Selling Quail Eggs for Hatching

I call my quail chicks fluffy bumble bees

Japanese Coturnix Quail chicks are tiny when they first hatch. They really are like fluffy bumble bees, buzzing about at high speed in the incubator before they're even properly dried.

Chickwatch, here in Frugaldom, isn't the male-dominated, sexist passtime you might suspect, it's more of an 'everyone wants to see what's happening inside the incubator' type of event.

It's understandable! Once you have observed these tiny chicks hatching from their tiny eggs, the whole process becomes both intriguing and fascinating.

What with the birth of grandaughter at New Year, followed by two months of feverish househunting, then the sudden decision to buy instead of rent, followed by another two months of trying to get this place habitable while managing a juggling act to move an entire garden, complete with poultry, I haven't had much time for hatching eggs in 2011. But that doesn't stop the ducks, hens, bantams or quail from laying.

I did manage to fit a dozen duck eggs into the incubator in June, so I now have 9 almost fully-grown ducklings running around the orchard with my adult birds.

Then I decided I needed more quail to bring the numbers up sufficiently to warrant regular egg sales, but I ended up selling most of those chicks to recoup the initial set-up costs for yet another project. So I left the quail hens and cockerels paired up and popped some more eggs into the incubator.

I now have another 9 healthy, multi-coloured quail chicks running around in a brooder box, sprouting feathers and starting to try and fly. This latest lot hatched on Tuesday 23rd August and I really, really hope this one on the left is a hen, as it is one of the most unusual colours I have ever seen.

The parents of my last chicks are still paired in their breeding cages and the hens are still laying eggs. I'd love to hatch out more chicks but don't want to risk setting up the incubator when major work is scheduled to start on the house this month. (It'll mean the power switched off for longish periods of time, not good for incubating eggs.) 

So... what does one do with extra eggs that are possibly fertile? After much debate, I listed them on eBid at 99p per dozen, with no reserve on selling price, that's what. They have a dedicated 'Poultry, Incubation and Hatching Eggs' section that not many people know about, yet.

For anyone who does not know about poultry and game, eggs are eggs are eggs. There are no chicks inside fresh eggs. They are deemed fertile ONLY because the hens that lay them are kept in the company of cockerels who may, or may not, be going about their natural business.

As eating eggs, they are no different to any other egg that you buy in a supermarket - you cannot tell the difference. However, no amount of care, attention and incubation will result in a chick growing inside a supermarket bought egg, so don't worry about that. I have been asked this question so many times! It is almost as common a question as being asked if hens lay eggs if there are no cockerels.

Yes, hens lay eggs regardless, you just can't get chicks out of their eggs, no matter how hard you try.

For transit, eggs are always well packed and are sent out through the Royal Mail system by whichever method buyers prefer.

If you are in or around the Dumfries & Galloway area, you are welcome to come and collect eggs to save on postage & packaging, which is charged at cost.

For hotels, restaurants or retailers, we welcome enquiries for regular supplies of fresh quail eggs. We sell these at £1.95 per dozen, discounts or trading exchanges always an option. (Yes, it is true, I do swap my quail eggs for other things, including chocolate!) Galloway LETS members pay 2 Crees per dozen.

If you have any questions about my quail, eggs or trading opportunities, please feel free to get in contact.

'Frugal' doesn't make it free, but it does make it much more affordable...

Frugaldom Challenge on eBid Online Auctions


I remember joining eBid online auctions around 1998/1999, over a decade ago! Then came the forums, which I rejoined under the new name of NYK Media, in 2000. At that point, I hadn't even considered where it could lead, why I joined or what I would do with such an account, but it seemed like a good idea. As you'll have already guessed, the primary reason for 'getting involved' was that it was FREE, not even as much as a listing fee. eBay had sprung up around the same time, but eBid offered the opportunity to set up shop free of charge with a UK based outfit. As a result, Racing Book Shop continues to run successfully and is fully integrated with the online auctions.


Back then, we'd had a bit of a clear out and there were few charity shops near us. OK, to be honest, there were NO charity shops anywhere within easy reach and I still, to this day, hate binning anything that could have a remote possibility for reuse at any point in the distant future. The phrases, 'waste not, want not' and 'make do and mend,' spring to mind and, having always been used to functioning on a very tight budget, albeit for an assortment of rather eccentric reasons, my mind was always of the opinion that this little, UK based site would germinate into something great.


It's been about 12 years since eBid first appeared on our screens and, despite all odds, IT HAS SURVIVED. There have been many changes along the way, many site overhauls, refurbished forums, an ever-expanding global network of members and an ever-increasing number of categories, stores and items listed. The 'wanted' section disappeared along the way a few years back, but so many other free additions came along that the service was barely missed. However, it still lacks something - the ability to make people rich. Where eBay took the bull by the horns, grabbed every possible investment opportunity and exploded into a worldwide market place governed by shareholders, eBid still remains on a tight rein, harnessed by the powers that be - Gary and Mark and a handful of small investors.


Most 'frugaleurs' bought into both camps, I know I did - becoming a seller on both sites and a shareholder in eBay. We've had some good times - I made a fair bit of money from my eBay shares, getting out at the right time, in my opinion, and holding the profit for future investments. That ultimate, golden opportunity of investment hasn't, yet, presented itself, but I'm patient when it comes to that sort of thing. And, at the end of the day, my aim is not to become rich, it's to become contented - any extra cash generated will simply be a bonus. :)


Making ends meet with enough left over to pop it into the bank or into a pension or shares portfolio is a great idea, but the stock market hasn't got the same appeal as it once had. So what now? What do people want? How will freelancers and the home-based self-employed, such as us, earn our crust in the future? I guess diversification has to be the obvious answer. Everyone has an income of some description but it's what we do (or don't do) with it that's the crux of any financial problem. But how badly do people want something and how rigorous is their search to find the very best deal? In my experience, laziness or boredom creeps into the equation and folks settle for what they perceive to be a 'good buy' rather than continue their search for the ultimate bargain. So here is your chance to securing yourself an ULTIMATE BARGAIN.


Just announced in this month's eBid newsletter, there will now be buddy point auctions starting every Monday. These auctions involve NO CASH. You bid with points that can be earned for free via eBid. In the past, we have 'bought' many such items, the best bargains being the Nintendo DS, digital camera and, more recently, an ebook reader. But to keep on buying, means to keep on  earning points, so that's where you all come in - my points score is currently standing at 50.683 For every new person who signs up for a FREE membership, I can increase this by 1 point and for every extra point I earn, I can attempt to 'buy' one of the exciting eBid buddy point auctions. Where does that benefit anyone else, I hear you all ask? Well, for every item, be it a laptop, a camera or a printer, that I 'win', I will list it as an eBid auction item with a starting price of just 99p + postage  & packaging. As an eBid member, you'll have the chance to buy the item at a knock down cash price. So, here goes.... JOIN ME HERE and I'll begin bidding for the Fujifilm FinePix S1500 10MP digital camera and then the Canon PIXMA MX870 Wireless Office All-in-One Printer 
 from today, 31st October 2010.

 You can watch the current auctions HERE and HERE I'll update this blog post with my maximum number of points as they increase so you can see my top bid.

• Current points total = 50.683
• First bid = 38
• Current bid = 50

I can't go any further on this one without your help, so please CLICK HERE to help with the buddy points balance, thank you. Of course, with the promise of new Buddy Point auctions every Monday, who knows what we might win (or not) in November. :)

I don't work for eBid, eBid works for me.

Join us in the fun, frugal forum at
http://www.frugaldom.co.uk/

Frugaldom Fun

Today has been an exciting one so far. First of all, after listing my first item in the decluttering stakes on eBid, I have already attracted a bidder, so that'll be another £1 for the 'EEK' (Everything Else Kitty) that normally gets swallowed up paying for chicken and duck feed.

On a completely different subject, look at this!

This is one of the 3 eggs I have in my mini-incubator. After selling one of the incubators, I decided to test a second one before listing it for sale on eBid, so have been incubating 3 eggs from my Pekin and Silkie hens. At 5pm tonight, the second egg pipped and both chicks are chirping to one another from inside their eggs!

I have the camera at the ready and am updating my 'chickwatch' page on the website at http://www.frugaldom.co.uk/ but I've only just discovered that I can also uplod the photographs here, too. Watch this space.

My decluttering site, where I'm trying to earn a few pounds extra to keep the feathered friend happy, healthy and fed is at http://www.frugarments.co.uk/ so named because I'm going to be listing all the garments I no longer need along with anything else that's surplus to requirement. I've set myself a very realistic target of 3 items per day to be listed in my eBid stores, so don't miss the bargains. Here's what's listed so far.

Back to chickwatch now, hoping to have 2 new babies by tomorrow morning. :) As soon as anything hatches, be assured there'll be photographs available online both here and on the Frugaldom site.