The Quail’s Nest - Eggs & Chicks
What do you need to know?
Be sure to check with your municipal / city guidelines for keeping quail. They are NOT viewed the same as chickens or other fowl. Different restrictions will likely apply and in some cases permits or license to keep may be required.
Not all eggs are equal - at times our hens may lay eggs we consider less than ideal for incubation (misshaped, inconsistent colouration, size difference, cracks or defects seen under light) we certainly don’t sell them for hatching purposes nor do we incubate them ourselves. No eggs go to waste however, we can use these for treats and powder plans.
We accept PRE-ORDER requests for hatching eggs (can be shipped within Canada) and our quail chicks.
Please note; orders are filled in the order of submission. Our hens are happy but only lay so many eggs a year… we do our best to fulfill all orders in a timely manner. If there is an issue with filling your order based on availability we will contact you to arrange a refund or provide alternate egg selection option(s)
Chick orders are accepted and fulfilled within 30-45 days for LOCAL meet up in the areas of: Almonte, Arnprior, Kanata West and Carlton Place. For those beyond our local hub please inquire prior to ordering for possible meet up options. We DO NOT ship live birds.
Interested in getting into Quail? We can help out...
PRE ORDER: Hatching Eggs
This is a PRE ORDER request, eggs may not be available right away, they are collected based on pick up day (or ship day) to ensure arrival for incubation within the ideal 10day window for best hatch chances.
Availability is also based on the hens themselves - some breeds are more “seasonal” in their laying schedules resulting in less eggs being available. We also check each of our eggs to ensure structurally sound and of incubator quality. Hens do not lay perfect eggs 100% of the time so we do not plan on viable eggs from every hen everyday.
As all our birds are treated and cared for at a high level, we do not have massive covey groups, rather we keep hand selected birds for breeding pairs/groups which means our quantity of birds is lower than many larger commercial based operations. We pride ourselves on quality first and foremost.
Of course somethings are out of our control - movement level during shipping, rest time provided prior to being placed in an incubator by purchaser, quality of incubator used and proper temp/humidity settings, and care of chicks once hatched. For everything we can‘t control, we do our best to counter balance witch carefully selected eggs that are well packed and properly stored Along with expedited shipping.
*Eggs orders are fulfilled by order of request, in the event we would not be able to fulfill your request we will contact you will options (refund, smaller qty available or alternate colour available)
**We only ship eggs WITHIN CANADA at this time due to restrictions and timeline for transit
Hatching Eggs Offered:
Button Quail
*year round availability
Bobwhite Quail (snows, reds, northern or mixed flock)
*ordered accepted April - August
Coming soon Coturnix Quail
*limited breeding season planned for 2026
PRE ORDER: Button Quail Chicks
This is a PRE ORDER request, your chicks will not be available right away. We will place eggs in the incubator and they will hatch approx 19 days later and be ready for pick up 2 weeks after hatch. That means your chicks will be ready in approx 6 weeks from time of order.
All of our chicks are hatched on site, they are provided ground game bird starter (high protein) and supplements for healthy growth and development. They are permitted to go to their new homes after 2 weeks of age - we DO NOT sell day old chicks as they do not travel safely nor handle the stress well, especially our buttons. **They will require a brooder with heat upon arrival to their new homes. We want to ensure the chicks are healthy and thriving prior to moving them on to their new homes to avoid avoidable upset. If you have questions on setting up your enclosure please feel free to reach out!
Please note, at this young age they will not be fully feathered in, full colour and patterns cannot be determined yet, nor are we able to sex them - so please be sure to assume there will likely be males (they hatch more often than females) If you are looking for specific colours please contact us prior to ordering to confirm availability, otherwise it will be based on what is available at hatch. We may be able to arrange to hold on to chicks for a longer period of time to meet request (additional costs apply) They begin to lay as early as 8 weeks, some colourations cannot be feather sexed and will need to wait for maturity to confirm.
Our chicks are available via local meet up in Arnprior, Almonte or Kanata Centrum. If we are travelling to other areas beyond our local range we are happy to bring birds along for purchase meet ups, so feel free to inquire.
As these sweet quail do not like to live as solo birds, our chicks are sold in minimums of 3 chicks, beyond that you may request additional chicks by single counts.
PRE ORDER: Bobwhite Quail Chicks
This is a PRE ORDER request, your chicks will not be available right away. We will place eggs in the incubator and they will hatch approx 23 days later and be ready for pick up 1-2 weeks after hatch. That means your chicks will be ready in approx 6 weeks from time of order.
All of our chicks are hatched on site, they are provided ground game bird starter (high protein) and supplements for healthy growth and development. We DO NOT sell day old chicks as they do not travel safely nor handle the stress well At this age.. **They will require a brooder with heat upon arrival to their new homes. We want to ensure the chicks are healthy and thriving prior to moving them on to their new homes to avoid avoidable upset. If you have questions on setting up your enclosure please feel free to reach out!
Please note, at this young age they may not be fully feathered in, full colour and patterns cannot be determined yet, nor are we able to sex them - so please be sure to assume there will likely be males (they hatch more often than females)
We raise Snowflakes (bred true) Tennessee Reds (bred true) and have a mixed flock of northern / variations, when ordering chicks or eggs please specify what you are hoping for, otherwise it will be a mixed flock pull for variety sake.
Our chicks are available via local meet up in Arnprior, Almonte or Kanata Centrum. If we are travelling to other areas beyond our local range we are happy to bring birds along for purchase meet ups, so feel free to inquire.
As these sweet quail do not like to live as solo birds its best to order 4+ for a small covey. They do require a permit to be kept in Ontario and will have different needs that other quail, especially during breeding season.