We have 8 jumbo Coturnix quail on the homestead. 1 white, 1 white/wild, 2 Italian, 1 tuxedo and 3 wild. We ordered the eggs from Manitoba, Canada and had them shipped to Ontario. A friend of mine who has a farm business hatched and brooded them for me, and we received them beginning of March. They are now 8 weeks old and we have been patiently waiting for them to lay eggs, and today is that day!!! When I walked out to our small barn this morning there were 4 eggs laying in the wood chips! I almost didn’t see them! This is a big day for us, one less food item I have to source locally, or buy from a grocery store! All the work has been worth it! Animal husbandry is a lot of work, and when you are getting nothing in return it can seem a bit frustrating, but those eggs make it worth it. I know when I feed these eggs to my children they have not been tainted with hormones or antibiotics, and I know they came from healthy and happy quail. Plus, we do love watching our quails, they are funny and quirky. They are hilarious to watch in their dust bath, they just fling that sand all over (I also add some diatomaceous earth in there for extra mite/lice protection). I can’t wait to make some pickled quail eggs, Yum!
Some other happenings…
I have always struggled a bit with trying new things and new recipes. I am not creative in the kitchen and really have to force myself to try new things with different vegetables. Growing up I was not a big veggie eater, so I only have my go-to ways of preparing each veggie that comes out of the garden. I also grew a few things in my garden that I wouldn’t normally buy at the grocery store, to push myself to try new things! I am really trying to broaden my horizons to ensure I don’t get ‘bored’ of veggies and want to eat junk instead (I am sure I am not alone in this struggle!).
So this weekend I made baked zucchini chips from the garden!
Harvest your zucchini, cut in thin small slices, coat in olive oil, salt and pepper. Spray a baking sheet, lay out the zukes and cover them with parmesan and panko. Bake at 450 degrees for about 10-12 mins.
Crispy and delicious. I only have pictures of the first few steps because I got so busy cooking and entertaining guests that I forgot to take a picture of the end result. Oops! Scatterbrained, what can I say! Trust me, they were good! 🥒
Good post! We are looking at getting our first handful of quail in the next month. Do you have s recipe for the pickled eggs?
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Thank you! I actually just found the recipe on Pinterest, and I can’t look it up right now, but I think it was titled ‘moms pickled eggs’ or something, and all it was is water, vinegar, mustard seed, salt and pickling spice! Quail are so funny and quirky to watch, we enjoy ours!
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Thanks. Most recipes seem fairly similar but that will give me a starting point on my research!
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