LOCKDOWN TOMORROW FOR MY 1 EGG - THROW LOCKDOWN INFO AT ME

[BrittnyChicks]

Hello all,
I hope your evening/morning/afternoon is turning out well.

The egg is a coturnix quail egg!

I have 1 egg due tomorrow, my plan is keeping humidity around 50-55% (because I have 11 other eggs (NOT DUE TOMORROW) ) and I think when it starts a pip, I'll raise to 60% as max.
I will put humidity down as soon as the chick hatches, and dries off*.
I'll also have to open the lid to turn the rest of 11 eggs.
PLEASE SUGGEST MORE IDEAS, REALLY IN NEED!!

Anyways, I'm a complete newbie, and I require some help. I currently don't have a heat lamp, so I'm trying to improvise.

*Should I let this chick dry out in the 'bator or should I take him/her out and dry her by myself? Or do I take her to her "temporary home", where I will set up blankets with hot water bottles stored in a warm place until she/he can be moved somewhere more permanent?
I'm thinking of wrapping a hot water bottle in a fluffy blanket, and keep the chick in my bathroom, its quite warm there, quiet and a lovely place to rest.
I have 11 more chicks coming (4 quails and 6 chickens eggs), so she/he wont be alone.
If you have other suggestions about chick temporary set-up, be my guest, I'd LOVEE to hear them.
I also don't have chick food, as I honestly not expecting the baby to actually hatch, I've read chicks can go 48 hours without food, AS NEWBORNS as they have the yolk absorbed in them for 48 hours. I could easily run over to my local shop and by chick crumbs.

That leads to my second question, can quail babies eat chick crumbs? Or should I supply them a different source of food?
If so, do you have any brands recommended?
Should I just leave it in a bowl, or do I hand-feed the baby?
For the water supplement, I've read I should dip the quails beak in water after hatch? Is this correct? I don't want to be dipping beaks in the water and potentially drown them-
In videos of newborn quail chicks, I've seen bowls of water with rocks/pebbles in them, should I do this too?

Todays Day 14, and I'm planning on candling the eggs (All 12 of them) today, to check for fertility in the chicken eggs and quitters on the quail eggs.
Egg #1 - QUAIL EGGS || Day 14
Egg #2, #3, #4, #5 - QUAIL EGGS || Day 9 or 10 (I'll have to check, I have a calendar marked at home)
Egg #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12 - CHICKEN EGGS || Day 1

I'm a nervous wreck, I've tried hatching eggs before, but all of the eggs were duds, or quit before lockdown.
I'm scared I might do something wrong, please ant tips!

ALSO do any of you guys have any tips on raising baby quails or chickens?
Thank you so much for everyone reading this long paragraph of my complete mess state, lol!

 

[BrittnyChicks]

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hello all,
I hope your evening/morning/afternoon is turning out well.

The egg is a coturnix quail egg!

I have 1 egg due tomorrow, my plan is keeping humidity around 50-55% (because I have 11 other eggs (NOT DUE TOMORROW) ) and I think when it starts a pip, I'll raise to 60% as max.
I will put humidity down as soon as the chick hatches, and dries off*.
I'll also have to open the lid to turn the rest of 11 eggs.
PLEASE SUGGEST MORE IDEAS, REALLY IN NEED!!

Anyways, I'm a complete newbie, and I require some help. I currently don't have a heat lamp, so I'm trying to improvise.

*Should I let this chick dry out in the 'bator or should I take him/her out and dry her by myself? Or do I take her to her "temporary home", where I will set up blankets with hot water bottles stored in a warm place until she/he can be moved somewhere more permanent?
I'm thinking of wrapping a hot water bottle in a fluffy blanket, and keep the chick in my bathroom, its quite warm there, quiet and a lovely place to rest.
I have 11 more chicks coming (4 quails and 6 chickens eggs), so she/he wont be alone.
If you have other suggestions about chick temporary set-up, be my guest, I'd LOVEE to hear them.
I also don't have chick food, as I honestly not expecting the baby to actually hatch, I've read chicks can go 48 hours without food, AS NEWBORNS as they have the yolk absorbed in them for 48 hours. I could easily run over to my local shop and by chick crumbs.

That leads to my second question, can quail babies eat chick crumbs? Or should I supply them a different source of food?
If so, do you have any brands recommended?
Should I just leave it in a bowl, or do I hand-feed the baby?
For the water supplement, I've read I should dip the quails beak in water after hatch? Is this correct? I don't want to be dipping beaks in the water and potentially drown them-
In videos of newborn quail chicks, I've seen bowls of water with rocks/pebbles in them, should I do this too?

Todays Day 14, and I'm planning on candling the eggs (All 12 of them) today, to check for fertility in the chicken eggs and quitters on the quail eggs.
Egg #1 - QUAIL EGGS || Day 14
Egg #2, #3, #4, #5 - QUAIL EGGS || Day 9 or 10 (I'll have to check, I have a calendar marked at home)
Egg #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12 - CHICKEN EGGS || Day 1

I'm a nervous wreck, I've tried hatching eggs before, but all of the eggs were duds, or quit before lockdown.
I'm scared I might do something wrong, please ant tips!

ALSO do any of you guys have any tips on raising baby quails or chickens?
Thank you so much for everyone reading this long paragraph of my complete mess state, lol!

So the youngest eggs are on day 1? That's a bit of a problem. You'll have to open the incubator to hand turn the eggs, but as long as you keep the humidity up and don't take a long time to do this, it likely won't cause any harm to the hatching quail.

Once hatched, leave in the incubator to dry. Since you don't have a heater in the brooder, I would leave the chick in the incubator for up to a day. I would go out fairly urgently and get a brooder plate or heat lamp. Quail are not the easiest to brood successfully, and trying this with hot water bottles doesn't seem likely to end well.

Any non medicated chick crumb will do for now, but you'll need to find the appropriate food ASAP, quail need a much higher protein than chick feed offers. For now, ordinary chick feed will do if its all you can find. Put the food in a bowl and have it available 24/7 next to a waterer. You can encourage the chick to try the food by touching it with your finger. It can go a day or two without food immediately after hatch, but it's never a bad idea to give them access to it immediately.

Dipping the *tip* of the beak in water slightly is what some of us do to encourage the chick to drink- you aren't submerging it's beak in water, the nostrils (nares) will always be above the water. You only dip the tip of the beak in so that it is touching the water. You may not have to do this, if it drinks on its own.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There is so much more information here than in your other post I just responded to. I can be more precise.

The first thing I'd do is get another incubator or ditch those chicken eggs that are on Day 1. Let me explain.

One problem is the different humidity and turning needs for the eggs. I'm not going to go into those in detail but you will have issues.

To me the bigger problem is that when the chicks hatch they can make a mess. The chicks poop as they are drying out and gaining strength. When they hatch they can spread gunk on the other eggs and in the incubator when crawling around. The incubator is humid and is the perfect temperature for bacteria to grow. I had one chicken egg hatch that stretched out into the third day. The incubator was starting to smell. The chicks that hatched were OK but if I had had a staggered hatch like you there would be a risk that the bacteria would get inside the unhatched eggs and kill those chicks. It is not a sure thing, but it is not a risk I'd want to take.

Of course there are possible ways around some of this. The easiest is to get another incubator and just use it as a hatcher. When it is time to go into lockdown just lock them down in the new incubator. Clean it after each hatch. That eliminates all of the issues.

I don't know what your incubator looks like. This works better in some than others. You can make an open topped box out of hardware cloth or maybe use one of those plastic mesh baskets that berries often come in and set that over the egg before it hatches. That confines the chick to that area so it does not slime the other eggs when it hatches. Or put the egg in that basket with a paper towel on the "floor" to contain the poop and other mess. Makes cleanup easier.

*Should I let this chick dry out in the 'bator or should I take him/her out and dry her by myself? Or do I take her to her "temporary home", where I will set up blankets with hot water bottles stored in a warm place until she/he can be moved somewhere more permanent?

Set up your permanent brooder now. Don't mess with hot water bottles and blankets unless it is an emergency. What you need in your brooder is food, water, protection from predators, and the right environment.

I don't know what feed is available to you. A quail can eat chick starter or game bird starter. Game bird starter is preferred but they can certainly live and grow on chick starter. The basic difference is in the percent protein. Game bird will have a higher percent protein than chick starter. Quail and chicken chicks can eat either one but game bird is slightly better for quail and chicken for chickens. Especially long term.

What does your waterer look like? If it is a type that has a bowl you probably should put something in it so the chicks can walk on it and not get wet or drown. They can drink in the cracks. If you love your chicks enough and have to spend money to show that you really love them you can buy them pretty marbles but I don't love mine that much. I gather free small rocks, rinse them off, and use them. BB above told you about dipping the beak to show them where the water isas well as other good stuff. The chicks will poop in the water so you will need to change it out regularly. It is disgusting but can also be a health risk. As a minimum replace the water every two days. That breaks up the life cycle of certain bugs that can get them sick and if mosquitoes can get to the water every two days stops the mosquito wigglers from turning into adult mosquitoes. In the brooder I generally change the water twice a day.

Since you are brooding in your house the most likely predators are a pet cat, dog, or maybe young children that don't know how to hold a chick without squeezing.

The right environment means you do not want a breeze blowing on them. Since you are brooding indoors do not have them near an outside door or where an AC or heating vent is blowing on them. Environment means they need a spot warm enough in the coolest conditions and cool enough in the warmest conditions. There are different ways to provide that warm spot. If you use a heat lamp remove that clamp so you are not tempted to use it. Use wire or chain to hold it in place to greatly reduce any fire risk. If you use a heat lamp make sure the brooder is big enough that the far end can cool off to room temperature. Many people use a heat plate of a heating pad cave. Those are an excellent way to provide one spot that is warm enough without heating the entire brooder.

Todays Day 14, and I'm planning on candling the eggs (All 12 of them) today, to check for fertility in the chicken eggs and quitters on the quail eggs.
Egg #1 - QUAIL EGGS || Day 14
Egg #2, #3, #4, #5 - QUAIL EGGS || Day 9 or 10 (I'll have to check, I have a calendar marked at home)
Egg #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12 - CHICKEN EGGS || Day 1

Don't expect to see anything candling the chicken eggs yet. If you have a good candler, the room you are candling in is very dark, and the egg shells are white or real light you might see veining on Day 3. Don't do anything dramatic like tossing eggs until the eggs have a much better chance to develop. I don't bother candling my chicken eggs until Day 7 and even them with my dark green eggs I have trouble seeing much.

Good luck with it. I wish you success and hope you avoid staggered hatches in the future. It is so much less stressful.