Hatching nowCoturnix
Laying at 6 weeks
The classic homestead quail — fast-maturing and productive, laying speckled eggs in as little as six weeks. Quiet enough for a suburban backyard and cheap to feed.
- Chick
- $5
- Grown
- $15
- Eggs
- $10/2dz
What we hatch · 04
Coturnix quail
The fastest route from an empty pen to your own eggs. Quiet, cheap to feed, and productive enough that two dozen birds will keep a family in eggs.
- Chicks $5
- Grown $15
- 17–18 day incubation
- Laying at 6 weeks
Why quail
The numbers make the argument
17
days
Incubation — the shortest of any bird we hatch.
6
weeks
From hatch to the first egg. Chickens take five months.
1
sq ft
Floor space per bird. A whole covey fits where two hens would.
0
crowing
No rooster racket. Most city ordinances don't cover quail.
Lines we keep
Standard and Jumbo
Hatching nowHatching now
Jumbo Coturnix
Larger eggs & carcass
A larger Coturnix line bred for more meat and bigger eggs while keeping the same easygoing temperament and quick turnaround.
- Chick
- $5
- Grown
- $15
- Eggs
- $12/2dz
For current availability — call or text Michael at 423-540-6566, email amrabbitstn@gmail.com, or send a message.
Keeping them
Cover the pen. Always.
Quail flush straight up when startled — a hard vertical launch that ends against whatever is above them. An uncovered pen means a lost bird, and a wire roof at head height means a hurt one. Use soft netting overhead, or keep the pen short enough that they can't build up speed.
They want game bird feed at 24–28% protein, not chick starter — the extra protein is what gets them laying at six weeks. Give them sand to dust-bathe in and something to hide under, and they settle right down.
Marbles in the chick waterer for the first fortnight. A quail chick is the size of a bumblebee and will drown in a centimetre of water.
Start with a covey
Two dozen quail chicks and a covered pen will have you gathering eggs before the summer is out.