➡ Quail Hatch Along🥚

[CayugaJana]

The yolk floating around is the main reason the eggs need to be turned during incubation correct? When mine are laying on their sides the veining always floats to the top and the fear is the embryo will grow and get anchored to the one spot on the shell. So it’s gets rotated so the embryo grows throughout the egg evenly????

 

[CayugaJana]

I checked tonight and out of 230 eggs, 49 are not fertile. If you count the 12 that came cracked, 62 non-viable eggs right at the beginning. I have to say I’m not so impressed. But maybe I was spoiled with the bobwhites. One batch was about 80% fertile and the other was 100% fertile.

 

[R2elk]

Yes! What R2 said. A man of letters. Sorry ‘bout that. And good to know, Bob. Thanks for that... it definitely makes me feel better that the moving yolk is normal. I thought the chalazae would hold it in place.

To confirm, just candle some of your own eggs.

 

[CindyinSD]

To confirm, just candle some of your own eggs.

I’ve tried, but for some reason I can’t see into my own eggs very well. They’re brown, but not so very dark. Maybe they work better if they’re older and room temp? I have them fresh and warm or a bit older and refrigerated... I’m using a 500 lumen flashlight in an interior room with no windows, so you’d think.... I will try harder...

 

[R2elk]

I’ve tried, but for some reason I can’t see into my own eggs very well. They’re brown, but not so very dark. Maybe they work better if they’re older and room temp? I have them fresh and warm or a bit older and refrigerated... I’m using a 500 lumen flashlight in an interior room with no windows, so you’d think.... I will try harder...

It can be really hard to see the air cells in fresh eggs but if you move the egg around as you are candling you should be able to see the yolk move.

 

[Sara L]

@CoturnixComplex your babies almost gave me a heart attack last night, sleeping like they were dead.

 

[007Sean]

I finally got my fertile (hopefully) chicken eggs at the post office this a.m. I weighed, numbered, & candled them (as best as I could, seeing I don’t know what I’m doing). One was cracked, one was wet, quite a few were either muddy or poopy, nearly all had unmoored yolks (I’m not as certain about that with the darker-shelled ones) and the majority (that I could see) had floating air cells. Some had cryptic symbols written on the ends.

I sanded off the ick (as best I could ), patted the wet one dry (it was also dirty), wrote everything down, and put them all in paper egg cartons, broad ends up, out of the sun, room temp 68F. Then I took the dog to the vet (yearly visit... not sick or anything). I opened the cracked one.

View attachment 1723969
Looks like a few 'blood spots' in that egg.
If that’s a bullseye, it’s a really fuzzy one. It did look more bullseyeish in person, but I’ve never actually seen a fertility bullseye except in a photo or a drawing. Not that it matters. Just curious what y’all think.

I just got home and I’m wondering what to do. The eggs will be lying on their sides in the incubator. I’m worried about the air cells and I read somewhere that if you have loose air cells, you need to let the eggs sit for a time to let them fix into a place.

How long should I let them sit before starting them in the incubator?

Should I put in the one that was wet (and ickish) or should I discard it?

Thanks. It’s so great having y’all to ask... even if you’re just giving your best guess. I really appreciate it.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

@CoturnixComplex your babies almost gave me a heart attack last night, sleeping like they were dead.View attachment 1724688 View attachment 1724689

That's their specialty I'm so happy, I do think you have a pearl! Or a silver-diluted italian, but this silver seems to mask other genes instead of blending so that feels less likely .

 

[ManitobaQuail]

Here's our latest hatch! 17/100 hatched overnight last night (initially we put in 120, and 20 did not make it to lockdown).

If I could also ask a question here: we have three incubators - two forced air and one still air. We typically only use the two forced air for hatching. But now we are thinking about using the still air one as we increase in the # of hatches we do each month.

Here's the question - is the still air incubator better to be used BEFORE or AFTER lockdown? Please share you thoughts and experience! Thank you!

 

[R2elk]

Here's our latest hatch! 17/100 hatched overnight last night (initially we put in 120, and 20 did not make it to lockdown).
View attachment 1724992
If I could also ask a question here: we have three incubators - two forced air and one still air. We typically only use the two forced air for hatching. But now we are thinking about using the still air one as we increase in the # of hatches we do each month.

Here's the question - is the still air incubator better to be used BEFORE or AFTER lockdown? Please share you thoughts and experience! Thank you!

Use the forced air incubators as incubators. Use the still air incubator as a dedicated hatcher.