Abandoned Quail Eggs- Advice Please!

[Nabiki]

I would guess that the day you put them in your incubator was day 1 based on the development your pictures show. Day 14 you should stop turning them, they should hatch around day 17.

 

[Chip76]

Sorry it took so long to reply. I watched the mother bird (there was no man around) sit on the eggs for 10 days. Then she was gone for at least 2 days before I brought the eggs in the house. Then they were under the lamp for 11 days before they hatched. So total 23 days for my guys. Two days before they hatched I could hear them peeping and moving in the shells.

Here's the box they hatched in. Six hatched within 2 hours of each other. Pedro, my female, hatched 4 hours later. They kicked the eggs shells away to the side!


I moved them to this tub on my kitchen table for two weeks while we built their pen. They could easily get out, but if one did, they would all start screaming, so the escapee would be easy to find. They did not like getting out! Most of the time they stayed in. I covered it at night with the 1/2 inch wire stuff so they wouldn't get 'lost' during the night. I never left them home alone during these two weeks.

They would run around the tub all day and gather under the light whenever they got cold. It was June in Phoenix so my house was 80-85 degrees. Outside was 100+ during the day and 80s at night. I was anxious to move them outside so it would be dark at night for them. They were very loud whenever I wasn't sitting at the table with them, including all night. They were so adorable and entertaining. I could watch them all day!

At two weeks old I moved them to the pen we built. It is 8x2x2 feet. There were 6 boys together in this pen.

I moved them outside around 2-3 weeks old. I can't believe how tiny they were! They loved to jump up onto the boxes and fly down. Outside I put branches, dirt, plants, leaves, etc. So much energy! Constantly running, flying and playing in the branches. These guys are not nearly as calm or docile as the other quail breeds seem to be (from what I've observed on this site).


Here's some of my boys at 10 weeks old, shortly before I started taking them outside. By this time they were too big for the pen we made. They needed more room to run and fly.


Here's one of my boys dropping by a few weeks later all grown up and beautiful!


Here's my sweety Pedro with her new boyfriend.


Back to your questions, I don't have experience with the heating pad, but if it is too hot you may be able to cover it with some layers of towel or something to get it to a comfortable temperature. It would be better if you could make a cave out of it, but even flat is better than the lamp all night. The lamp worked ok during the day, but I don't think the chicks liked it on at night. They must not require sleep... I know I didn't get any until they moved outside... If you do move them outside, make sure you can hear them at night. I did have a problem with a cat one night. The cage is animal proof, but the quail may hurt or kill themselves freaking out if something is harassing them.

 

[maxride14]

Sorry it took so long to reply. I watched the mother bird (there was no man around) sit on the eggs for 10 days. Then she was gone for at least 2 days before I brought the eggs in the house. Then they were under the lamp for 11 days before they hatched. So total 23 days for my guys. Two days before they hatched I could hear them peeping and moving in the shells.

Here's the box they hatched in. Six hatched within 2 hours of each other. Pedro, my female, hatched 4 hours later. They kicked the eggs shells away to the side!
View attachment 2101698

I moved them to this tub on my kitchen table for two weeks while we built their pen. They could easily get out, but if one did, they would all start screaming, so the escapee would be easy to find. They did not like getting out! Most of the time they stayed in. I covered it at night with the 1/2 inch wire stuff so they wouldn't get 'lost' during the night. I never left them home alone during these two weeks.
View attachment 2101707
They would run around the tub all day and gather under the light whenever they got cold. It was June in Phoenix so my house was 80-85 degrees. Outside was 100+ during the day and 80s at night. I was anxious to move them outside so it would be dark at night for them. They were very loud whenever I wasn't sitting at the table with them, including all night. They were so adorable and entertaining. I could watch them all day!

At two weeks old I moved them to the pen we built. It is 8x2x2 feet. There were 6 boys together in this pen.
View attachment 2101718
I moved them outside around 2-3 weeks old. I can't believe how tiny they were! They loved to jump up onto the boxes and fly down. Outside I put branches, dirt, plants, leaves, etc. So much energy! Constantly running, flying and playing in the branches. These guys are not nearly as calm or docile as the other quail breeds seem to be (from what I've observed on this site).
View attachment 2101765

Here's some of my boys at 10 weeks old, shortly before I started taking them outside. By this time they were too big for the pen we made. They needed more room to run and fly.
View attachment 2101763

Here's one of my boys dropping by a few weeks later all grown up and beautiful!
View attachment 2101755

Here's my sweety Pedro with her new boyfriend.
View attachment 2101766

Back to your questions, I don't have experience with the heating pad, but if it is too hot you may be able to cover it with some layers of towel or something to get it to a comfortable temperature. It would be better if you could make a cave out of it, but even flat is better than the lamp all night. The lamp worked ok during the day, but I don't think the chicks liked it on at night. They must not require sleep... I know I didn't get any until they moved outside... If you do move them outside, make sure you can hear them at night. I did have a problem with a cat one night. The cage is animal proof, but the quail may hurt or kill themselves freaking out if something is harassing them.

Awesome pictures! So my eggs have been in the incubator for 9 days, but they were at least 9 days older after being abandoned. I'll check with my friend to see if she could tell if they had been sat upon before that. If not, I'm guessing that I still have about a week and a half before they hatch. I just want to make sure I understand correctly, but did you let them out once the pen was outside? Was this when they were able to follow you without leaving, or was that at ten weeks? I was thinking of buying some wire at the store to make a lid for the 10 gallon size brooder (this would be temporary, maybe for the first 2 weeks). I could try to find some wood too. Did you follow instructions to make the pen, or did you just make it on your own? There aren't any cats in my area, so the only animals that would be able to bother them would be snakes or bobcats. It's nice that I'm home for the next two months as well as the summer so I can give them the attention they need. I'm a bit concerned about the noise that they'll make during the day, especially in my house. I'm a teen so I'm still with my parents (who are a little skeptical about all of this) and my siblings. If I keep the brooder in my room during the day, will they make a ton of noise if I'm also in the room? I wouldn't mind keeping it next to my desk while I work if that keeps them quiet. So far, I think the biggest issue right now is trying to make a pen to keep outside.

I would guess that the day you put them in your incubator was day 1 based on the development your pictures show. Day 14 you should stop turning them, they should hatch around day 17.

Thanks, next Sunday I'll stop turning them and take them out of the cartons. I think gambel quail take a longer time to incubate than other quail, but there's a small possibility that they may have developed a little after being abandoned.

 

[Chip76]

I moved the pen outside so early (2.5 weeks) bc it was warmer out there and I only had the lamp. I didn't let the quail out in the yard until I thought they would be ok if they took off (10 weeks). If yours have a warm, dark place to sleep, they should be ok inside. How big is your tank?

Mine were quieter during the day. I work from home so I usually sat at the table with them. They seemed to be scared when they were alone. But that's just my experience. Not sure if it's normal.

Pedro lived in the house with me all the time until she was 4 months old. After the boys moved outside, I heated up a rice bag for her until she had feathers so I could turn the lamp off at night.

 

[Chip76]

I forgot to mention, quail do not like wind, so I wouldn't recommend a fan. Rather, just be sure there are warm and cool places they can get to in their habitat. Also, keep your ceilling fan off when they are out once they can fly.

 

[maxride14]

I moved the pen outside so early (2.5 weeks) bc it was warmer out there and I only had the lamp. I didn't let the quail out in the yard until I thought they would be ok if they took off (10 weeks). If yours have a warm, dark place to sleep, they should be ok inside. How big is your tank?

Mine were quieter during the day. I work from home so I usually sat at the table with them. They seemed to be scared when they were alone. But that's just my experience. Not sure if it's normal.

Pedro lived in the house with me all the time until she was 4 months old. After the boys moved outside, I heated up a rice bag for her until she had feathers so I could turn the lamp off at night.

I forgot to mention, quail do not like wind, so I wouldn't recommend a fan. Rather, just be sure there are warm and cool places they can get to in their habitat. Also, keep your ceilling fan off when they are out once they can fly.

The tank is only ten gallons, which is why I'm worried that they're going to grow out of it too quickly. If by four weeks they're too big, I can move them to a tote, which is 25.25x17x15 (inches). The tote won't have the heating pad but they might be warm enough by then to not need an extra heat source at night, or I'll just use the heat lamp at night. For now, I'm trying to figure out how I can make a cave around the heating pad in the tank. I know I can use a cloth as a covering, but I don't have wire to form the cave.

 

[maxride14]

I found a guide here that showed the daily development of cortunix eggs and I think the one I saw yesterday looked closest to days 6-8. I'll check some of them again on Friday. I think that some are behind a little in development because they didn't all look like they had movement. They looked darker in the middle and had the air pockets, but there wasn't any other development besides that. Either they're unfertilized or just a little behind.

 

[maxride14]

Checked the eggs again today. I tried to sort them based on development. I saw movement in about 5, and the rest of them seem less developed. They're orange in the middle but some of them don't have a definitive spot where I can tell that they're growing. Did they die after being abandoned, or are they unfertilized? Maybe they're still alive and I can't tell. One egg seems a lot more developed than the others... almost the entire shell is dark except for the very tip. I can see veins at the end, but the chick must be pretty big in there. Would it be normal in this circumstance to have the chicks be born on different days due to differing levels of development? Even if I only get about half of the eggs to hatch, I think that's a good amount since I don't want to be too overrun. If I post a pic of the really developed one, do you guys think you can tell how long it has left in the egg? I didn't take pics because I didn't want to candle them for too long (or leave them out of the incubator), but I can do it tonight when I turn them again.

 

[maxride14]

Today is day 14 in the incubator, so I'm going to take them out of the cartons today and lay them flat on the paper towels. I'll continue to turn them until they hatch since humidity isn't an issue. I'll resist the temptation to candle them one last time lol. My hope is that I have some hatched quails by the end of next week!

 

[maxride14]

Update: I went to the store today and bought 1.5 lbs of gamebird crumble (28% protein), a water feeder, and wire to be the lid for the brooder. It's big enough to work for the tote if I use that eventually. I'm ready to go when these eggs hatch, although I might have to take them out a little early since there's a gap between the incubator door and the shelves, and I'm worried they might get stuck. If that happens, I'll probably have to intervene and take them out.