‘Calving ease’ quail?

[Susan Skylark]

In cattle you can breed for ‘calving ease’ or smaller calf size at birth, but it is basically selecting for cows that calve earlier than average (therefore a smaller calf). I wonder if this might exist in birds (not expecting a factual answer, just your experience and observations)? I’m hatching 4 eggs at the moment, 3 from the same male all hatched within 2 hours of one another while the other male’s egg is only pipped 10 hours later (I know an n of four isn’t significant!). All laid the same day, all from different hens, all incubated the same (moved around the incubator as well so no egg remained indefinitely in one spot). This is only day 16 too. Curious to hear your ideas!

 

[Kiki]

Do you have calibrated instruments in your bator?

What type of quail?

 

[Susan Skylark]

I have three thermometer/hygrometers if that’s what you mean, all register within .2 degrees and a percentage point of humidity of one another. The temp has been consistent but humidity has been a struggle. The one male’s chicks all hatched within an hour or two of one another, the other egg 24 hours later. Maybe just coincidence but thought it was interesting.

 

[007Sean]

Can't really 'breed' for that trait! Some birds lay smaller eggs, some lay larger, there are some species that are larger in size and weight, they tend to lay larger than a 'standard' size egg for that species.

Most breeders want larger birds = larger eggs and larger chick's and usually have better, stronger genetics than smaller, frail specimens of the same species.

 

[Susan Skylark]

Not worried about size, rather earlier or later hatching. Obviously egg size is fixed (unlike gestational length but shorter gestation equals smaller calf). I doubt hatching date correlates with Egg size, rather is there a genetic component to hatching earlier or later than average (apart from external conditions like temp, etc). And if so could you theoretically select for it (no idea why you would!). Completely philosophical here, I love the whatifs!

 

[007Sean]

Not worried about size, rather earlier or later hatching. Obviously egg size is fixed (unlike gestational length but shorter gestation equals smaller calf). I doubt hatching date correlates with Egg size, rather is there a genetic component to hatching earlier or later than average (apart from external conditions like temp, etc). And if so could you theoretically select for it (no idea why you would!). Completely philosophical here, I love the whatifs!

Earlier or later hatches are in correlation with temperatures. Egg size has nothing to do with incubation periods. Various species incubation periods have been around since the beginning of avies, so no amount of experimentation will change the incubation periods other than the afore mentioned external condition of temperature control.