A cost breakdown of Fresh Organic Quail Eggs
Quail Egg Cost Pie Graph by Toni PallissardFeed
My quail receive the best non-GMO and Organic feed I can source. I believe that i’m investing in my family’s health and therefore our future when I feed my kids high quality food. Research suggests that organic eggs are more nutritious than conventionally farmed eggs.
Housing and Supply
Like all living creatures, quail (and chickens) require shelter and access to food and water. I try to be as frugal as possible when sourcing feeders, waterers, heat for baby birds, etc. That said, it is also important to support local businesses for things like lumber and building supplies, even if the price is a little higher.
Packaging
Practicality dictates storing eggs in a carton. I have found a nice supplier, Northwest Quail Farm in Washington. Thankfully I bought cartons in bulk. They recently notified me that the price of cartons will increase 50% due to tariffs!
Wages
This one is tricky for me, to be honest. I enjoy raising these birds and I would definitely do it for free, but realistically, a little extra cash is helpful. To determine my “wage” slice of the pie, I just used the modest amount that I paid a nice, trustworthy neighborhood kid to come feed and water our menagerie when we went out of town. It can be hard to pay oneself, right?
Organic Quail Eggs
My big family of big eaters likes to eat a lot of eggs, and we raise both quail and chickens for meat and eggs. Interestingly, the quail make a greater volume of eggs for the amount of space and feed they use. Still, it would be a challenge for a small scale producer like me to set up a price structure that can compete with large, commodity based egg producers.
Whether you choose to buy conventional, organic, local, or a mix, I appreciate all of you who support our small backyard operation, so that we can diversify food production in Southeast Alaska.
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