Calis Pipping and NOT Hatching

Nichrome

Chirping
6 Years
May 22, 2013
137
3
71
Dear All,

Every batch of eggs I am going through this frustration and many times I feel like giving up. I have an 80% hatch rate with cots and painted but calis...0%.

In the same batch, I have 3 species all incubating together but only the calis pip and do not hatch. 2 days after the pip I shell the egg to see the chick is fully formed, alive, but too weak to hatch! This really p****s me off! Two batched ago I managed to hand hatch a chick that survived but was walking on its knees maybe due to a riboflavin deficiency. Now I am feeding vitamins every 2 days and as from the next batch I will be incubating presumably healthier eggs.

I feed all my quails a mix of seeds as the crumbs in my country are of a very low quality. The mix consists mainly of millet, hemp, rapeseed, canary grass, and various grains. They live in a bottomless aviary so they have access to fresh soil and insects at their pleasure. Quails look very healthy and feathers are perfect. Fertility is good also.

What do you Ladies and Gents think? What is it with cots and painted that is not good with calis?
 
Have you progressed to opening the eggs with every batch or have you previously left them to see what happens?

They may simply need more time after pip than the others and opening them by hand is what is causing problems. I would make sure they have good humidity and ventilation and leave them alone to see if they simply need a bit more time to absorb the yolk and gather their strength to hatch.

I know they are more difficult quail than the cots and buttons, but I have no personal experience with them myself. Hopefully others can advise you on what differences in hatching they require from the others.

Good luck!
Jessie
 
Hi Jes,

Whatever your points and your experience, it is appreciated!

I have some in the bator right now. They pipped last Friday around midday and by this morning none of the calis had hatched! This morning I opened one of the eggs and the chick was alive inside with the yolk bag fully absorbed!
 
Hi Jes,

Whatever your points and your experience, it is appreciated!

I have some in the bator right now. They pipped last Friday around midday and by this morning none of the calis had hatched! This morning I opened one of the eggs and the chick was alive inside with the yolk bag fully absorbed!
This chick would have no doubt hatched. Sounds like you are not giving them enough time to hatch. Some will pip and sit there for days. A few people on here have had them sit pipped for 5 days. So just let them be and don't hurry them out.
 
I wish you are right so bad!!! Now I'll see what happened with the others and if I messed it up, I have another batch of calis to go in the bator.

5 days...that's almost + 1/4th the incubation period!!! Anyway, time will tell. If you got any other ideas...shoot them!
 
I usually give them 3 days after pipping. If it goes to the 4th day, I assume they didn't make it and I remove them out of the incubator. My valleys that hatched this year came out a day or two after they pipped.
 
This chick would have no doubt hatched. Sounds like you are not giving them enough time to hatch. Some will pip and sit there for days. A few people on here have had them sit pipped for 5 days. So just let them be and don't hurry them out.
TwoCrows...are you spying my bator or something? Do you have access to my garage or own a satellite that can see through stone and concrete?
I went home to find one of my cali egg hatching for the first time! It took ages to hatch and only managed to do so this morning. The chick has a deformed foot but I think it can be fixed with a tape shoe.
I'll keep you posted as my next batch contains a lot more cali eggs so I am really looking forward to it! I never had guessed they could take so long to hatch!
 
Nichrome, generally they SHOULD hatch faster after pipping than what is going on with your eggs. All I can think of is that it is the fault of your eggs and their genetics. You might try another source for your California eggs. But at least you are getting something to hatch. :)
 
Actually where I live Californian quail are a rarity so It is understandable that genetics are poor even if the breeding pair are strong and lively, with perfect feathers and bright colors.

Unluckily, my cali chick had a very short life. This morning I found it dead on its back. It had a defective foot and I think that when it overturned the defective foot prevented it from standing back up. Yesterday I put in another six cali eggs. Fingers crossed!
 

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