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Education Pt.18: What your quail colors really mean, and what it means for your farm. Preview for genetics class offerings.
Here’s the most important takeaway up front: plumage color has nothing to do with whether a Coturnix is “jumbo” or what size eggs it lays.
Zero G Quail Farms
Jan 113 min read
To turn or to not turn.........
The incubation of coturnix quail eggs has long been a subject of interest among aviculturists and hobbyists alike.
Guidroz Family Farm
Jan 112 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
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
Education Pt. 15: Starting a Breeding Program: The Zero G Way
A breeding program can be as simple or as complex as you want—what matters is intent. When you choose characteristics that you value and then track those choices across generations, you’re breeding with a purpose.
Zero G Quail Farms
Dec 27, 20254 min read
Zero G Community Project #1: Hatching in Thin Air: Join the Elevation Project
If you’ve ever wondered why the same incubator can perform totally differently at sea level vs Colorado elevation, lets alone one elevation to another… you’re exactly the kind of person we’d love inside our Elevation Project.
Zero G Quail Farms
Dec 26, 20252 min read
Education Pt. 14: Myth of “Shrink-Wrapped” Chicks — Truth or Busted?
Backyard hatchers often warn that opening the incubator during hatch “shrinks” membranes around chicks so they can’t turn and zip.
Zero G Quail Farms
Dec 22, 20254 min read
Education Pt. 13: DIY Quail Treats & Forage Mixes: Coturnix-safe ideas that won’t crash your nutrition plan
Treats are fun, foraging is healthy, and Coturnix quail love both, but your base ration still builds and flies the plane.
Zero G Quail Farms
Dec 16, 20253 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
Education Pt.9: Brooder Math: Space, Heat, and Density Simplified
At its core, a brooder for Coturnix quail (or quail in general) is just a safe micro-environment that gives chicks four things on Day 1: warmth, dryness, traction, and easy access to feed and water.
Zero G Quail Farms
Nov 29, 20255 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 Pt.7: Cedar and Coturnix: Myths, Risks, and Safer Bedding Choices
Cedar smells “clean,” repels pests, and looks great in a bag—so why do so many keepers warn against it for quail, especially chicks? Short answer: aromatic compounds and fine dust from cedar are tough on avian airways, and quail are small, fast-breathing birds with delicate respiratory systems. The safer play is low-dust, well-drained bedding that stays dry, neutral-scented, and mold-free, plus a brooder plan that puts traction and temperature control first.
Zero G Quail Farms
Nov 22, 20253 min read
Education Pt.6: Essential Tools for Every Quail Keeper
Running quail isn’t about heroics; it’s about stable systems. Your kit (and your mindset) should keep birds comfortable, workflows predictable, and you calm when reality throws a wrench. Treat every task like a pre-flight checklist: prep, confirm, execute, log. When something goes wrong—and it will—fall back to a simple reset: stabilize water, feed, heat, and light first; then diagnose. That sequence keeps birds safe while you think.
Zero G Quail Farms
Nov 19, 20258 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
Homesteading Adventures with Feathered Knechtions - An Urban Journey
Hello, I'm Kelli Knecht. I operate a small business we call Feathered Knechtions (pronounced connections), and I wanted to do a quick introduction of myself and let you know what I'm all about over here in my neck of the woods (central Utah).
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Kelli Knecht
Nov 10, 20253 min read
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
Education Pt.3: Building the Perfect Launch Pad: Quail Housing Done Right
Building the Perfect Launch Pad: Quail Housing Done Right. When it comes to housing Coturnix quail, your setup can make or break your flock’s comfort, productivity, and long-term health. These little birds are compact, quiet, and efficient — but they still need the right balance of safety, space, and structure to thrive. At Zero G Quail Farms, we treat housing like a launch system: every detail counts before takeoff.
Zero G Quail Farms
Nov 9, 20253 min read
Winter Blues with Spring on the Mind: Raising Coturnix Quail during Winter
The days are short, the air bites, and the world outside feels tucked under a gray blanket. Winter always seems to linger a little too long here. The coop is quieter now, and even the quail seem to move slower, puffed up like tiny feathered snowballs against the chill. I love winter and most winter months I'm jealously looking at everyone's pictures on Facebook. Here. in the south, we don't get your typical winter, with most days just being wet and cloudy with warm weather. A
Guidroz Family Farm
Nov 7, 20252 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.
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."
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