The year quails replaced chicken

Nakuru, Kenya: As we usher in a new year, the dying one will go into history as the one in which quail eggs were hailed as the answer not only to all ailments, but also to farmers’ ‘thin pockets’ and hence a lucrative business venture.

It was also the year enterprising Kenyan farmers briefly replaced chicken with quails.

By May 2014, the wild birds had gained so much popularity after dominating business pages on newspapers and TV bulletins.

As quails replaced chickens in cages, prices for their eggs began rising as supply surged.

Farmers in Nakuru reportedly abandoned chicken rearing in favour of quail birds. Their eggs could fetch up to Sh150 each, compared to a chicken’s egg, which fetched only Sh12. There were also unproven claims that the eggs had a high nutritional value and that they could increase the CD4 cell count of HIV-positive patients.

As with every fad that hits the market, most farmers had seen this ‘business opportunity’ and invested heavily in incubators and hatcheries with capacity to breed more than 10,000 of the birds at a go.

COLLAPSED PRICES

Some formed organisations to help generate wealth through sustainable management of the wild birds, as well as support small and medium businesses. They were also required to obtain a permit from Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to rear the birds.

KWS was ‘overwhelmed’ as hundreds of farmers rushed to apply for licences to rear the birds, with officials reporting that more than 3,000 applications had reached their desks in January alone.

More farmers leapt head first into the business and soon learnt the most basic law of economics - excess supply eventually creates low demand.

As more farmers joined the fray, quail eggs supply soon exceeded the demand.

The business had morphed into one long wild party and nobody was surprised when quail farmers woke up from a drunken stupor to find the market prices for the eggs had suddenly collapsed.

The fall was as spectacular as was the quail façade. The prices plummeted from a high of Sh150 to about Sh10 a piece. The effect was devastating, with some analysts claiming the venture was nothing more than ‘a pyramid scheme’.

The ‘melt down’ as it came to be known, or ‘quail bubble burst’ elicited many jokes on social media but it revealed the need for Kenyans to be cautious when going into a business that appeared lucrative.