Backyard Poultry Forum

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice. I've been setting up for raising Japanese Quail (for eggs) and was wondering what quail breeders are around?
What is the best way to get fertilised quail egg sent (I'm in WA). I can see them advertised on quails australia and gumtree - but how can you tell if they are a reputable breeder? Is there a list somewhere? I tried the BYP directory but most seem to be pickup only (and are not in my state).
I was thinking I need to get some sent from a few different breeders so they are unrelated. Is this the best way?
Also, what are your thoughts on Jumbo / Collosal / Mammoth etc? Is there any health problems with these larger bred lines?
I've got so far with setting up the cage, run area etc. and have come to a grinding stop and don't know what to do next!!
Thanks for any help.
Steph
Perth Hills, WA

Hi Steph,

Welcome to the forum.

If you haven't already noticed it there is a Quail Index at the top of this page which is a good starting point for finding info & discussions here.

Once you have an idea of what you want you may like to post an ad in our Wanted and For Sale area.

Wecome to BYP
Fertile quail eggs by mail is a bit of a gamble BUT you probably don't have much choice in WA . There are people with them over there of course , maybe not the newer larger strains yet however . When eggs are travelling by post, at the most there is a days difference from short difference to a long distance . I have never had a problem with anyone over the years of buying and sending fertile eggs . You just need to be a bit trusting . I would get eggs from a couple of sources at least, to get some genetic variation .
The larger birds these days are simply a result of selective breeding . Up until this season fertile eggs for these have not been on offer .
Good luck with them

Thanks very much for the response Cackles and Martin. I've read the quail section of the forum fairly extensively over the last 3 months and I'm really excited to be this close to getting my quail!!
I shall try a wanted ad. I did contact one breeder and got no response, so I guess I'm just getting nervous. I'm sure there is someone out there that will post to WA!!

I hope you can find some eggs, stephiel!

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NellyG ........................

I think I've got some eggs coming next week - finger's crossed! They were meant to come last week but the weather was too hot. They are coming from Queensland - so I guess the hatch rate might not be the best due to the long travel.

I found this list of questions to ask when getting eggs to hatch -

- What are the exact weights of your breeder birds?
- What is the hen to cock bird ratio?
- How fresh are the eggs I will receive?
- How big are the eggs I will receive?
- What color birds will I receive and will they breed true?
- Is there a guarantee on package shipping and delivery date?

2.Breeder Bird Selection
Cockbird- weight, body type conformity to standard
Hen- weight, egg laying ability, body type conformity to standard

I would probably also ask what feed they are on as parent nutrition will probably pay an important part in chick health. Is there anything else you would ask?

Steph

Hi Stephiel

I think you do need to be careful when purchasing anything, especially unseen & via advertisements on the net. There are reputable suppliers out there, but also a few not so unfortunately. I guess we do have to be a bit trusting in the first instance though else no one would purchase fertile eggs.

Try not to fall into the trap of paying large sums of money for eggs produced from birds unseen. Even if eggs are produced from larger quail there is no guarantee that progeny produced will be consistently the same.

I have seen advertised that some of the larger quail do have some health issues, including reduced fertility & laying capacity. The largest hen I have here doesn't get around as well as the smaller birds. I haven't checked to see if she is laying.

There are a few who advertise eggs for sale that don't charge excessive amounts for average sized good quality birds. Some of the best layers of large eggs I purchased (as eggs) from a breeder a few years ago were not the largest birds themselves, & from memory those eggs cost around $4.50 a dozen @ the time to purchase, plus postage.

Packaging for posting can be an issue. I have found quite a few eggs broken when packaged inappropriately, & even when they have been well packaged. Express mail costs more but the better way to go for eggs I think, especially for distance. Some suppliers will only post eggs on Monday for example to avoid possibility of eggs sitting around in Postal Service over a long hot weekend. Good idea to factor in for some loses with posted eggs @ any rate. The last lot delivered to me saw the delivery guy throwing the box in the air like a football as he was walking to my front door.

Eggs purchased may produce a variety of colours in the chicks hatched. The breeder may be able to advise on the colours his birds are likely to produce. Some breeders seem to select their breeders for weight/size, while some probably select for variety of colour.

One male to three or four females should be ok. Sometimes birds don't get on for whatever reason & separation may be required.

Good luck.

Thanks Rollyard some comprehensive advice there! I'm still waiting for the eggs I ordered. Not holding out much hope at this stage. They were sent on Monday and now (Friday) I haven't seen them yet. I got a tracking number and it seems that they were sent road rather than air (I was told they would go via air). After speaking to the couriers I think it might have been a mistake by the breeder, although it could also be that he found out that shipping air to WA was expensive so decided for a cheaper option (I'm a hardened sceptic).

So when my eggs eventually do arrive I don't know what condition they will be in - or if I should even attempt incubating what's left of them.

I'm going to try a another breeder and hope it's third time lucky!

Always get eggs sent express post, stephiel. You need to get them reasonably quickly to WA (we are a long way from the eastern states and travel or normal post takes a long time). I would advise paying extra for express if that is what you have to do to get the seller to send that way. I have had good to excellent results from express posted eggs but only poor from ordinary post.

NellyG

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NellyG ........................

Yes, the breeder told me they were being sent by air - and charged what I think is an air express price for shipping $28.50/for 1 doz eggs (how much does it cost normally??) Note that is shipping only, not the eggs themselves, they were extra. Apparently he thought they were being shipped by air, but they ended up going road - and without detailed tracking so I don't even know where they are in their journey.

Very frustrating, I've been running my incubator all week waiting for these "Express" eggs.

Sounds like the seller stuffed up! It is very frustrating. I hope they arrive soon. I think I was charging $20 postage and packing a couple of years back when i was selling eggs and that covered express postage plus some over to cover packing. Rates have gone up though - I'm not sure what it would be now.

NellyG

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NellyG ........................

I can't remember what postage was for my last lot, too long ago. Most fertile quail eggs I have purchased in the past were around $4.50 per dozen. One seller had a minimum per order of eight dozen (I think), but he was ok with my purchase of three dozen eggs @ the time.

It is a shame that things haven't gone as planned. Posted eggs do quite regularly seem to go wrong. If this round doesn't work out & there is a next, hopefully things will go better.

Well, I did set the eggs and have had five hatch this morning (of sixteen eggs). Not bad I suppose considering the extra long shipping time.

Two of them had their egg shell stuck to them so I guess that means my humidity was wrong. One looks a little weak so I'll have to see that one pulls through. Fingers crossed!

Oh well done, Stephiel! 5 out of 16 is really not bad from posted eggs - more would have been better but you now have a start and will be able to hatch your own eggs soon (well assuming you have both sexes of course!)

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NellyG ........................

They keep hatching!! I ended up with another one hatching shortly after I posted, then in the late afternoon two more hatched. This morning (over 24 hours since the first lot) another egg hatched! I was candling them and getting ready to throw them out and could feel movement. So I tapped on the egg - the chick tapped back and then it started to pip through. I put it back in the incubator and it zipped out really fast after that.

I have ended up with 9 chicks, five clears (one may have been an early death), one mid-way death and one that looks fully formed but didn't hatch (no movement).

I've seen that late hatching or not hatching uniformly can be due to low temperature and/or incorrect storage of eggs. I think my temps were OK but we did have two short power outages and of course the eggs were over 10 days old when set so this is possibly the cause. With the chicks sticking to the eggs, I think that means the humidity was too low. I'm also wondering if it could be because the eggs got dried out during shipping? I'm pretty sure I had a reasonable amount of humidity throughout the incubation.

Steph