Behind the Scenes Pt. 5: Zero G Year in Review

Mission Brief: Systems Go

What a ride. This year we pushed hard on calm systems and steady improvements, and it showed not only in the quality of the birds we put out but the mass amounts of positive feedback we have received. We hatched thousands of Coturnix quail, tightened our breeder selection, launched our website, and proved again that slow, sustained growth beats chaos every time. The theme was simple: design for ordinary days, then let repetition do the heavy lifting.

By the Numbers (Fuel, Flight, and Follow-Through)

Operationally, we moved 13,000+ pounds of feed through tidy bins and efficient feeding practices. We added four new cage-stack systems to the flight deck allowing us to keep several hundred more birds monthly for grow out purposes. On the customer side, we placed 2,000 live birds with new and growing keepers. The birds helped us fulfill 300 hatching-egg orders, including several single orders topping 2,000+ eggs. Our community channels ramped as well—Facebook climbed from ~250 to 1.1k followers and TikTok from ~180 to 1k+. resulting is us handling 20,000 customer messages, keeping expectations clear and orders on time.

Markets & Education: Showing Up, Teaching Up

We leaned into face-to-face time with the community, completing eight farmers markets and teaching 80 students across our classes. From first incubations to processing workshops, your questions turned into confident checklists—and those checklists turned into calmer barns.

Breeding & Selection: Better Over More

This was the year of sharper inputs and cleaner outputs. We tightened breeder criteria—growth curves, egg size and shell quality, temperament, and vigor—then held the line. Records got clearer, culls got cleaner (and we culled HARD to meet our standards), and our keep-back lists got shorter and smarter. The goal wasn’t “more”; it was better, and better is sticking.

Infrastructure: Built to Be Boring (In a Good Way)

Behind the scenes, we standardized service lanes and simplified chores so anyone on the team can run the playbook on a cold Tuesday morning. Small tweaks—tray alignment, light placement, labeled valves—paid big dividends in efficiency. When systems are boring, birds thrive and people exhale. We expanded our tracking systems and with as many Hatching Program hatches we had this year are stream lining how that process will work for next year.

Sales & Supply: Matching Demand Without Meltdown

Scaling responsibly meant no shortcuts on biosecurity, packing, or support. If it carried our name, it carried our process. Coordinating large egg lots, staging live-bird pickups, and keeping inventory honest required tight communication loops—and that investment showed up in smoother weeks and happier customers.

Website Launch: One Hub, Fewer Headaches

We consolidated education, policies, and product pages into a single source of truth. The new site reduced back-and-forth messaging, sped up scheduling, and made it easier for first-timers to get solid answers without hunting through threads. We can't wait to keep expanding what we have started here on the site, and this next year will be an exciting time for us and our customers here.

Community & Conventions: Faces to Names

A highlight was traveling to Gulf Coast Homesteading in Louisiana, where we finally met long-time online friends in person—Kelli Knecht (Feathered Knections), Aaron Guidroz (Guidroz Family Farm), Shane Seal (Seal’s Family Farm), and many others. Real conversations reminded us that this industry runs on relationships as much as it runs on feed and water. It also reminded us that we aren't alone in this industry and that we can all operate and help each other succeed. It isn't competition its making each other stronger so we can provide better for all of our customers and ultimately provide a "Better" bird.

Industry Engagement: Belonging (and Building)

We were honored to be nominated for Vice President of the American Coturnix Breeders Association (ACBA). We came up short in the final vote—no sugarcoating that—but the nomination confirmed what we feel every day: we belong, and we’re committed to keep showing up, contributing, and helping raise the standard for Coturnix.

Goals for the Coming Year: The Next Launch Window

Looking ahead, we plan to ramp up our feeder/falconry reach, ensuring reliable, healthy birds for raptor keepers on a predictable schedule. We’ll expand our breeding program with the same core priority as always—healthy, well-built quail over everything—and yes, we have a few secret color projects in the lab (stay tuned). We’re also exploring a physical expansion—increasing property size with a slight relocation for the operation within the next year or so—to give us more runway for standardized systems and better service. Above all, we want to continue growing with and for you—our customers, friends, and farm family.

Gratitude & Trajectory

Thank you for the trust, the questions, the repeat orders, and the patience during the busy hours. This year reinforced three truths: capacity first, expansion second; records win; and community compounds. Next year we’ll keep the throttle where it belongs—steady—delivering the same Zero G focus on clean systems, honest data, and healthy birds, with a little more runway and a few surprises in the paint scheme. See you on the flight line.

-Zero G