➡ Quail Hatch Along🥚

[el dorado quail]

Welcome! I can’t answer your incubator questions as I haven’t attempted diy yet, but we have a lot of resident experts here that I’m sure will be happy to help! As for brooding, I don’t recommend heat plate as my 1 time using it for quail, I lost about half my hatch! Heat pad and/or lights (most here like ceramic reptile bulbs) work much better. Baby quail are dumb and will always find new and inventive ways to murder themselves! Myshire farm has great you tube videos to help you also to avoid some of the quail brooding pitfalls!

Oh God if I lost half the babies because they killed themselves with the plate..idk what I'd do.
I've seen the reptile ceramic bulbs before so I might go with those especially because they seem to be significantly less expensive

 

[Kiki]

I've read that thread and another, they're rather general as to temp/humidity monitoring. And I was just wondering if there are any tricks with quail incubating

For me I run my bator dry.
I keep the humidity levels at 25-30 max and only bump it to 45-50 max for hatching.
You won't know what works for your bator and your house until you try it.
Start with just a few cheap or free eggs.

 

[Kiki]

Oh God if I lost half the babies because they killed themselves with the plate..idk what I'd do.
I've seen the reptile ceramic bulbs before so I might go with those especially because they seem to be significantly less expensive

I use a regular old light bulb with a clippy lamp that I plug into a reptile thermostat.

 

[dpenning]

I think I knew that too.
Hers dumb.

LMAO! Can't argue with you there. We always wonder what is hiding behind the 1000 faces of the Lucy Goose.

 

[RUNuts]

For me I run my bator dry.
I keep the humidity levels at 25-30 max and only bump it to 45-50 max for hatching.
You won't know what works for your bator and your house until you try it.
Start with just a few cheap or free eggs.

@el dorado quail Kiki uses a still air. I use forced air and keep the humidity 45-55% inside with the AC running. I'm at 30 feet elevation and Kiki is a little lower and an hour away. Are you running still air or forced air? It makes a difference.

Temperature is 99.5°F on 3 calibrated thermometers. If you use 2, you don't know which one it lying. Set your incubator up and run it for a week. Maximum temperature adjusts is once every 12 hours. Keep it in a draft free place away from AC vents, windows, sunlight and anything else that will effect temperature. After a week of stable running (meaning no thermostat changes). Add water and dial in the humidity.

If you can keep it stable temperature and humidity wise for a week. Get eggs.

Good luck, best wishes and we want pictures. Cheers!

 

[RUNuts]

@el dorado quail
I read an article that says you should source eggs from close to your same elevation for best success. Preferred, but eggs are shipped all over the continent.

Search on here and the chicken incubator stuff applies to all eggs. Have fun, this is a blast.

 

[RUNuts]

9 weeks old and I have a male quail crowing his fool head off. Loud little guy. So I separated the males, chose the largest one that happened to be the one crowing. Close call between 2 males. Pretty cool to watch him scream. 4 fems with 1 male for batch #1.

The smallest boy's backside was picked. The second largest also had a small bald spot starting. This is new. I had not noticed either of these before. The females look fine. Will be watching this. I'll guess the one crowing was chasing the others away. It worked.

Batch #2 is at 7 weeks. Then 3 more males to the table and combine the 10 girls and 2 boys in the 2'x8' palace.

 

[Kiki]

9 weeks old and I have a male quail crowing his fool head off. Loud little guy. So I separated the males, chose the largest one that happened to be the one crowing. Close call between 2 males. Pretty cool to watch him scream. 4 fems with 1 male for batch #1.

The smallest boy's backside was picked. The second largest also had a small bald spot starting. This is new. I had not noticed either of these before. The females look fine. Will be watching this. I'll guess the one crowing was chasing the others away. It worked.

Batch #2 is at 7 weeks. Then 3 more males to the table and combine the 10 girls and 2 boys in the 2'x8' palace.

No noise from the few I have left here.
No eggs yet either.

 

[RUNuts]

No noise from the few I have left here.
No eggs yet either.

Myself. Nary an egg.
Chickens are kicking butt.

I'm still fiddling with the idea of ordering some Jumbos. Fiddling. Need to decide on chicks. Now that you hatched horsies, I'm having issues. No broody in sight.

Want 5 hens. 5 is prime.
50% males = 10 eggs set.
Chicken rancher had 50% fertility last year = 20 eggs set.
Incubator holds 42. Therefore, round up to 42 for 5 hens. QED.

Chicken Math is so simple.

 

[Sara L]

@el dorado quail I'm in Auburn, around 1000 elevation, if you want some eggs I have jumbos and a bunch of colors. I usually don't add water until lockdown, then try to get around 60-70 humidity. I have a forced air incubator I made using an ice chest, two light bulbs, a computer fan, and an Inkbird thermostat. Thermostat can be bought on Amazon or eBay for less than $20.