Some farmers raise quails for the purpose of sustenance, feeding on their meat and eggs, while others breed the birds to earn an income. If you belong to the second group, you might be wondering whether you can really earn a good amount from quails.
Can You Make Money From Quails? You can make money from quails by selling their eggs, their meat, or selling them for hunting purposes. For a quail egg you can get between $0.25 and $0.83, and for a pound of quail meat between $5 and $20, for a quail for hunting purposes between $1 and $4 varying strongly based on quantity, breed, and age.
Here is a breakdown of the various ways that you can make money from quails.
Meat
Quail meat is tender, has a nice texture, and combined with its delicious taste, it is quite sought after. If you find the right market, it should be easy to sell off a large number of quails in a long while. Under their feathers, quails have an impressive meat-to-bone ratio.
Learn how to raise your own quail and have an unlimited supply of eggs and meat.
Because of how tender and appealing it is, people often eat quail flesh together with some of the smaller and more tender bones.
When selling quails for meat, you can either sell the live birds or slaughter and dress them of their feathers. Whichever choice you make should depend on the demands of prospective buyers.
Eggs
Quails are smaller than many other poultry birds, and so are their eggs. However, they make up for it by reaching maturity early and laying a lot of eggs.
Quail eggs are also very distinct in appearance, with most breeds laying eggs with creamy shells that are marked with brown spots.
Quail eggs taste a lot like chicken eggs, just that they have more flavor, making them the preferred choice of many chefs. They have a nice flavor and texture that makes them stand out from many other bird eggs. Combined with their amazing taste, quail eggs can be combined with a lot of gourmet dishes.
There are a lot of fancy restaurants that sell quail eggs as a special dish, serving them as an accompaniment to other meals. So, you can decide to monetize the market for people who find the taste of quail eggs appealing.
Depending on its breed, a quail hen lays an egg almost every day. So, if you have several quails that are actively laying, it is possible to sell a large number of eggs on a daily basis, providing you a consistent source of income for an extended period.
Hunting and Dog Training
Hunting is a hobby for a lot of people and quails are a popular target among hunting enthusiasts. You can sell your quails to these hunters who will then release them on private hunting grounds, shooting them for sport.
Some hunters might purchase quails not for themselves, but for their hunting dogs. When training dogs for hunting, quails are a great prey option for them to go after.
Feathers
A less known way that you can monetize your quails is by selling their feathers. After slaughtering and cleaning off their feathers, you can sell them to artisans, as quail feathers are used to make decorations, masks, and jewelry.
You can also sell quail feathers to fishers because they are used to make lures for fly fishing.
Fully-cooked meals
Above, we explored the possibility of making a good profit by selling quails and their eggs. One other way to benefit financially from quails is to sell them as fully-cooked meals.
There are a lot of dishes that are made from quails, and their nice-tasting meat can be put through various cooking styles.
Apart from your farming venture, if you have a good hand in the kitchen, you can put together exquisite meals made with quail meat, giving you options to sell at a restaurant.
How Much Can You Make From Quails?
The amount of money that you can make from quails depends on the purpose you are raising them for, be it for meat or egg production. When selling quails for meat, the pricing varies depending on whether you are selling them live or dressed.
For dressed quails, you can sell them directly to customers or even sell them online. The price to sell quail meat varies depending on location and customer base, but the general price ranges from $5 to $20 per pound (lbs).
Selling quails eggs might also require some thinking because of how different the cost is in different places. In regions with a high level of competition, you might sell quail eggs for $3 per dozen ($0.25 for one). On opposite ends of the market, you can make up to $10 for a dozen ($0.83 for one).
When Do Quails Reach The Age When You Can Make Money From Them?
Now that you know the different ways that you can make money from your quails, the next factor to consider is when they will be ready for each of the purposes mentioned above. Generally, quails will be great for most of these purposes when they have reached the age of maturity.
The age of maturity varies widely depending on the particular quail breed in question. For instance, while some quails can attain maturity at just 6 or 7 weeks, some others need up to six months before they can be categorized as useful.
One reason for this wide difference is that some quails grow a lot slower than others. Also, some quails also have a much larger maximum size than others. Below, we will go through the uses explained above and how you can figure out the right age of a quail before earning from them.
Eggs
When raising quails for eggs, you should take note of their laying habits. Some quail breeds, such as the Coturnix quail, reach maturity early. The Coturnix quail begins laying eggs as early as 6 to 8 weeks after hatching.
On the other hand, some breeds, such as the Bobwhite quail, delay for a long while before the first eggs start dropping. Bobwhite quails are known to keep farmers waiting for as long as six months before laying begins.
So, be sure you you know the general age range when your breed begins laying. This way you can target that time frame, helping you prepare to sell the eggs.
Meat
Like egg-laying above, the age at which you can sell a quail for its meat is dependent on its breed. Some quail breeds reach maturity very fast, allowing you to sell them without needing to wait for too long.
The Coturnix quail is one of the fastest-growing quail breeds. Coturnix quails can get to their maximum size in just six weeks, making them ready for sale and consumption.
You should note that some of the quail breeds that initially grow very fast or get mature early are smaller than other breeds when they reach maturity. You can make quick money from such a quail breed, even though it will likely offer you a limited amount of meat to sell.
On the other hand, some slower-growing breeds that mature very late tend to be very large once they finally reach their peak as adults. With these breeds, you can earn a lot of money from their meat when they mature, as long as you are ready to wait a while.
When quail hens have reached the end of their laying period, they can be sold as meat, ensuring that you make the maximum gain. The age at which quails stop laying varies by breed, with some birds stopping as early as 8 months while some keep laying for up to two years.
Hunting and Dog Training
If you are going to sell quails to hunters, you should be focused on the age at which they will be able to fly and move around easily. Once again, this time range depends on the quail breed as some quails mature faster than others.
How Much Do You Need To Spend Before Quails Are Mature?
On average, quails are very easy to raise, and their maintenance cost is low. Once you have a working setup, the amount spent on quail food will be minimal since they do not eat a lot of food.
For instance, consider a quail breed that takes 7 weeks to get mature. Quails eat about 25 grams of feed daily, making 1225 grams of food in 7 weeks. Depending on your supplier, you can buy quail feed for about $4 per kg, costing you $4.9 to raise a single quail to maturity.
This means you will spend about $490 to feed a flock of 100 quails for seven weeks. If the quails are a fast-laying breed such as the Coturnix, then you can already start selling their eggs at that point, offsetting your spending, and beginning to make a profit in a short while.
Final Thought
As you can see you can definitely make money from quails, but you also need to have a plan on how to make the money. Whether on the eggs or on the meat or you want to combine some of the listed ways it’s up to you, just make sure you have it clear and planned.
