4 week old eggs, did not turn them

[mrbstephens]

I'd been storing bobwhite quail eggs, point side down in the basement for weeks while waiting to have enough to fill the whole incubator (120 eggs). Some of the eggs were 4 weeks old and I totally forgot about turning them. I set all of the eggs and candled after one week. Almost all of them are developing. Am I going to have deformities due to not turning the eggs?

 

[TwoCrows]

Turning the eggs before incubation helps keep the stuff inside the yolk suspended and helps with proper placement of the air cell at the top of the egg. I would think that is would be more likely to have no or few develop than have deformaties since things were not developing at that point. However since you are already seeing development, then I don't think you will have trouble in that area. It is possible that some of the nutrients did not distribute evenly because you didn't turn them before hand, however as the embryo grows, they send out a lot of veins in search of food inside the yolk.

So all this being said, I think the ones that are developing will be fine. However, please keep us posted so that we all can learn from your experiences.

 

[mrbstephens]

I was very much surprised. I had set the eggs with a group of friends and their kids as a fun and educational experience. After setting them I read about the age of the eggs needing to be no more than 14 days and then DUH, forgot about turning the eggs. So, I expected to see development in maybe half of them. To my surprise, we saw veining in almost all of the 120 eggs!

 

[TwoCrows]

Yeah, I am very surprised you have any development at all. LOL 4 weeks is a long time. BUT, if the eggs were stored just right, they CAN still hatch, even though normally the fertility drops. Go figure!

Good luck with the hatch!

 

[mrbstephens]

Thank you! We're already half way there. Will keep you posted.

 

[mrbstephens]

Here is the update!!! I went into lockdown with 111 eggs (9 had been infertile so I removed those). 94 of them hatched!!! WOOHOO! I think it was quite successful for eggs that were this old and had never been turned till they went into the incubator.

 

[remcbride]

I'm new to this and still in a learning stage. So, in the wild do the wild hens role their eggs?? I know they dont delay the hatch or store their eggs..

 

[TwoCrows]

I'm new to this and still in a learning stage. So, in the wild do the wild hens role their eggs?? I know they dont delay the hatch or store their eggs..

Welcome to BYC and the quail forums!

Yes, in the wild a hen would lay an egg everyday for however many eggs she wishes to have in her clutch. The size of the clutch depends on environmental factors such as how much rain has been falling, are there a good source of bugs, has enough ground crops been growing, air temperature, ect...The nature of the nest building allows the eggs to lay on a slant toward the middle of the nest as she positions them large end up. When all the eggs have been laid, she will then start incubating them, turning them about once an hour.

 

[TwoCrows]

Here is the update!!! I went into lockdown with 111 eggs (9 had been infertile so I removed those). 94 of them hatched!!! WOOHOO! I think it was quite successful for eggs that were this old and had never been turned till they went into the incubator.

Amazing! Those eggs were obviously stored at such a perfect temp and humidity level that they did survive. As normally eggs just don't retain their fertility being stored anywhere that long. Good job!

 

[remcbride]

Consider me educated.. thanks two crows