Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

After bears killed all his chickens last year, a resident's experiment with raising quail to eat turned into a small side business selling eggs after the small birds proliferated faster than he anticipated.

Dave Stickler said he came to own more quail than planned because he wanted to show his grandchildren the chicks as they hatched. "I wanted to show the kids the magic of life," Stickler said. "As the quail got bigger, which don't take long, next thing we know we were hatching out twenty-five to thirty quail and I had a lot of quail. I went, 'gee whiz maybe someone will buy some.' I don't know if they're selling as fast as the little guys are laying them."

Stickler said he's read that an average quail hen lays 300 eggs per year. "It appears to be accurate," he said.

He stores the birds in cages stacked in the corner of his shop and mixes their droppings with wood shavings for compost.

"I've been eating a lot of quail. They're delicious," Stickler said. "They're easier than chickens by a long shot, and not as messy."

Howser's and Mountain Market have been selling the quail eggs since March. Howser's manager Kevin Shove said they've been selling at $4.99 a dozen and he's been eating them at home as well.

"They have been doing fairly well," Shove said. "People have been talking about cooking gourmet dishes, pickling and (that they're) a good size for their kids. Personally, I eat a dozen...at one sitting. My kids are not far behind."

Quail eggs have a larger yolk-to-white ratio than chicken eggs, Stickler said. Chef Travis Kukull is buying eggs from Stickler for use in one of the courses at this year's Brewfest Dinner. He said quail eggs are more mild and less rich than duck and chicken eggs.

"It's a really cool product. I've used quail eggs for years. They're usually in Asian grocery stores. You see them at sushi restaurants a lot. They're used to add extra richness to things. You can make little sunny side up quail eggs and put them on top of slider burgers. You can hard boil them. They're the perfect size for making scotch eggs."

Check out Kukull's recipe for "Curried Scotch Quail Eggs" is on page 4.