How Much Does a Quail Cost? Chicks, Eggs, Setup, and Ongoing Price

Author: Elliott Garber, DVM

Quail are one of the cheapest birds you can start keeping. Day-old Coturnix chicks usually run a few dollars each, hatching eggs are often under a dollar or two apiece, and a started or adult bird lands somewhere around $5 to $15 depending on the strain and who is selling. So the sticker answer to “how much does a quail cost” is: not much, often less than a bag of coffee for a starter covey. The more useful answer is that the birds are the small line in the budget. What actually shapes the cost is the housing you build once, the feed you buy every month, and, if you plan to hatch your own, an incubator or brooder setup. A single hen can lay 200 to 300 eggs in her productive first year and a meat bird is table-ready in under two months, so quail pay some of that back faster than almost any other poultry.

This guide walks through each of those numbers, where they come from, and where they swing, so you can budget for the flock you actually want rather than a headline price.

To see current availability and asking prices, you can browse the quail marketplace on Creatures.

How much does a quail cost to buy?

Almost every backyard quail sold in the United States is a Coturnix, also called Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). It is the small, fast-growing bird behind the eggs you see at farmers markets, and it is what most of the price ranges below refer to. Native bobwhite is a different bird with different rules, which I will come back to.

Your entry price depends mostly on what form you buy the birds in, and to a lesser degree on the strain. There are three normal ways in.

Chicks, hatching eggs, or started adults

Hatching eggs are the cheapest way to add birds, if you have a way to incubate them. Fertile Coturnix eggs are frequently sold by the dozen and work out to well under a dollar to a couple of dollars each. The catch is that not every egg hatches, so you are really buying a hatch rate, not a headcount. Coturnix eggs incubate in roughly 17 to 18 days, which is short for poultry, and you will need a working incubator and a brooder ready before the first pip. Buy eggs only if you are set up to run them, or you are paying for a science project.

Day-old chicks are the middle path. They usually cost a few dollars each, and you skip the uncertainty of hatching but take on the brooder work: a warm, draft-free box with a heat source, chick feed, and clean water for the first few weeks. Chicks are fragile at this age, so expect a loss or two, even if it does not happen.

Started or adult birds cost the most per head and save you the most work. A point-of-lay hen or a proven breeding pair skips the brooder stage entirely, and you know what you are getting. Prices climb with a bird’s age, whether it is already laying, and the reputation of the strain. Select or show-quality breeding stock, or a specific color variety, runs higher than a run-of-the-mill layer.

Treat all of these as market ranges, not quotes. Location, season, the seller, and the strain all move the final figure, and quail prices are set person to person rather than by any published standard. To see what is actually available near you, browse quail listings on the Creatures marketplace or search local keepers in the Creatures breeder directory.

The setup cost most people underestimate

This is where the real money sits, and it is a one-time hit you pay before the birds earn anything. A small backyard quail setup commonly runs a few hundred dollars once you add up the pieces, and it is easy to spend more than the birds cost several times over.

• Housing. Coturnix are ground birds and do not roost or fly well, so they are kept in low cages, hutches, or a covered ground pen rather than a tall coop. The enclosure needs a solid roof (they startle and “boink” straight up), predator-proof wire, and protection from wind and rain. This is the biggest single line, whether you buy a cage or build one from wire and lumber.
• Feeder and waterer. Quail are small and will drown in an open dish, so chicks in particular need a shallow or marble-filled waterer. A feeder and waterer are cheap but not optional.
• Brooder gear. If you start with chicks or eggs, you need a brooder: a container, a heat plate or lamp, a thermometer, and safe bedding. The heat source is the part people forget to price.
• Incubator (only if you hatch). This is the swing cost. If you plan to hatch your own eggs, a countertop incubator is a real purchase. If you buy started birds, you can skip it entirely.
• Bedding and small supplies. Pine shavings or similar, plus grit and a source of extra calcium (crushed oyster shell or cuttlebone) for laying hens.

A useful way to think about it: the birds are the variable cost and the housing is the fixed cost. Spending a bit more on a secure, weatherproof pen up front is cheaper than losing a flock to a raccoon or a cold snap.

Ongoing costs: feed, bedding, and light

Once the pen is built, quail are genuinely inexpensive to keep. Feed is the main recurring cost, and because the birds are tiny, a single flock eats very little compared to chickens.

Feed. Quail need a higher-protein game-bird ration than chickens do. Mississippi State University Extension notes that Coturnix are grown for both meat and eggs and are fed starter, then either a finisher (for meat birds) or a breeder and layer diet, with laying birds on an 18 percent protein ration. In practice you buy a bag of game-bird or turkey starter and it lasts a small flock a long time. Skip cheap scratch-grain mixes as a main diet; the protein is too low for good laying.

Bedding and calcium. Replacement shavings and a steady supply of oyster shell or cuttlebone for the hens round out the monthly spend. Neither is expensive.

Light and a little electricity. Coturnix hens lay best with long day length, and keepers commonly provide around 14 hours of light a day to keep production up through the darker months. That is a small, real cost: a low-watt bulb on a timer, plus whatever the incubator or brooder heater draws when you are hatching.

Eggs or meat: where the money comes back

Part of what makes quail cheap to own is how quickly they produce. There are two payback paths, and it helps to know both before you buy.

For eggs, Coturnix are hard to beat on speed. Mississippi State Extension puts the start of lay as early as 6 to 8 weeks of age, far younger than a chicken, and a well-managed hen commonly lays 200 to 300 eggs in her productive first year. The eggs are small (it takes several to equal a chicken egg), but the birds get to work fast and take up almost no space. Production is highest in that first year and tapers afterward, which is why many keepers plan a rolling hatch to keep young hens coming on.

For meat, Coturnix reach a harvest weight quickly. Common practice is to process around 7 to 8 weeks of age, with some keepers waiting closer to 10 weeks for a bit more size. The carcasses are small, so meat quail are a numbers game, but the turnaround from egg to plate is measured in weeks rather than months.

You can tell the sexes apart early, which matters if you are managing a flock for either purpose. In standard-colored Coturnix, males show a solid rusty reddish-brown breast while females have a paler breast flecked with dark spots, and the difference is readable by around three weeks of age. Note that some strains (Texas A&M, English white, tuxedo, and other light-colored lines) cannot be sexed by feather color, so those get vent-checked or grown out instead.

What quail really cost, and how to buy well

Add it up and the shape is the opposite of most pets: the animals are cheap, the housing is the real investment, and the ongoing feed is low. For a small backyard covey you are realistically looking at a modest per-bird price plus a few hundred dollars of one-time setup, then a small monthly feed bill, with an incubator as an optional add-on if you want to hatch your own.

A few things keep the total sane and the birds healthy:

• Buy started birds for your first round if you can. Chicks and hatching eggs are cheaper on paper, but a first-timer without a brooder or incubator often spends the savings on losses and equipment. Learn the birds, then hatch.
• Buy enough at once. Quail are social and do better in a group, and you will want several hens for a steady egg supply. A too-small starter flock is a common regret.
• Spend on the pen, not fancy birds. A secure, dry, predator-proof enclosure protects everything else you spend.
• Ask about the strain and the source. A local keeper who can tell you the line, the age, and whether hens are laying is worth more than the cheapest listing. Search trusted local sellers in the Creatures breeder directory.

One more cost is not a dollar figure: the law. In most of the United States Coturnix are treated as domestic poultry and need no special permit, but this varies by state and even by city or county, and a few states require a domestic game-bird or aviculture permit to keep any quail. Native bobwhite is regulated separately and often needs a game-bird breeder’s license. Check your state wildlife agency and local ordinances before you buy rather than after.

If you want the full husbandry picture before committing, the Creatures quail species guide covers housing, feeding, and temperament in more depth.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a single quail cost?
A day-old Coturnix chick is usually a few dollars, and a started or adult bird runs roughly $5 to $15, more for select breeding stock or a specific color variety. Hatching eggs are the cheapest per bird but only if you can incubate them, since not every egg hatches.

Are quail cheaper to keep than chickens?
Month to month, usually yes. Quail are tiny, so a flock eats far less feed than the same number of chickens, and they need much less space. The trade-off is that quail eggs are small and Coturnix are less long-lived, so many keepers replace hens more often.

How many quail should I start with?
Enough for a social group and a useful egg supply, which usually means several hens rather than one or two birds. Quail do poorly kept singly, and a common beginner regret is starting too small.

Do I need an incubator to raise quail?
Only if you want to hatch your own eggs. Coturnix are poor natural sitters, so keepers who hatch rely on an incubator (about 17 to 18 days) plus a brooder. If you buy started birds, you can skip both.

How long do quail live and how long do they lay?
Coturnix typically live about 2 to 4 years, with a maximum near 6 (per the AnAge longevity database). Hens lay most heavily in their first year, commonly 200 to 300 eggs, then taper, which is why production keepers rotate in young birds.

Do I need a permit to keep quail?
In most states Coturnix are treated as domestic and need no permit, but rules vary by state and locality, and a few require a domestic game-bird permit for any quail. Native bobwhite is regulated separately. Confirm with your state wildlife agency and local government before buying.

Do this next on Creatures

Whether you are pricing out a first covey, waiting for the right birds to come up locally, or already running a flock, Creatures is the marketplace, directory, and records layer to do it in one place.

Creatures has plain-English cost breakdowns for other animals too, from artificial insemination for cattle to dog boarding and pet cremation.