Broody Quail Hen Success!

[le_bwah]

Got 14 celadon eggs under diligent broody mama Janey—now it's Day 17, and I can hear the shells being chipped open beneath her. She's been so good! Candled at Day 9, a few empties but didn't pull them out (learned hard way that taking eggs can break the broody even if the rest of the clutch is viable , had to "hot swap" hens to save the clutch).

Here she is on break, note the poops


I want to take a peek under her SOOOOOO badly, but I know they'll hatch in their own time (if they hatch at all) and I'd hate to spook her off her nest at this stage. Held a couple eggs to my ear last night while she was dust bathing, heard the scrape of little beaks on shell. I'll post pics if anybody pops out!

 

[thecatumbrella]

That's so exciting! Good luck and post update photos!

 

[le_bwah]

It's happening!

Went out to check on her and this little critter ran right up to me:


Had to pop it back with Janey, wanted to wander right into danger.

Mama has 1-2 others drying off under her, one more zipping. Didn't want to spook her off the nest, but got a peek behind the curtain:


She's making that unique "mama hen" noise they all seem to do at hatch, like they're calling their babies out. I can upload a video if anybody wants audio (no visuals, cloth and tag blocked the lens).

Fingers crossed for more!

 

[le_bwah]

There're more!


Secret bonus chick #4, pale little critter halfway out:

 

[Nabiki]

It's so nice to see a successful broody mother!

 

[le_bwah]

It's so nice to see a successful broody mother!

Thank you! So pleased. Every broody I've given eggs to has hatched a fourth to a third of their clutch. Often the non-hatchers are empty or early quitters. I do "eggtopsies" to figure out where things went wrong, and have found only two fully-developed chicks that failed to hatch.

But I think I counted six or seven fluffy babies last I peeked in there—out of 14, half would be fantastic, especially given they all shipped with terrible saddled air cells.

 

[le_bwah]

The numbers are in......4 hatched! One never made it out (pipped upside down AND hit a vessel), and the rest were mysteriously empty—just yolk and huge, saddle-shaped air cells. Never had that many fail to even start developing, kinda odd. I'll try a different breeder next time.



Moved mom and chicks into a sectioned-off part of the aviary. The chick with the most white is a bit runty, but they're all super calm—tolerated handing much better than some.

Janey's already doing all the things a mama hen should (like tidbitting, but she's got no takers—I think they're still working on their yolks). She did a great job, and I'd totally give her eggs next year.

This is one of the most fun parts of raising quail. But the kind of flock I've maintained for 7 years works best with no roos, so I'm hoping at least one of these critters is female

 

[Esc_Quaily]

@le_bwah thanks for sharing Janey's story. You have some beautiful chicks there. Congratulations

 

[007Sean]

Congratulations, I know how exciting it is to see a broody actually hatch their own!