Hi friends, Amy here. Years ago, chickens free ranged my entire backyard and roosted in the trees. However, my current neighborhood has red tailed hawks and striped skunks so I knew any domesticated birds here would need a fortress. Instead of making an enormous chicken enclosure, I opted to try smaller birds that wouldn’t feel so cramped in an aviary. Coturnix quail, Eurasian domesticated birds, are often raised for eggs and meat in tiny cages like rabbit hutches. So in my 100 square foot and six foot tall enclosure, a dozen of them scurry under plants, bathe in the dust and fly as well as they can. Also, since the rooster’s crow is not very loud, they don’t bother sleeping human neighbors. City dwelling roosters!

I started in late winter/early spring with two week old chicks raised locally. When the days grew long enough (almost 14 hours) at 11 weeks old, they stated laying.

Just like with free range chickens, every day is an egg hunt.

The shells are brittle but the membrane below is very tough. Quail egg scissors help make a clean break and keep frustrating fragments out of the dish.

About 4 quail eggs equal a large chicken egg.

They taste the same but definitely have more yolk to white than a chicken egg. Sometimes I enjoy the raw yolks with homemade kimchi and rice.

Hard boiling only takes 4 minutes!

That tough membrane under the shell makes them easy to peel.

These deviled eggs are topped with rosemary leaves and chuparosa (Justicia californica) flowers. I don’t bother to make mayonnaise, I just mix the yolks with olive oil, Dijon mustard, and salty preserved lemon.

Raising these birds was a long time coming for me. Here’s hoping some of your dreams come true!