Are quail eggs the budget-friendly alternative egg lovers have been waiting for?
COLLIN COUNTY — The Giving Garden at Jacob's Reward in Parker, North Texas, provides fresh produce and eggs to local food pantries, ensuring those in need have access to nutrient-rich food.
Eggs are a crucial part of the nonprofit's offerings, but rising costs make it harder to maintain a steady supply.
Faith leader and farmer Cindy Telisak plans to replenish her flock, as many rely on their eggs, but she hasn't purchased new hens since the COVID pandemic due to increased expenses. The chicks that rule the roost on her farm are now quail.
Why egg prices are surging across the U.S.
"But before that, a hen, a good about-to-start-laying hen, would be about $20, and they were more like $40 in the thick of COVID," Telisak said.
She said the price has now climbed to $35-$40 a bird. Telisak said she has been fortunate that the highly contagious avian flu impacted none of her birds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the average price for a dozen eggs is $7.34. The USDA is predicting prices will rise another 20% this year.
"The problem is that if one bird in a huge flock is positive, the whole flock is eradicated," Telisak said. "In commercial laying flocks where they may have tens of thousands of birds, you can imagine the impact if a whole flock has to be depopulated."
That's behind the price surge.
Quail eggs as an alternative to chicken eggs
The chicks that rule the roost on her farm are quail. The profit from their eggs and meat keeps the benevolence going.
"The quail are a wonderful little alternative. They're a little bit novel right now, but I think their popularity is really growing," she said. "They're small, domestic birds. They don't take up very much space at all. They're very quiet."
The quail chicks start laying eggs at six weeks. Their eggs are about an inch. It takes three quail eggs to make one large chicken egg. Quail eggs have more yolk and protein.
Telisak said a dozen of her eggs go for about $5 a dozen. Once you use special scissors to crack the egg open, the taste is familiar.
"They taste absolutely just like a chicken egg. The difference is that there's a lot more yolk for the size of the egg than there is in a chicken egg," Telisak said.
Chefs use quail eggs. But the speckled shell can sometimes throw consumers off the trail to try it. Telisak said she believes consumers can overcome it and make room for the birds in their backyard.
"Raising quail is something that is within reach of people in their neighborhoods, people in their backyards," Telisak said. "A lot of people are taking responsibility for their own food sources now."
