➡ Quail Hatch Along🥚

[RoosterML]

Thanks Rooster. It’s completely stabilised at 13 with all 4 vents open. I’m attempting to try to run dry until first pip.... but 13 seems just too dry? Should I aim for 20?
To get to any other humidity I have to adjust the vents in combination with using some /all the reservoirs, that’s just how the beast works.... its very unlikely all 4 would ever be completely shut.

Is 13 just too low? I’m surprised it’s so low - this is a very old house - I guess it’s the central heating being on.

No aim for 30-35

 

[anvia]

13 is too low..add water and see if that gauge changes.

Also you're mentioning vents. You should have vents open at all times. Were you keeping them closed in previous hatches where you were losing chicks at the end?
Do you have to move them to a different incubator to hatch? Why not just leave them in the one they're in currently?

It has 4 large vents, I think the most I’ve ever had to close at any time be as many as 2 and that was back in high dry summertime.... if I closed all four we’d be looking at near 100% humidity. So I have to close a couple partially to adjust the humidity. It’s just how it works.

The incubator they are in has too many moving parts for my liking.... I can’t remove the auto turner I can only stop it turning. Its instructions also advise not using it to hatch in - so I’ve just believed them! The hatcher is way more suitable for them to live in for the first few days & it does work well.

Kiki - What level of humidity would you suggest? Adjusting humidity isn’t an issue & it will still have plenty of ventilation.

 

[Kiki]

Thanks Rooster. It’s completely stabilised at 13 with all 4 vents open. I’m attempting to try to run dry until first pip.... but 13 seems just too dry? Should I aim for 20?
To get to any other humidity I have to adjust the vents in combination with using some /all the reservoirs, that’s just how the beast works.... its very unlikely all 4 would ever be completely shut.

Is 13 just too low? I’m surprised it’s so low - this is a very old house - I guess it’s the central heating being on.

Yes 13 is too low.
Add a little water and wait ten minutes.

 

[Kiki]

It has 4 large vents, I think the most I’ve ever had to close at any time be as many as 2 and that was back in high dry summertime.... if I closed all four we’d be looking at near 100% humidity. So I have to close a couple partially to adjust the humidity. It’s just how it works.

The incubator they are in has too many moving parts for my liking.... I can’t remove the auto turner I can only stop it turning. Its instructions also advise not using it to hatch in - so I’ve just believed them! The hatcher is way more suitable for them to live in for the first few days & it does work well.

Kiki - What level of humidity would you suggest? Adjusting humidity isn’t an issue & it will still have plenty of ventilation.

I would suggest never closing the vents...ever.
The chicks need air to breathe. I threw my vent plugs in the trash on the first day I got my bator.

I would add water to get it to 30% before you add eggs...with NO vents closed.

Can you take a picture real quick of your incubator?

 

[anvia]

I would suggest never closing the vents...ever.
The chicks need air to breathe. I threw my vent plugs in the trash on the first day I got my bator.

I would add water to get it to 30% before you add eggs...with NO vents closed.

Can you take a picture real quick of your incubator?

 

[Kiki]

You're near hatch time correct?
Don't stress over the humidity level this late in the game.
Keeping it low today isn't going to help a thing if your humidity was too high for the first 15 days.

What is important is that your humidity is stable throughout.
You don't want it to get real low and then spike real high and go back down real low and spike real high again.

Don't move your eggs until you have learned your new incubator meaning learn how much water is going to take to get it up to 50%.

 

[anvia]

Yup the hatcher is an old fashioned beastie. I bought it from a retiring breeder who swore by it. You would never ever have all 4 vents shut ever. I’ll have to partially close at least one to get it to 30% - the vents are about 8x larger than those on any other incubator I’ve ever seen! I genuinely don’t think the ventilation is an issue, it’s ventilation is great. We bought the hatcher to try to solve the problem, we had the chicks failing to pip pre using the separate hatcher.... The hatcher has improved things slightly but I think I’m still setting it to the wrong levels or increasing humidity too soon.

I’ll bring it up to 30 - thanks all!

Yup photo no problem.... if I can work the technology - bear with me...

 

[anvia]

You're near hatch time correct?
Don't stress over the humidity level this late in the game.
Keeping it low today isn't going to help a thing if your humidity was too high for the first 15 days.

What is important is that your humidity is stable throughout.
You don't want it to get real low and then spike real high and go back down real low and spike real high again.

Don't move your eggs until you have learned your new incubator meaning learn how much water is going to take to get it up to 50%.

Humidity has been around 20% the whole time..... they go into lockdown tomorrow. It’s what humidity I should put them in tomorrow - should I raise it to 30 now for the whole of lockdown (previous hatches I’ve aimed for 40 for the whole if the lockdown) or should I keep them at 20 until they pip - but pipping will raise the humidity too.... once they start pipping humidity becomes quite variable.

 

[anvia]

 

[anvia]

So that’s the incubator - the floor is slippery so the tray slides smoothly turning the eggs - it would be a death trap to attempt to hatch the quail inside.... I’d end up with quail stuck in the mechanism & splay legs ect. its simply not designed to hatch in - its designed to function as a continuous incubator & relies on using a seperate hatchery.

so it’s the hatchery I’m setting up now. The hatchery has stabilised dry at 13% - which we all agree is too dry. It’s coming up to 30 now... getting the hatchery to a specific humidity isn’t a problem - I can work it - I just don’t know what humidity is best to aim for! Thanks all for your advice!

soooo if I get the hatchery to 30 to start lockdown ... would you then raise humidity up again at the first pip? Where would you aim to have the humidity rise to at that first pip?