Coturnix hatching eggs - recently updated - PIC HEAVY

orumpoultry

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Jan 30, 2012
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Last update 5-9-15

The girls have started laying again for the season. All eggs are sent priority mail, wrapped individually in bubble wrap and filled with air bags/shredded paper/shavings to keep them from moving around. I usually fill with foam as well, but I am fresh out. Fertility guaranteed, I'm hatching eggs from these guys right now. My quail are on a high protein diet, and get extra calcium supplements, but some of the eggs we are seeing from them right now do have calcium build ups on them. Should not pose a problem, will update this when the calcium levels get under control again. As of right now I will be sending a few extras if I have them. Extras are not guaranteed in every shipment. I have been getting great hatching rates here at home, and most of my shipped eggs the last few months have seen amazing hatch rates as well.

I do not take responsibility for what the post office does to the eggs. I do have them marked fragile, and they are sent priority, but that does not mean they won't go through an x-ray machine, dropped, shaken, or whatever else goes on in processing centers.

For BYC members only:
12+ eggs - $10+shipping
24+ eggs - $20+shipping

With what they're laying right now I will collect through out the week and place only the freshest eggs in orders. I have a LOT of young layers in this group, so eggs will vary in size. They haven't quite got it down one size fits all.

Thanks in advance.


Pending shipments:
 
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Hello! My husband and I are interested in raising some quail, but honestly don't know anything about it. We have chickens and from what I have read online quail are pretty similar? When buying eggs to hatch, what is the approximate successful hatch ratio? Any particular incubator we need to get? We have a pen and a coop that our chickens were in until they got upgraded to a larger house. :) Any and all help is GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks!
 
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Quail are very different from chickens, and can NOT be housed together. Chickens carry diseases that will kill the quail. So make sure when ordering your birds/eggs/chicks that you have a completely different set up from start to finish.

Mine are very friendly, enjoy getting the occasional loving but aren't a in your face kind of bird like chickens can be. They do well in spaces approximately 1sf per bird, either in colonies or in small groups with one male to 3-5 females. They also talk a LOT. All the time, about everything. Constantly with all sorts of different sounds. They aren't loud per-say, but they are constant talkers. Most of the time you hear the males crowing or the females chirping ( sounds kind of like crickets chirping ).

Be sure your pen that they go in isn't to tall or to deep, as they can build up momentum and break their own necks on solid surfaces when they spook.

If you plan on starting from incubation, remember a few things... Coturnix only take 18 days for hatch. The day you set them is typically marked as day 0. Invest in a quail egg turner. Turning that many eggs by hand is a pain in the rear, and constant temperature fluctuations in the incubator aren't good either. They also like to hatch in groups. They pretty much all pop out like pop corn within hours of each other. You will hear them talking to each other as hatch begins. It's really neat.
 
I think I am interested in getting some quail. Is a 50'x50' aviary ok? I am also houseing different kinds of ducks and geese in there will they be ok with them?
 
I *think* its only chickens that carry lethal diseases but I could be wrong. A 50x50 aviary would be heaven to these guys, but you would have a hard time finding their tiny eggs. My communities are in 4x4 pens with hay, pine needles, and other hiding spots and on the new layers its Easter every day! Most of the older hens have a favorite spot they lay in so its easier. I would just section off a smaller area for your quail once they're big enough to go out there, and they should be fine. I wouldn't run them freely with the waterfowl though.
 
Coturnix are about the size of a Muscovy drakes feet. They're quite small. They also risk being trampled, yes.

They also rarely if ever go broody, so its better to collect them.
 
Ok. Let me get a hydrometer and drag the incubator out and get it up to heat. By the way how much water should be in there and how hot should it be?
 
This is from a thread on hatching eggs. I have great hatches at 99.1 in my still air, with 40% at set and 60% at catch.

Here:

Incubation of eggs
*Incubation period is 16-17 days but can go as long as 18 days (almost all of mine hatched at 18 days...so i plan my hatches around 18 days just to be safe)
*Turn eggs atleast 3 times a day
*Stop turning atleast 4 days before eggs are due to hatch
*Every quail breeder has their own humidity and temp preferences....I keep the temps in between 99.5F and 101F...however I try to keep it at 99.5 Fas much as I can. (in my new incubator *a cabinet* I now keep it at 100.6 and I still have gorgeous hatches) Humidity I keep in the 40s until the last four days of incubation where i up it to 60%

It's best to have a towel or a kitchen mat or something similar that the eggs can lay on in the incubator so that when the chicks hatch they dont get their legs stuck in the tiny wire....as their feet are so tiny they will fall through.
 

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