My button quail has laid 8 eggs, the first on June 27th and one a day after that. I let her keep them in her cage up until July 3rd, but decided she was not consistently or routinely sitting on them. So I built an incubator out of a cardboard box and placed the eggs on a terry cloth within a smaller shallow box to keep them from rolling anywhere. A small water dish with a little bit of water for humidity. I've managed to keep the temp pretty steady at 101.8 (still air so slightly higher temp or so I've read?). My question is, did I allow the female too much time and now the eggs are dead or if they are alive....what day do I count from to get their actual hatch day!? I turn them every 4 hours, often every 3. Does anyone think they could truly be alive still?
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button quails; still alive or goners??
they should be hatching around the 20-24th. Can't seem to keep the incubator at a constant temp cuz I have had to keep turning the eggs by hand or add water. Temp bounces around from 99 to 102 yet after a fluctuation I manage to get it back to 100- 101 fairly quickly. The first couple days were weird cuz it appeared to be holding a stable temp but when I placed the eggs in there it was fluctuating from 99 and to (for a short time each time this happened) to 104.2. I've always been quick to adjust the temp back to its proper spot but I worry nonetheless. It's all a horrible waiting game of uncertainty, next time I feel the need to help hatch a clutch of my quails eggs I will be buying a REAL incubator! 
I'll post a new thread on the hatch ((that's IF any do hatch!)). Thanks everyone for your help Featured Stories on BackYard Chickens
BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Other BackYard Poultry › Quail › button quails; still alive or goners??
