By MaryAnne Musilo 

John Nyaga farms quails and quails eggs 12 years onwards from one of Kenya’s biggest agricultural crashes that saw thousands of farmers abandon the bird. Today he is still selling 900 eggs a week to neighbours and friends, but where once they fetched Sh90 an egg, today they sell for Sh10 each.

John started farming quails in Kikuyu at the peak of the quail egg craze, in 2013, when demand was driven by claims the eggs could help treat diseases from cancer to high blood pressure. 

“Then I used to sell an egg at Sh100 and used to make around sh90,000 selling 900 eggs per week,” he said.

But rapid growth of the industry as a get-rich-quick venture quickly turned into a glut, forcing prices down and pushing many farmers out of business.

John chose to cut prices rather than lose his customers.

“I now sell the eggs at Sh10 and I satisfy my 900 eggs per week. This depends on the eggs I get. At times they are more, but the eggs are still in demand,” he said.

“My clients are from around Kikuyu. They are walk-in  customers and this cuts down the delivery stress. Some buy 30 eggs a week, others less, and others more. They like them for their nutrition value and my price compared to chicken eggs is lower,“ he said.

Quail eggs are rich in vitamins and minerals and have high-quality protein, but are smaller than standard chicken sizes.

“I have had clients who just buy once and never again. I never asked why, but I think the size could be the issue,“ he said

Despite the sharp drop in prices, quail farming remains viable due to its low space and labour requirements, said John. He keeps his birds in cages and manages the enterprise on a small scale.

He also builds brooder boxes where he takes care of the chicks before selling or maturing.

“In the brooder boxes I use lambs so as to provide heat. I then sell 10-day-old chicks to my walk-in clients at Sh300 each,” he said.

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“I sell 10-days-old chicks because I want to reduce the high mortality risk that is seen at a day-old chick.”

Unlike chickens, quail are generally not vaccinated for standard diseases, because they are considered hardier.

“Compared to chicken, rearing quails is easy. I just require cages for my 100 birds. They also feed on 50kg of starter mash per week and start laying eggs at 6 weeks old”

In addition to eggs and chicks, John sells mature quail birds at Sh400 each, though demand remains limited.

But than a decade after the crash, he has maintained a viable business and remains hopeful that, one day, the quail market will stabilise and prices may improve. 

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