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Seasonal Education

Seasonal changing articles. Tips tricks and best pratices for the season weather changes and items that are specific for each season.

Behind the Scenes Pt. 11: Farm Preparedness: What Stays, What Goes, and How We Planned for Wildfire

With the Aspen Acres Fire burning across southern Colorado, it has felt like much of the state has been surrounded by smoke, flames, evacuation notices, and uncertainty. How would we move our family? What could we realistically transport? What would allow us to survive away from home for a month? What would we need if the farm was gone? Most difficult of all, what would happen to more than 500 Coturnix breeders plus all of our growouts if we could not safely take them with u

Zero G Quail Farms

Aug 411 min read

Education Pt. 33: Starter Covey Blueprint The First 12 Birds Without the Chaos

Most people don’t fail at quail because they bought the wrong bird. They fail because they bought birds before the systems were ready—then tried to improvise feed, water, lighting, and space on the fly.

Zero G Quail Farms

Mar 314 min read

Education Pt.28: Understanding Quail Behavior: What's normal, what's not.

Coturnix quail are honest birds. When something is off, they usually tell you—fast. The trick is learning the difference between normal quail behavior (busy, pecky, skittish, routine-driven) and red-flag behavior that signals stress, nutritional gaps, or a system problem.

Zero G Quail Farms

Feb 274 min read

Education Pt.27: Quail or the Egg: Choosing Your Starting Point

Should you begin with live birds or hatching eggs? Here’s the Zero G take. Spring production is around the corner, and a lot of you are deciding where to start.

Zero G Quail Farms

Feb 194 min read

Behind the Scenes Pt.8: 7-Day Warning: Incubation and Season Countdown Starts Now!

You’ve got about one week to launch the season, if you haven't already started that process. That means today is not a “think about it” day—it’s a prep and verify day.

Zero G Quail Farms

Jan 274 min read

zero g quail infront of a room filled with eggs in incubators.

Education Pt.21: Incubation 101: Timing, Temp, and Humidity — Quick Review

This is your fast recap of the incubation fundamentals we keep circling back to across our recent posts: “Choosing the Right Incubator for Your Goals,” “Troubleshooting Failed Hatches,” “Myth of ‘Shrink-Wrapped’ Chicks,” “Holiday Hatchers,” “Starting a Breeding Program: The Zero G Way,” and “It’s the New Year: Hatching Your Breeders’ First Eggs.”

Zero G Quail Farms

Jan 213 min read

Education Pt.17: Review of Lighting 101: Designing Efficient Quail Housing Power & Light Systems

In our earlier post we covered the essentials: quail lay most steadily with about 14–16 hours of total day length (sun + supplemental light), and light only needs to be bright enough to read at quail height—not stadium-bright.

Zero G Quail Farms

Jan 74 min read

A Zero G quail in times square for the new years fireworks.

Education Pt. 16: It’s the New Year: Hatching Your Breeders’ First Eggs—and What to Look For

New year, clean slate. Your first hatch isn’t a one-off—it’s the first checkpoint of your breeding program. If you missed our guide, start with “Starting a Breeding Program: The Zero G Way.” This hatch is where your written SOP (your own Standard of Perfection) meets reality: health and body composition before color, production traits measured on a schedule, and records you’ll actually use.

Zero G Quail Farms

Jan 14 min read

two zero g quails in front of a Christmas tree

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

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.

Zero G Quail Farms

Dec 20, 20254 min read

Education Pt.12: The Launch Mindset: Setting Your Farm Goals for the New Year

The best advice we can give heading into a new year is simple: grow slowly and deliberately......

Zero G Quail Farms

Dec 12, 20253 min read

Why Winter Hatching is a Gift That Keeps Giving

Incubating Coturnix quail over the holidays can be a fantastic gift and a smart production play. For the right person, a holiday hatch means chicks grow out through late winter and are sorted, settled, and laying by spring, perfect timing for garden season and farmers’ market planning.

Zero G Quail Farms

Dec 9, 20255 min read

Education Pt. 10: Closing the Year Right: Deep Cleaning and Biosecurity for Quail Keepers.

Year-end isn’t just for inventory and wish lists—it’s the perfect window to reset your sanitation and biosecurity for quail.

Zero G Quail Farms

Dec 3, 20255 min read

2 zero g quails with a thanksgiving background.

Behind the Scenes Pt. 4: Thanksgiving at Zero G: Grounded, Grateful, Grit, and the Next Launch

Thanksgiving on a small farm is more than a holiday and isn’t just a date on the calendar—it’s a deep breath between seasons and it’s a pause between missions. The rush of summer markets and fall chores slows just enough for us to look around, take a breath, and notice what succeeded this year. We gather with family and friends, pass the rolls, and take stock of everything we’ve been given.....

Zero G Quail Farms

Nov 27, 20253 min read

Education Pt.8: Quail Housing Winterization: Keep Them Cozy, Not Closed In

Winter doesn’t and shouldn't stop you with Coturnix quail. You can keep quail outside all winter (even at the high elevations and temperatures here in Colorado) and keep production steady, as long as you design for what they actually do need. They want their essentials available all the time: dry footing, constant feed and water, and a place to get out of the wind while fresh air keeps moisture moving out.

Zero G Quail Farms

Nov 25, 20254 min read

Education Pt4. Cold Weather, Warm Brooder: Prepping for Winter Chicks

Raising Coturnix quail doesn’t stop when the temperature drops. One of the most unique advantages of these birds is that they can be hatched all year round — even in the heart of a Colorado winter. With the right setup and awareness, winter hatches can thrive just as easily as spring clutches. But when it comes to brooding in cold weather, preparation is everything.

Zero G Quail Farms

Nov 13, 20253 min read

coturnix quail in a barn with eggs and lights everywhere.

Education Pt.5: Lighting for Layers: Keep Egg Production Steady.

When winter closes in, we don’t close the barn—we adjust the mission. Coturnix respond to day length, not brute lumens. Our job is to deliver a calm, predictable “sunrise-to-sunset” that tells their bodies, “keep laying,” while avoiding stress, overheating, or power waste. Treat lighting like nutrition or ventilation: measured, intentional, and boringly consistent. Decide on a program, write it down (timer settings, check points, backup plan), and fly it every day the same wa

Zero G Quail Farms

Nov 10, 20254 min read

Help Us Improve the Mission

We’d love to hear from you — and it doesn’t have to be a big formal review. If you’ve made a purchase, taken a class, or even just explored the site, your feedback helps us fine-tune the Zero G experience and keep improving what we build next. Tell us what you loved, what you’d like to see added, or where we can make things smoother — every note helps us support the community better.

Write a Review

Meet The Blog & Education Team

Tristi and Brent Buchanan

Owners of Zero G Quail Farms, Quail Education & Compliance, Business insight, Behind the Scenes, Colorado Quail Techniques.

Guest Blog Writer: Aaron Guidroz

Owner Guidroz Family Farm, Quail Education, Business insight, sustainability practices, homestead insight and pratices.

Guest Blog Writer: Kelli Knecht

Owner Feathered Knechitons, small space sustainability, Quail information, Arts & Crafts

Guest Blog Writer: Homestead Matters

Owners Caiti and Dom, who live on a small suburban property in Western Oregon. "Basic 1850's housewife stuff, homestyle cooking, homeopathic remedies, and homesteading and gardening in small spaces."

ALL BLOG POSTS

Seasonal Education

Behind the Scenes Pt. 11: Farm Preparedness: What Stays, What Goes, and How We Planned for Wildfire

Education Pt. 33: Starter Covey Blueprint The First 12 Birds Without the Chaos

Education Pt.28: Understanding Quail Behavior: What's normal, what's not.

Education Pt.27: Quail or the Egg: Choosing Your Starting Point

Behind the Scenes Pt.8: 7-Day Warning: Incubation and Season Countdown Starts Now!

Education Pt.21: Incubation 101: Timing, Temp, and Humidity — Quick Review

Education Pt.17: Review of Lighting 101: Designing Efficient Quail Housing Power & Light Systems

Education Pt. 16: It’s the New Year: Hatching Your Breeders’ First Eggs—and What to Look For

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

Education Pt.12: The Launch Mindset: Setting Your Farm Goals for the New Year

Why Winter Hatching is a Gift That Keeps Giving

Education Pt. 10: Closing the Year Right: Deep Cleaning and Biosecurity for Quail Keepers.

Behind the Scenes Pt. 4: Thanksgiving at Zero G: Grounded, Grateful, Grit, and the Next Launch

Education Pt.8: Quail Housing Winterization: Keep Them Cozy, Not Closed In

Education Pt4. Cold Weather, Warm Brooder: Prepping for Winter Chicks

Education Pt.5: Lighting for Layers: Keep Egg Production Steady.

Meet The Blog & Education Team

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