AMAZING SURVIVALS of super though coturnix species

[pascopol]

I been raising coturnix on and off for last 5 years, and in no way claiming I am an expert on them, but I will say that: They are little tought creatures.
My firts hatch years ago. One somehow fell down on the floor in the evening or afternoon, while I was removing a batch from my bator without me taking notice. That was in winter, even in Fl nights are chilli, room temp was about 68-70 at the time. Next day I noticed it on the floor peeping still alive, put it back in the bator and it was OK.
Then, my last hatch, took forever, 3 days and counting. I gave up on about 15 eggs out of 69. Tossed them in the plastic bucket with intention of doing autopsy later. That was yeasterday. Today I hear peeping coming from that room. One hatched in that bucket, fluffy dry, and alive, room temp was about 78-80 overnight. Hatched and survived about 16 hrs out of the bator.

There is a thread here somebody stating: Coturnix eggs will hatch sitting next to a bator. I would not argue with that! LOL Also I never lost one to natural causes like deseases old age etc. only accidents of my fault (drowning, strangling trying to pass through 1/2 inch wire etc.)

I noticed my coturnix hatches always start on 17 day not on 16 as most books say. Colder bator is out of question since I monitor the temp with digital AND quality mercury analog thermometer, also my chick hatches always come on 20th or 21st day under same conditions.

Also my coturnix hatches drags for 2 or 3 days, and still strong healthy chicks emerge.

With chickens those late ones either require help or hatch but they are weak and either die later or are culls anyway.

Can you guys share your amazing stories of quail survival here?

 

[Denninmi]

Well, I'm pretty new to quail. I have hatched two batches of buttons and two batches of Coturnix, the first was in early July, the last was at the end of August. I have a mixed batch of button and coturnix eggs in the incubator right now that should start hatching Wednesday or Thursday next week. I'm anxious to see how these hatch, as they are my own home-grown eggs from the first birds to start to lay at 6 weeks, which amazed me in and of itself. The previous were all shipped eggs, with hatch rates between 25 and 50 per cent.

But, I do have one little "survival story" -- on my 2nd hatch of buttons, I was going through them checking for pips (I know, I have since learned NOT to disturb them so much), and I picked on egg up, dropped it from my big, clumsy hands, and it fell on top of the plastic dome-shaped incubator lid, rolled down the incubator to the table below, rolled off the edge of the table, dropped the 2 1/2 feet roughly to the floor, rolled across the floor a distance of like 8 to 12 feet and came to rest under my computer desk. I was sure it would be smashed and dead, since I saw it noticeably "bounce" when it first hit the incubator lid, and again when it hit the table and floor. But, it wasn't smashed or cracked, so I put it back in. About 12 hours later, a perfectly normal and healthy button quail chick hatched from this egg -- I called him/her "Lucky" and he or she is now about six weeks old (can't tell the gender due to the coloration).

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

That would be My Delima. She was 1st to hatch on day 15. She started the early hatch. She was one of my first eggs from the Coturnix I had, they had just started laying the week before I set the eggs that I bought. I stuck 10 of my eggs in too.

I don't remember how old they were I think 2-3 days. The hatch was still going on. I went in to check on them and she was on the floor of the brooder and a Jumbo Brown was bouncing on top of her like a Sumo wrestler. Her wing was down and she was dragging a leg. Later she was down on the floor of the brooder dirty and wet.

JJMR had recently told about one of his that had gotten wet and he tried using a blow dryer on, and he had lost it. So I knew not to try that (I do with chicken chicks). That would have been what I would have tried.

So instead, I ran warm water over her so as not to chill her and to clean her up. Wash cloth to get the worst of the wet off her. Then I put her back into the bator. I sacrificed the rest of the hatch probably, but she is not only alive but her wing and leg healed and the next morning back she went with the others. She is the only female Manchurian Gold from that hatch and if not for that I wouldn't be able to tell her from the rest. She's fine now. And she is still My Delima cause now I have to put her with the older M. Golds, she's a keeper.

So, now I may just keep the bator running for a few days after the hatch. Just in case I end up with another Sumo. I bet he's the one that keeps flying out of pen on me. He is going to taste so good.

 

[Stellar]

I was in my 2 bedroom apartment in college. One room was for the animals, the other for me. I had 100+ quail eggs in the incubator and they were due to hatch...Power went out! I quickley put a blanket over the incubator...this was a 24 hour outage. A squirrel fried in the box I was told (YUCK!)....when I woke up (decided the eggs would be goners and went to bed) I heard chirping...I opened the incubator to 85 babies!!! I would say that was a great hatch! LOL! This was my stock of reds, fawns, red tuxes

Great great day.