Adding more eggs in incubator.

[savannahRoos22]

Can I add more button quail eggs into my incubator? My friend has some she wants to hatch, and they cant set for much longer i think. All my current eggs are in lockdown right now. So the humidity is on high end. Can the high humidity effect or drown them at the start of the growing embryo in these new chicks? And do you suggest not doing it?

 

[naf_appaz]

The humidity should not be a problem as long as you get it lowered when the current eggs hatch....high humidity for a few days is alright as long as air cells are where they should be when you get close to hatching the late additions. That being said you could have problems from contamination as the first hatchers leave some fluid and birth membrane in your incubator that could very well contaminate the eggs that would still need a couple weeks to go.

 

[Bryam]

Put them in!

 

[naf_appaz]

Probably best to wait until your current hatch is done and sanitize your incubator prior to starting another batch...I never hatched button quail but hatched plenty of Texas A&M's. fresh laid eggs can be viable for up to 2 weeks or more if you can store them around 55 to 60 degrees...no need to rock or turn them as long as you can keep them cool small end down.

 

[savannahRoos22]

Probably best to wait until your current hatch is done and sanitize your incubator prior to starting another batch...I never hatched button quail but hatched plenty of Texas A&M's. fresh laid eggs can be viable for up to 2 weeks or more if you can store them around 55 to 60 degrees...no need to rock or turn them as long as you can keep them cool small end down.

And when you incubate your chickens, with the egg turning, do you turn them side to side or vertical? I've heard of both.

 

[savannahRoos22]

The humidity should not be a problem as long as you get it lowered when the current eggs hatch....high humidity for a few days is alright as long as air cells are where they should be when you get close to hatching the late additions. That being said you could have problems from contamination as the first hatchers leave some fluid and birth membrane in your incubator that could very well contaminate the eggs that would still need a couple weeks to go.

Thank you so much for all this information! Can you please please explain the air cells deeper? And high humidity for the few days? I dont quite understand.

 

[naf_appaz]

either or, I prefer to use a rack with large end up and then lay them on their side at lock down and no longer rock them after lockdown. I do not use a turner but rock my whole incubator from side to side manually 3 or four times a day....first few days it is not necessary to turn them. The critical time for turning is after day 3 to lock down. I have missed turning them many times during that period and still had good hatch rate.

 

[savannahRoos22]

either or, I prefer to use a rack with large end up and then lay them on their side at lock down and no longer rock them after lockdown. I do not use a turner but rock my whole incubator from side to side manually 3 or four times a day....first few days it is not necessary to turn them. The critical time for turning is after day 3 to lock down. I have missed turning them many times during that period and still had good hatch rate.

What bulb wattage do you use in your chick brooder? Mines about 16 inches tall from the heat lamp to the chicks.

 

[naf_appaz]

You can find an air cell chart on line or someone might post one for you as I'm at work. But as the egg matures to hatching, the air cell should proportionately grow if you have to much humidity for to long in the early stages the air cell does not get large enough for the chicks to hatch and they will drown before they can get out...just search "embryo development chart" online and it will show you for what day of incubation how big approx. the air cell should be....if its to small you need to lower humidity

 

[naf_appaz]

I do not use a bulb I use a reptile brooder heater...it is like a bulb...it fits in a bulb fixture but emits no light. I prefer them to having light on 24 hrs. a day. I put a light on a timer to simulate day and night. This way he chicks I think get better rest. I have a 100 watt for first week or two then cut down to 50 watt last couple weeks. you have to adjust distance from chicks for an ideal of 100 degrees directly under it....the chicks will tell you if they are fine. If to hot they will stay away from under it, to cold they will huddle together directly under it...use a thermometer to adjust it. Rule of thumb start with 100 degrees under it out of the incubator then raise enough to lower temp about 5 degrees a week for chickens, quail mature faster and you can speed the process up by half. If you don't wean them off the heat to some degree they won't feather up as fast