The Highs and Lows of Hatching Quail (and Why I Can't Stop)

I’ll admit it: I’m addicted to hatching quail. It is such a fun way to explore something so magical and mystical.

I originally got into quail because of my friend Amanda. She was about to move and had just bought a few quail to try out, so she asked if I wanted them. I immediately said yes. Our first group consisted of three females and one male. We built a small chicken/bunny hutch in the backyard, but on the second day, we opened the cage and one bird flew right over the fence into our neighbor's yard. I remember running over with two frantic kids in the early morning to ask if we could look for it. Looking back, I’m surprised she said yes, but we never found that quail.

For a while we just kept those three, but then I got more involved. I found a local quail group online and bought three more. That’s when the magic really started. Just for fun, I gave two eggs to some friends who had an incubator, and lo and behold, they hatched! Soon after, I got my own incubator. The first time we tried it, only one egg hatched; we loved that little guy for the single day he was alive.

After that, I decided we were done hatching quail. Then one day while I was asleep, my eldest child convinced my husband to incubate some more eggs.

A little more than two weeks later, we had a whole army of baby quail! They grow incredibly fast. With so many new birds, I had to get to work on housing. Since it was mid-summer in Phoenix, they stayed inside. I really enjoyed having them there—until they started to stink.

Eventually, one group of baby quail turned out to be all males, which was difficult. I also had one female in the group that laid blue eggs—a celadon—but she unfortunately passed away. I put all the remaining blue eggs into the incubator hoping to have more one day, but only a few made it, and I have yet to see any more blue eggs.

The males were loud and aggressive, so I knew I had to do something. I started watching videos about culling quail and had to hype myself up to treat it professionally. One night while my husband took the girls out for dinner, I culled about 10–12 males. I tried to be as respectful as possible, holding each one and thanking them for their service. It wasn't my favorite moment, but I felt a sense of pride. Being able to cull poultry felt like a true "homestead" milestone!

We took a break from incubating during our winter move, but eventually I started again. I’ve successfully hatched two different batches in the new house so far. My last batch was a group of celadon eggs; eleven out of twelve hatched! Sadly, I only have six left now. Quail are very fickle birds.

Now all my quail, except for the six babies, are outside enjoying the warm weather. You can bet there will be more incubations in the future!