to make a case for starting a business.

Truth is, for me this hasn't been a business. It has been an adventure. It has been an exploration of extreme sustainability. Along the way, I've made friends like you with whom to commiserate on the difficulties and rejoice in the triumphs. And, quail have completed the cycle of self-reliance I was seeking. I weep nearly every time I take a quail life, but that emotion is quickly replaced by joy when I see how heartily my guilt-free cat consumes his raw treat, bones and all. (I've nearly given up on trying to eat the quail myself. The cat gives me the worst evil eye when I eat what nature intended for him. Once in a while, I manage to sneak in a (cooked) bite.) That brings me back to the full cycle of life we've left behind in our cities and cubicles. To everything, a time and a place.

For me, it started with gardening. Then compost worms. Then quail. Now, I feel as though I've had a chance to see the world full cycle as perhaps our ancestors did hundreds of years ago. Nothing goes to waste, everything goes back to the earth to start again. With just a dozen birds (for now), it is just right to fertilize the very food and insects that help sustain them too.

Thank you everyone for sharing this journey. I'm looking forward to more adventures, although I dread the day I'll have to return physically to the office to work. At that point, I'll have to scale back raising quail and gardening and all of the emotional bucket filling joys I've had this past year.

To anyone contemplating raising quail, it isn't easy but it is rewarding. For those of you already raising quail, share your stories here so others can benefit from your knowledge and perspective.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If you're looking for easy birds to butcher, quail are probably going to be the easiest. Takes me about 15 minutes from the first (The killing) cut to weighing the carcass after I'm finished for each bird. Not super fast compared to videos, but I'm a pretty slow guy period.

If you have ones you're attached to as pets, personally I'd suggest building cages that are side-by-side but only old one in each compartment. I've had many a bird (male and female) that suddenly went nuts and tried to off the rest of the flock. They do fine on their own if they can hear and see others still.

The eggs are great for hardboiling, since the membrane is so thick it makes the shells peel off in almost one piece and they fit in your mouth in one bite.

They lay very reliably, especially their first year

 

[KingD]

No value but really fun.
Easy to butcher as well.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Also easier than you would think to candle incubating eggs, I could use my phone light for both the normals and the celadon egga

 

[tribalacres]

This is a great thread. Curious too. When you say no value, you mean no making profit? Do people buy harvested quail in your area?

 

[Ratchnick]

For me i get all the eggs i can eat, they are great pickled, which chicken eggs are bigger then ideal. Plus i sell chicks enough to break even on the cost, and enough to subsidize the cost of my ducks.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

This is a great thread. Curious too. When you say no value, you mean no making profit? Do people buy harvested quail in your area?

Probably. I know here is similar because they're not really big enough to be worth butchering to most people, plus they can't just free range them and pit them away at night like most birds

 

[shrimpsilkies]

While they are certainly not a simple thing to raise, I’ve found them infinitely more manageable than chickens. Coturnix are perfect for smaller properties and for all their maladaptive traits like head bonking and scalping one another, they’re fairly straightforward to provide for and hardier than anyone can guess. They’re also the birds that taught me how to cull back when I just started with them.
Their genetics and behavior are also fascinating and while I’ve only dabbled in hatching my own eggs I’d like to start a few projects eventually.
As a last thing, my favorite bird ever is a Coturnix, my little Tibetan hen. Although she is nowhere near as outwardly intelligent as a chicken or parrot or cat is, she trusts me more than any other animal and seems to have bonded with me unlike any of my other quail, making the communication chirps whenever I’m near her but not holding her. She’s a survivor of a terrible vent prolapse that taught me a lot about how eggs are made. She doesn’t even poop on the floor when I bring her inside, (although I’m assuming that’s just out of confusion in a new environment). Not every Cot makes a good pet but I’m so thankful I hatched this egg.

 

[Nabiki]

Quail are perfect for a suburban yard. I have plenty of space for quail, not enough space for chickens.

I get fresh eggs, fresh meat, garden bug control, and fertilizer.

I sell enough eggs and quail to be just a bit in the black, basically breaking even. That doesn't count the meat and eggs that I eat.

Edit: Oh, chickens are also pretty regulated in town. You can't have a rooster without a permit, and the permit needs permission from your neighbours.

 

[muddy75]

It's a theme I hear over and over on this forum: what is the value of raising quail? From a financial standpoint, I see very little if any value. Eggs sell in our supermarket from under $3 for 10 and the birds themselves are so much of a specialty you can't count on how much you'll receive. I've seen prices as high as $15 for day old chicks to as low as $10 for laying hens. By the time you factor all the time and materials to raise quail, it's hard to make a case for starting a business.

Truth is, for me this hasn't been a business. It has been an adventure. It has been an exploration of extreme sustainability. Along the way, I've made friends like you with whom to commiserate on the difficulties and rejoice in the triumphs. And, quail have completed the cycle of self-reliance I was seeking. I weep nearly every time I take a quail life, but that emotion is quickly replaced by joy when I see how heartily my guilt-free cat consumes his raw treat, bones and all. (I've nearly given up on trying to eat the quail myself. The cat gives me the worst evil eye when I eat what nature intended for him. Once in a while, I manage to sneak in a (cooked) bite.) That brings me back to the full cycle of life we've left behind in our cities and cubicles. To everything, a time and a place.

For me, it started with gardening. Then compost worms. Then quail. Now, I feel as though I've had a chance to see the world full cycle as perhaps our ancestors did hundreds of years ago. Nothing goes to waste, everything goes back to the earth to start again. With just a dozen birds (for now), it is just right to fertilize the very food and insects that help sustain them too.

Thank you everyone for sharing this journey. I'm looking forward to more adventures, although I dread the day I'll have to return physically to the office to work. At that point, I'll have to scale back raising quail and gardening and all of the emotional bucket filling joys I've had this past year.

To anyone contemplating raising quail, it isn't easy but it is rewarding. For those of you already raising quail, share your stories here so others can benefit from your knowledge and perspective.

For me the experience is priceless! I don’t really sell much but there’s so much enjoyment to offset the cost and work. And the quality of the meat that goes into our freezer (from quail and other poultry, livestock, and game we harvest) is heads above the grocery store and meat market we shop locally. Not 100% self-sustaining as I only have 3/4 acre in town to work with, but doing best possible for the time we invest around our full-time other business and space that we have.