The Guidroz Family Quail Farm: A Lesson in Resilience

Story and recipes by Cynthia Nobles

Aaron Guidroz, his wife Kristina, and their son Lane all pitch in to run one of our state’s largest mail-order breeding quail and quail hatching egg businesses — one that was built from ground up twice.

Galliano is a small community along southeast Louisiana’s Bayou Lafourche, and for 15 years Aaron had only sold quail from there to friends and relatives. Then, in the middle of the covid lockdown, he decided to make his hobby a bigger part of his full-time profession. First, he had to buy some land.

“I had a fast-paced oilfield job,” he said. “During covid I was fortunate enough to still work. Then we started realizing how important it was to raise our own food. That’s when we purchased our forever home here in Galliano, right in the middle of the pandemic.”

Originally, the Guidroz farm was nothing but a house surrounded by bad soil covered in grass. “And stores were closed,” said Guidroz. “There was nowhere to buy garden supplies, and no farm animals to purchase. But we managed to haul in dirt. We built raised gardens and built animal infrastructure. We had some quail and thought we were set.”
            
In spite of what at first seemed a disaster, the family’s homestead thrived and their quail business skyrocketed. “During covid people wanted something to do,” he said. “And they wanted quail for food.”

A year later their fledgling yet prosperous business took a devastating blow, when along came Hurricane Ida. “That hurricane decimated our community, our new home, and our lives,” said Aaron. “We lost more animals than I care to mention.”
            
For months, the family had no electricity, internet, or grocery stores. “We ate food we had prepared and preserved. Our pantry slowly went bare, but we were happy and well fed. Most of all we were together.”
            
Undeterred, they rebuilt. Today, Aaron works for a nearby boat company, in addition to raising quail. His family’s farmstead is a post card picture of fruit trees and raised vegetable beds. The Guidroz’s tend to beehives, goats, chickens, pigs, rabbits, two pet emus, and thousands and thousands of quail. 
            
They raise regular sized and jumbo Coturnix quail, a variety domesticated in Asia centuries ago.

Coturnix birds are excellent meat birds, and they grow quickly and have large breasts. Hens are prolific egg layers and begin laying at only 8 weeks old. Fertile quail eggs incubate in just 17 days. 

Kristina takes charge of incubation. “After a quail hatches, we can butcher from 8-10 weeks,” said Aaron. “That seems like a short life, but our birds live well. And they only have one bad day.”
            
The Guidroz quail barn is neatly packed with aviaries, which look like chicken runs, and stacks and stacks of cages.
            
“Everything stays in the barn,” says Aaron. “Inside it’s easier to keep our quail warm and away from predators and diseases.” A few of the many types in these cages are Rosetta, Tibetian, Scarlett, Range, Italian, Black and White Pearl Fee and Pansy Fee, and Celedons, as well as Jumbo Egyptian Browns and Jumbo Whites.
            
The Guidroz family’s day begins by checking the automatic water system that fills the birds’ water cups. “Next we give them game bird crumble,” Aaron says of the quails’ high protein, nutrient specific feed. “Then we do a general health check and look for injury and illness.”
            
Evening is the time for egg collecting. “We separate them by color,” says Aaron. “Then Lane packages egg orders.”
            
Fertilized eggs and live breeding quail are shipped six days a week through the postal service. “We ship to every state but Hawaii and New Mexico,” says Aaron. The national average survival rate of mailed quail eggs is 50 percent. Aaron is justly proud that his survival rate is 72 percent.
            
Although Mother Nature tried her best to financially ruin Aaron, Kristina, and Lane Guidroz, the family remains passionate about farming quail. “Even if we stop selling quail,” Aaron says, “we’ll never stop raising them.” 

Aaron says he enjoys giving presentations to groups to raise quail awareness. If you would like him to speak to your group or if you would like to purchase live quail or eggs, contact him at 985-228-1138. You can also email him through Facebook, or take a look at his website: www.guidrozfamilyfarm.com.
 
            

​Sausage Stuffed Quail
Makes 4
 
4 whole semi-boneless quail
Salt and pepper
1 cup fresh bulk pork sausage
4 slices bacon
Smoked paprika
 
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Pat quail dry and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff each cavity with ¼ cup pork sausage. Wrap each quail with bacon and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle quail with smoked paprika.
2. Place quail in a greased baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and lower oven to 350°F. Bake until quail and bacon are nicely brown and when an instant-read thermometer inserted in the sausage reads at least 160°F, 20-25 more minutes. Remove from oven and serve warm. (If desired, thicken the pan drippings with a flour slurry or butter and season with lemon juice, herbs, Marsala wine, etc.)
 
 
Quail in a Blanket
Makes 8 (adapted from a recipe by Aaron Guidroz)
 
8 quail breasts, deboned
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Salt and pepper
1 (8-roll) package Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
For serving: your favorite spicy mustard dipping sauce
 
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pat quail breasts dry. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high and sear breasts until just cooked through and golden brown, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from skillet and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Unroll crescent rolls. Place a cooked quail breast on the inside edges of the wide ends of each roll. If desired, trim the widest parts of the dough to fit the breasts. Beginning from the wide ends, roll the dough pieces, making sure that the quail breasts remain in the middle. Seam side down, place the rolls on a cookie sheet.
3. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Serve warm with dipping sauce.
            
 
 
Cajun Pickled Quail Eggs
Makes 1 pint
 
10-12 quail eggs
1 cup white vinegar
1 (6-ounce) bottle Louisiana-style hot sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
 
1. Sterilize a 1-pint glass jar and its lid and set aside. Place quail eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and simmer 4 minutes, uncovered. Remove saucepan from heat, cover it, and let sit 2 minutes. Peel the eggs and place them in the clean jar.
2. In a small saucepan combine the vinegar, hot sauce, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook 30 seconds. Pour the hot liquid over the eggs in the jar, making sure all eggs are covered. Cover the jar and let cool at room temperature. After jar is cool refrigerate at least a week. Store in the refrigerator.