We’ve officially opened our Fertile Quamby Egg Waiting List… and this season is a little different.
We’ve now moved, and our Quamby’s are living in the beautiful Tasmanian Highlands which means… Slower, more natural pace, Limited availability
After years of breeding, we’ve also downsized our flock, so every egg comes from carefully selected birds
We will contact everyone in order so please be patient https://bit.ly/JoinourFertileQuambyeggswaitinglist
We also have a private Facebook group where we:• Offer occasional hens and roosters, spare fertile Quamby eggs• Connect with like-minded people• Share all things chickens, permaculture & homesteading
Join the group here: https://www..com/share/g/jG3HieER8nrxTJuu/facebook
Quamby Chickens @ Quamby Hollows Visit our new website & socials:https://linktr.ee/steerquambychickens
Quambys have been around for over a decade and are quickly gaining fans across Australia and beyond. Homesteaders love their high egg production, excellent fertility, and resilience, they stay healthy, active and keep laying even in hot and cold climates.
The birds are calm and friendly, roosters included making them perfect for families building self-sufficient homesteads. Their meat is firm with that rich, old-fashioned flavour that chefs love, and combined with their temperament and productivity,
Dr Gil Stokes created the Quamby here in Tasmania with a very clear goal: to give Australians a dual-purpose backyard chicken for both eggs and meat, a type of bird that was nearly lost with modern agriculture.
The breed is named after the iconic Tasmanian landmark, Quamby Bluff, where our Quambys now live and thrive.
Developing the Quamby was no small feat. Dr Stokes, a retired biochemist with a degree in agricultural science and a masters in animal nutrition, spent years carefully developing a dual-purpose bird from the English Sussex and New Hampshire breeds. He recognized that over the past 50 years, the modern poultry industry had hybridized chickens, creating separate lines for eggs and meat and he wanted to bring back a bird that could do both, while remaining healthy, hardy, and practical for everyday Australians.
Fanciers have been left with heritage breeds, focused on creating the perfect looking bird for shows and more recently focusing on the perfect egg shell colour for looks.
"As a result, the productive traits of these birds have wasted away," Dr Stokes said.
He wanted to tap into the old breeds which were robust, the hens laid eggs for several years and the roosters were great eating.
Now is the time to recreate the kind of bird that was around in the 1930s, laying lots of eggs, and the utility breeds provide meat for the families so the excess boys would all go into meat. Quamby meat, is slightly darker than commercial chicken meat and the birds live longer.
Commercial broilers are slaughtered at around five to six weeks of age, but the Quamby chook can be eaten at about 10 months.
Raised on a "deep litter system" of sawdust and composted leaves, which helps build resilience, the chickens are fed a specially developed diet which includes fermented grains.
"The chicks don't get any antibiotics, they don't get any vaccinations, so if they don't have a good immune system they don't make it," Dr Stokes said.
His work paid off. The Quamby is much more productive as the hens can lay an average of up to 300 eggs per year.
He described the Quamby as a very gregarious bird that foraged well, was not flighty, and enjoyed human interaction — a "lovely bird to have around that doesn't get sick".
Let's talk shell colour: Quamby's lay beautiful big light brown to dark brown eggs with the occasional speckle pattern on them, but we are far more interested on what on the inside. Yes pretty shell colour might look nice but what's on the inside of the egg is of much more importance and when fed a range of healthy layer seeds, left to forage on insects and plants on our fertile Tasmanian mountain soil you will be delighted with the health and nutrition of our eggs.
So that's why we chose to carry on Dr Stokes legacy, the Quamby finally living here at the foot of Quamby Bluff.
A little about us at Quamby Hollows.
Our Quamby chickens live free-ranging in the Tasmanian highlands at the foot of Quamby Bluff, roaming natural mountain country and foraging each day for insects, seeds and native greenery in some of the cleanest air in the world.
Raising our birds this way produces a naturally calm, steady line. They grow up outdoors, learning to forage, navigate the landscape and live as a flock, which helps create hardy birds that are placid rather than flighty.
Unlike other breeders who might keep birds confined in small pens, our Quamby's are foraging on the land every day. They learn to watch the skies, warn each other and respond to their environment as chickens naturally would, developing the instincts, resilience and temperament we value in the breed.
Our bloodline
Our Quamby bloodline traces directly back to Dr Gil Stokes. We began several years ago with fertile eggs from his flock and under his guidance have since carefully introduced several additional lines directly from Dr Stokes to maintain the strength and diversity of the breed.
Recently, Gil asked if he could retire the remainder of his flock here with us at Quamby Hollows, some of these birds are now around 11 years old. It was a real privilege to welcome them and continue caring for the line he created.
Gil has also entrusted us with the legacy of his life’s work with the Quamby breed, including his extensive poultry breeding library and records. We feel a deep responsibility to preserve and continue this line with the same care and respect it was developed with.
Our socials
In the meantime
We’d love for you to follow along and see what our Quamby flock is up to. You can also read recent customer reviews on our social pages. If you enjoy what we share, we’d really appreciate your support with a like or follow
We also love to see your new little ones!
If you hatch Quamby chicks from our eggs, please share your photos with us, we absolutely love seeing them grow. You can tag or message us on our socials here:
https://linktr.ee/steerquambychickens
Have a question?
Please email us at quambyhollows@gmail.com
Pricing
Fertile eggs: $110 per dozen
Postage: $35 for 1 dozen or $50 for 2 dozen
Please note: prices are subject to change and this year we have applied limits due to the popularity of our line of Quamby's
Thank you for supporting our farm and being part of carrying on Dr Gil Stokes’ Quamby legacy. By hatching our chicks, you’re joining a growing movement of self-sufficiency and helping keep this wonderful breed thriving.
With love from our homestead to yours,
Debbie
Quamby Hollows
