How Much Does It Cost to Keep Quail in Australia?

Quail are often the cheapest poultry species to establish and run in Australia, and the fastest to start producing a return. Coturnix quail reach laying age at six to seven weeks — faster than any chicken breed — which means your first egg income arrives within two months of setup, not six.

Initial Setup Costs

For a small backyard setup of 12–20 birds, total startup cost typically lands between $300 and $700 — substantially less than an equivalent chicken setup, mainly because quail housing needs far less floor space and no expensive coop construction.

Ongoing Feed Costs

Quail eat remarkably little — roughly 25 to 30 grams of feed per bird per day, compared to 120 to 150 grams for a standard layer chicken. A 20kg bag of game bird layer feed (around $35–$45) will feed 20 adult quail for approximately a month. Annual feed cost for a flock of 20 birds runs roughly $400–$550 — a fraction of the equivalent chicken flock cost.

Housing and Ongoing Costs

Unlike chickens, quail do not require predator-proof outdoor runs if housed in secure cages or an aviary — this removes a significant cost that goes into chicken coop construction. Bedding (if using deep litter) costs $10–$20 per month for a small flock. Quail are largely disease-resistant compared to chickens, so veterinary costs are minimal in a well-managed setup.

Return on Investment

A healthy Coturnix hen lays close to one egg per day at peak production. Quail eggs sell for a premium in Australia — $8 to $15 per dozen at farmers markets and to restaurants, compared to $5–$8 for chicken eggs. Twenty laying hens can produce 15–18 eggs daily, meaning a small backyard flock can generate $100–$200 per week in egg sales once established, against weekly running costs of $10–$15 in feed.

The combination of low setup cost, minimal space requirement, fast time-to-production, and strong market price for the eggs makes quail one of the best entry points into small-scale poultry income in Australia.

For more, see our Are Quails Easy to Keep in Australia? and Best Quail Breeds for Eggs: The Complete Guide for Australian Keepers.

How This Compares to Chickens

Quail's cost advantage over chickens is worth spelling out directly, since it's the comparison most beginners actually want. A 20-bird chicken flock typically needs $600–$1,200 in coop and run construction alone before feed is even considered, against $150–$400 for equivalent quail housing. Feed costs run roughly a third of the chicken equivalent per bird. The trade-off is size and lifespan — quail produce a much smaller egg and typically remain productive for 1–2 years versus 3–5+ for a chicken — so the better comparison is cost per dozen eggs produced over the animal's productive life, where quail remain competitive despite the shorter laying window because of their much lower feed and housing overhead.

Scaling Beyond a Backyard Flock

Producers moving from a hobby flock (20 birds) to a small commercial operation (100–300 birds) see costs scale roughly linearly for feed but improve on a per-bird basis for housing and equipment, since cage batteries and bulk feed purchasing both benefit from scale. A 200-bird setup typically costs $2,500–$5,000 to establish, with feed costs of $3,500–$5,000 annually — but egg revenue at commercial volume (150+ eggs daily at $8–$12 per dozen wholesale) comfortably covers ongoing costs within the first few months of full production. Anyone considering this scale should also budget for a NSW/QLD/VIC food business registration if selling eggs commercially, and factor in the time cost of daily collection and packing, which becomes the real limiting factor well before feed cost does.