I often get asked if I sell fertile quail eggs and if not where can they be purchased?
Before I answer why I don't sell them, let me list several places online where fertile quail eggs CAN be purchased and then give my tips for buying good quality quail eggs to incubate and hatch out yourself.
Buying fertile quail eggs in Australia
You can buy fertile quail eggs in Australia from the following:
- GumTree here in Australia – This is where I mostly buy my re-fresh stock.
- Pet Pages Australia – Not often a lot to choose from but it's a good Website with an easy search feature.
- Quails Australia – A reasonable Website with some extra information on quail.
- Farmstock – Large classifieds section but a horrible Website overall with no obvious search feature to narrow down selection. It's amazing the site is so popular… You'd think the administrators would put a little effort into improving it but it's been the same for several years.
Buying fertile quail eggs in the USA
You can buy fertile quail eggs in the USA from the following:
- eBay USA – Is a large seller of quail eggs and equipment with sellers rated to see the quality of their business transactions.
- Amazon USA – Also large seller of quail eggs and has a rating system for sellers.
- Stromberg's Chickens – Nice well-organised website and online poultry shop.
- Purely Poultry – Another independent online quail egg specialist and noticeably sells Texas A&M eggs too.
Buying fertile quail eggs in the UK
You can buy fertile quail eggs in the UK from the following:
- eBay UK – Has a good selection of quail egg sellers.
- Moonridge Farm – A well presented and clean website with an online shop selling game bird products.
- PreLoved – a classifieds website to check out sometimes has sellers.
What to look for and ask before buying fertile quail eggs
Before you buy fertile quail eggs check these points:
- Buy eggs from a reputable person or retailer – If possible, try to buy quail eggs from a seller with a good reputation. Some websites have inbuilt seller's reputation systems that rate them from gathered data or reviews from buyers. Sometimes you may have to do more research by yourself through Googling and reading reviews or by contacting the seller, visiting their set-up (if available) to assess their credibility. Whatever your system, it's important that you don't simply trust the first person you come across online and send them money, for obvious reasons.
- Ask about hatch rates – Ask the seller if they know what their expected "hatch rates" are for their quail eggs. If they have no idea what a hatch rate is then I would be concerned… BTW, a hatch rate is the percentage of eggs expected to hatch out of any given batch. For example, a breeder who expects on average 60 eggs out of 100 to hatch out under normal hatching conditions would have a hatch rate of 60%. Personally, I would consider a 60% hatch rate or more as pretty good – obviously the higher the better.
- Ask how old are the eggs – Fertile quail eggs have a shelf life of about 15 days but incubation is best started as early as possible and before 10 days for best results. If you are buying eggs online you also need to factor in the days lost in transit. The best sellers are those who have a large number of breeding stock and thereby are able to collect the number of eggs required over just a few days so that the eggs are still fresh by the time you receive them.
- Ask about packaging – How does the seller package the eggs for postage? The seller should demonstrate a good knowledge of packaging eggs to protect them from damage and the elements (heat/cold) so that they arrive in good condition and still alive.
- Don't buy through winter – Quail don't naturally lay eggs through winter and therefore eggs produced during the colder months are usually inferior and/or will spoil during transit due to the temperature simply being too cold. Good quail breeders/sellers won't sell or advertise fertile quail eggs during the colder months.
- Question the breeder's freshness of stock – Ask if the breeder has a "stock refreshment plan" by introducing new stock to his/her own flock in order to negate inbreeding problems. Inbreeding of quail can start to become a problem after a few years since quail are not a long-lived bird, so refreshing stock is an important part of a good quail breeding program otherwise infertile eggs, low hatch rates, and deformities will occur.
Why don't I sell fertile quail eggs?
Over the years many people have questioned why I don't sell quail eggs or indeed other things we produce here on our small acreage. Lately, I've been answering this question with, "I'm a content creator, not a retailer," and this one line sums it up nicely.
However, to elaborate further, I don't sell quail eggs, full stop, whether fertile or not because I'm not in the business of selling eggs – it's that simple.
The reason I keep quail is for our own use – mainly meat, but we do eat the eggs and collect the quail manure/mulch to use as a magnificent fertiliser in the garden.
I also produce a lot of media content about growing quail (and other stuff), which wouldn't leave me much time to sell eggs or birds anyway even if I had an interest in doing so.
Conclusion
Buying fertile quail eggs to incubate yourself is a cost-effective way to start your quail flock or indeed refresh your current sock but remember to consider the points above on what to look for and ask before spending your hard earned cash.
If you would like to buy fertile quail eggs then take another look at the recommendations above for your relevant area.
If you know of any other great places to buy quail eggs online that I have not listed contact me with the details and I'll add them to the list.
