Quail eggs are delicious and nutritious. According to the USDA’s FoodData Central, a single quail egg has only 14 calories but contains approximately one gram of fat and protein. They’re also a good source of nutrients like choline, folate, selenium, potassium, and phosphorus. But quail eggs are kind of a niche market, not nearly as widely available as chicken eggs. As a result, it can be a little bit challenging to find quail eggs, especially at an affordable price. Let’s talk about where to buy quail eggs at a price that won’t break the bank.
Raise your own quail eggs
Depending on the cost of the feed you purchase, a quail egg only costs about $.05 to produce. If you put in the work of raising and caring for your own quail, a dozen eggs will cost you less than a dollar to produce. I have raised quail consistently for years and they are by far the easiest type of livestock I’ve ever encountered. They’re small, quiet, generally non-demanding creatures that consistently lay eggs day after day, even well into old age.
Due to their size and tolerance for confinement, it’s easy to keep dozens of quail at a time. If you grow your flock large enough and provide them adequate space and shelter, you could soon find yourself selling your extra quail eggs and turning a small profit.
Check out our comprehensive guide on how to raise quail yourself.
Find a local farm that sells quail eggs
Your next best option for finding quail eggs on the cheap is through a local seller. There are tons of small-scale quail egg sellers who don’t produce enough to break out into a larger commercial market but still have eggs available locally. Checking our online marketplaces, like Craigslist, Nextdoor, or Facebook marketplace may connect you with a source of healthy, local quail eggs.
Try an ethnic foods market
Quail eggs are a popular food in Asia, South America, and Central America. As a result, certain ethnic food markets may carry an inventory of quail eggs. Where I live, they can commonly be found in Asian markets at around $5 per dozen, which is more expensive than a lot of independent sellers or raising the quail yourself, but still less expensive than most online listings and specialty stores. If you can’t raise them and can’t find a local seller, an ethnic foods market may be the way to go.
Note: eggs found in stores are often raised in concentrated animal feeding (CAFO) settings and are probably not organically raised. If you want healthy quail eggs from happy birds, you will need to find your eggs at a local farm or raise them yourself.
Check online listings for local quail eggs
You can buy just about anything on the internet and quail eggs are no exception. Doing a quick Google search for quail eggs for sale will bring up listings on sites like Etsy, Ebay, and Amazon. Generally, a dozen quail eggs purchased online will run between $6 and $12, not taking shipping and handling into consideration. If you’re going through the trouble of buying quail eggs from the internet, I would strongly recommend picking up some hatching eggs and raising them yourself.
Find quail eggs at a specialty foods store
Higher-end grocers and specialty food stores do sometimes carry quail eggs, but this is generally the most expensive way of getting eggs in my experience. The going price seems to run from $10 per dozen all the way up to $15 per dozen. This is a pretty expensive breakfast, which may be worth it to you, but definitely shouldn’t be your first choice when looking for inexpensive quail eggs.
Keep Reading: How To Raise Quail Chicks
