Omg! My mama coturnix has hatched her chicks!!

[crimsonmama]

Wow! I went to work this morning and just got home and I counted about six little chicks in the nest under mama! She had 11 eggs so there could be more hatched or still to hatch. I tried to get a pic but they all disappeared hiding under her now I'm home lol.

Some are yellow! Which I believe are the ones that will be english white adults. Is this possible? My female is Manchurian gold and the dad Pharaoh (common brown). Well I guess the is as they are her eggs!

 

[drumstick diva]

Congratulations

 

[Dani xxx]

Amazing u are overrun with babies now

 

[DK newbie]

Congrats! As far as I know, the white mutation is recessive, so theoretically both mommy and daddy could carry the gene without being white, but when both of them gives the gene to a chick, the chick will be white. I think the manchurian gold chicks are mostly yellow though, so if you didn't get a good look at them you might have missed a few darker spots and stripes..

 

[crimsonmama]

Update: she left the nest for some water and I got a good look inside! She has seven chicks and an eighth was squashed dead!! I removed it and the empty egg shells. The 7 chicks are two whites, four yellow with stripes (golden like mum) and only one brown! There are still three eggs left. Mama is still sitting on the nest so I figured give it another day to see if any more eggs hatch or else maybe they are the duds?

I also have nine chicks I incubated so yes I am overrun with chicks at the mo lol. The amount of eating and pooping they do I don't know how people manage when they incubate and hatch like 200 quails!!!! Lol

 

[Binki]

Haha awwww congrats !!!

 

[crimsonmama]

Managed to get a pic! I removed the nest box as the sides were too high for the chicks to follow mama! Put some fresh hay in the corner. Went to remove dud eggs and one wiggled! So the three eggs left might still hatch yet!!

 

[Binki]

Managed to get a pic! I removed the nest box as the sides were too high for the chicks to follow mama! Put some fresh hay in the corner. Went to remove dud eggs and one wiggled! So the three eggs left might still hatch yet!!

Hehe awww she looks just like my neurotic loving Golden Girl

Thanks for the pic lol any update on the eggs?

 

[crimsonmama]

Yes! And need help!!! The egg that wiggled pipped yesterday but it still hasn't zipped or hatched!! Is it stuck?? The other two eggs I think are duds. Maybe I should water test or candle them? All the eggs feel cold when mama just got off them this morning. But the pipped one is still alive. Should I try to help it or just leave it? I could put it in my incubater and if it makes it try to sneak it back to mama???

 

[DK newbie]

In my experience, eggs that haven't hatched when mum leaves the nest won't hatch without help. I'd put it in the incubator, yes. But I wouldn't help it hatch, unless I really, really wanted that chick and it did nothing on its own. If it can keep up, I think you stand a good chance of being able to introduce it back to mum afterwards.