all who are hatching quail

[313759]

Oh Ok that makes sense

 

[yellowherb]

I have 5 coturnix in lockdown from JMF bloodlines, about 15 from my own three hens in the incubator and who knows how many buttons! last count was 22 but I've had more hens since then start laying and I'm getting 6 button eggs a day from them. Had to turn on another incubator. I probably have 40ish buttons incubating.

 

[313759]

I have a Button hen for sale right now. She is laying but I don't have a male to breed her with and I am selling all my quail soon

 

[EJA1]

I'm about to set my first batch of eggs. They were supposed to arrive today, but it looks like it'll be tomorrow. I have a HovaBator, the one that's made out of styrofoam with the plastic tray in it. This tray has channels that you fill with water for humidity. I have a digital thermometer with a probe that I will put inside to monitor the temp, but other than trusting the instructions about which channel to fill and when, how the heck do you actually measure the humidity? Thanks!

 

[yellowherb]

you can often find a little meter at WalMart or other places back near the A/C filters and garden thermometers, that will tell you temperature and humidity. They are not accurate to a T, but people use several humidity probes and do a average. But it's enough to give you a good idea of how high or low your humidity is. This is one that I use (I have several), it's from WalMart and was about $12. Its not REAL accurate, my hatcher has internal readings of temp and humidity so this is just a secondary one. It always shows 1-2 degrees hotter with higher humidity than what I have by a few points.

 

[EJA1]

Thanks Yellowherb! I guess I'll make a trip to Wally World tomorrow.

 

[Aussie-Chook]

I am over-the-moon excited at my very first quail hatch ... under a broody hen!! I have 60 plus chickens, so this is pretty exciting stuff!

PS. They will get their own coop to live in, unless anyone can convince me otherwise!

Read about our experiment (and see more photos) here: http://atr-sp.blogspot.com/2015/06/cheep-cheep-from-some-different-peeps.html

 

[EJA1]

OK, so I got my humidity/temp sensor from Walmart. I unpacked my eggs and only found 3 broken. I've read that you're supposed to leave the eggs sit for a while before putting them in the bator. But, considering my eggs were a day late getting here, which is worse: waiting another day (they shipped from Idaho on Monday) to put them in the bator? or put them in the bator after only 4-5 hrs rest? What say you? Thanks!

Edit: Make that 4 broken. But that's ok, since IDHOUND sent an extra dozen.

 

[yellowherb]

I normally put them fat end up inside the incubator and leave them, no turning, for a day. It works for me and I have better hatch rates that way. I read somewhere that eggs may possibly already be incubating when they arrive (especially with me being in florida). So leaving them out of the bator for those 12 hours would make even less hatch. Since reading that I've left them inside the incubator, with it running, for 24hours upright and they do good. Most of the air cells are reattaching. Using chicken eggs, I forgot to turn off the turner and only had 2/12 hatch..sucks. But if I remember haha! I get 4/6 hatchs.

 

[Gentry1350]

I normally put them fat end up inside the incubator and leave them, no turning, for a day.  It works for me and I have better hatch rates that way.  I read somewhere that eggs may possibly already be incubating when they arrive (especially with me being in florida).  So leaving them out of the bator for those 12 hours would make even less hatch.  Since reading that I've left them inside the incubator, with it running, for 24hours upright and they do good.  Most of the air cells are reattaching.  Using chicken eggs, I forgot to turn off the turner and only had 2/12 hatch..sucks.  But if I remember haha!  I get 4/6 hatchs.

I just did that with chicken eggs too! I popped them in as soon as I got them, but left the turner off for 24 hours. 11 of 15 hatched--pretty good for shipped eggs (NY to TN). And they are a rarer genetic mutation that have been hard to hatch. It worked well for me....