Dear Valued Customer,

This year has certainly been a challenging one, and I wanted to take a moment to reach out with transparency and appreciation. If you’ve been waiting for your order, please know how much I value your patience and sincerely apologize for the delays. It is highly unusual for orders to take as long as they have, and I’d like to explain the circumstances behind these setbacks as well as our plans to improve moving forward.

Each year, quail farms like mine carefully plan how many breeder birds of each variety to maintain in order to meet the coming season’s demand. These projections are based on past sales and estimated interest in new releases — and while we always do our best to forecast accurately, this year brought an unexpected “perfect storm” of challenges.

First, the nationwide bird flu outbreak caused widespread egg shortages and spiked demand for home egg production, which dramatically increased sales. Additionally, one of the country’s largest and most respected Coturnix quail breeders closed their doors. I was honored to be asked to take on several of their lines, and their customers were directed to Thieving Otter Farm, resulting in a sudden surge of new orders.

Then, nature and circumstance added their own complications: a flood kept us from leaving the farm for a week, our barn’s air conditioning failed during the peak of summer heat (making it unsafe to ship eggs), and I personally battled pneumonia—twice—as well as a case of COVID. To top it off, several of our new releases were far more popular than anticipated, pushing production capacity beyond what we could have foreseen.

Throughout the year, I’ve tried to keep shipping estimates updated on the website, but as orders increased into the hundreds for certain varieties, those estimates became increasingly difficult to maintain. Unfortunately, our current system doesn’t allow for automated updates or targeted email notifications by variety, and I recognize that this has led to poor communication on my part. For that, I am truly sorry.

Please know that this is not how I intended to run Thieving Otter Farm, nor how I wish to treat the wonderful customers who support us. I take full responsibility for the lack of timely updates, and I am committed to doing better.

As we approach the holiday season, I will be pausing shipments between Thanksgiving and New Year’s to prevent the seasonal postal rush from compromising egg viability. This means that, depending on your order date and variety, your shipment may not go out until early next year. I completely understand how disappointing that may be, and I assure you that your order has not been forgotten.

Here is my promise to you:

  • Your order remains a priority and will ship as soon as possible without sacrificing quality.

  • You are valued, and your patience has not gone unnoticed.

  • I am increasing our breeder numbers for next year to better meet demand and reduce wait times.

  • I will continue striving to offer only the healthiest, highest-quality quail possible.

If you’d prefer to postpone your order until spring, I completely understand — you will not lose your place in line. Simply send me a message, and I’ll make a note on your order accordingly.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your patience, understanding, and kindness during this unusually difficult year. Your support allows me to continue improving and doing what I love most — raising exceptional Coturnix quail for you.

With sincere gratitude,
Rebecca Lynch
Thieving Otter Farm