1 out of 30 eggs hatched

[gafultz]

Hi guys!
This was my first try at starting my own covey of quail for eggs and meat. I got 30 eggs, 15 from a local farm and another 15 from a farm a bit further away. Didn’t mean to get two different batches but they’re about 2 days apart. Out of the first batch, only 1 hatched, on day 19. None have come from the second batch. But now I just have one singular quail. I went from trying to get “livestock” to having a pet.
But the lil guy is super lonely, he sleeps in front of the mirror I got for him, because he wouldn’t stop screaming (I assumed looking for his flock). I’ve searched every where to try and find another person with chicks to either give him to or to separate their flock. Can’t find anything. I’m questioning now if I can purposefully get more eggs and hatch them faster? Maybe day 15 instead of 18/19? Any advice? Ideas? The eggs are still in the incubator, the second batch is day 21, and I keep hoping but there’s no movement or pips.
Also a photo for some guilt tripping

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I assume you are talking about coturnix quail rather than button or new world quail like California or bobwhite.
If that's the case, I'd say your incubator was too cool.

 

[cavemanrich]

Something must be wrong with your incubator, or you have insufficient knowledge about hatching.
Please do not take this as offensive statement. We all have to learn somehow.
Can you contact someone that has hatched quail before for some help/advice.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[Susan Skylark]

Get some cheap hygrometer/thermometer units on Amazon and throw them in your incubator, for ten bucks it will save a ton of headache. They aren’t precisely calibrated but if all three are running fairly close it is fairly accurate, don’t trust the incubator temp! Even if you hatched chicks two weeks from now he’d be too big to put with them. I hatched 4/5 males my first time and they beat up the hen so bad I had to separate her permanently and treat her for conjunctivitis for a week. I had another batch a few weeks younger and put her with them (thankfully a gentle bird) but otherwise she’d sulk and was unhappy. Could you find it a home at one of the source farms? It is hard being a small producer and having one quail! Don’t give up though, I had 1 quail from the first batch and ended up with a flock of 17 after the second hatch (thermometers!).

 

[Nabiki]

This little guy is going to need a lot of attention. You can try a couple things to help it be less lonely in addition to the mirror. You can give it a small stuffed animal to cuddle up with or you can try putting a feather duster in the corner for it to cuddle under.

As for the incubation problem, did you candle at all during incubation? That will let you know if the problem is the eggs or the incubation. Since they were local eggs and from two different batches, I am going to guess that the problem was in the incubation.

Here is an article that may help you.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coturnix-incubation-tips.76184/

 

[gafultz]

Get some cheap hygrometer/thermometer units on Amazon and throw them in your incubator, for ten bucks it will save a ton of headache. They aren’t precisely calibrated but if all three are running fairly close it is fairly accurate, don’t trust the incubator temp! Even if you hatched chicks two weeks from now he’d be too big to put with them. I hatched 4/5 males my first time and they beat up the hen so bad I had to separate her permanently and treat her for conjunctivitis for a week. I had another batch a few weeks younger and put her with them (thankfully a gentle bird) but otherwise she’d sulk and was unhappy. Could you find it a home at one of the source farms? It is hard being a small producer and having one quail! Don’t give up though, I had 1 quail from the first batch and ended up with a flock of 17 after the second hatch (thermometers!).

I had 6 different thermometor and hygrometer's in the incubator. On Day 12 of my notes I have Incubator at 104 39%, Accurite 99 43%, Taylor 95.8 51%, Reptology 98 46% and a cheap Taylor Mercury at 96 degrees. I think a few days later I got a Pets Pride Brooder mercury one.
All the locals around me are not hatching any and have their own older flocks. So mine would be the youngest in the area. I think it's something like a 200 mile radius around me that i've called and messaged.

 

[gafultz]

This little guy is going to need a lot of attention. You can try a couple things to help it be less lonely in addition to the mirror. You can give it a small stuffed animal to cuddle up with or you can try putting a feather duster in the corner for it to cuddle under.

As for the incubation problem, did you candle at all during incubation? That will let you know if the problem is the eggs or the incubation. Since they were local eggs and from two different batches, I am going to guess that the problem was in the incubation.

Here is an article that may help you.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coturnix-incubation-tips.76184/

Thank you. He's not a big fan of the stuffed animals i've got, but i'm looking for a feather duster or something like it. I did candle the day I switched into lockdown, and i think it was a 50/50, about half of them lit up really bright.

 

[007Sean]

Thank you. He's not a big fan of the stuffed animals i've got, but i'm looking for a feather duster or something like it. I did candle the day I switched into lockdown, and i think it was a 50/50, about half of them lit up really bright.

Impossible to hatch anything if they are not fertile!
Everyone gets caught up in the hatch rate game but should be more concerned about the fertility rate!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I had 6 different thermometor and hygrometer's in the incubator. On Day 12 of my notes I have Incubator at 104 39%, Accurite 99 43%, Taylor 95.8 51%, Reptology 98 46% and a cheap Taylor Mercury at 96 degrees. I think a few days later I got a Pets Pride Brooder mercury one.
All the locals around me are not hatching any and have their own older flocks. So mine would be the youngest in the area. I think it's something like a 200 mile radius around me that i've called and messaged.

So you have learned your lesson. One reliably accurate thermometer is cheaper than 6 erroneous ones. I originally went that route and it didn't work. You never know which one to trust.
Contrary to the name, Accurites aren't accurate. At least not accurate enough for incubation.

 

[cavemanrich]

So you have learned your lesson. One reliably accurate thermometer is cheaper than 6 erroneous ones. I originally went that route and it didn't work. You never know which one to trust.
Contrary to the name, Accurites aren't accurate. At least not accurate enough for incubation.

I have a feeling that the cheap mercury one was the most accurate. Those are easy to check. Just check personal body temperature. If it doesn't show 98.6°F.. than it is off