Any hope for the anxious novice?

[Xouie]

It's been a long time since i've raised buttons, but I remember sometimes they could take 18 days to hatch, depending on as @JaeG put it so well, the journey they had.

Don't despair that you're having a tough first hatch. My first hatch was fine... the 3rd, 25th, and 80-ish ones (I've lost count, just making up numbers here) maybe not so great. The point is that glitches and rough patches with incubation happen to everybody; don't get discouraged and give up.

Give the farmer batch a couple more days. If there are no external pips by late on day 18, I'd say they're done. Hopefully you get a bunch of fuzzy little bumblebees from the ebay batch.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Can you candle quail eggs? Floating is dangerous and ineffective.

 

[Xouie]

Can you candle quail eggs? Floating is dangerous and ineffective.

Overall yes, they can be candled, but because of their size and that many button eggs are very dark it tends to be difficult to get a good look.

 

[Peskypigeon]

Can you candle quail eggs? Floating is dangerous and ineffective.

Yes you can, it’s just a bit more difficult with all the little speckles and how dark they can be. My candling has proven to be just slightly more difficult than a chicken egg. Be sure the room is dark, but even your phone camera light will be perfect to see inside!

 

[JaeG]

With the egg you can see into can you see any veins under the air cell? That's a good sign. If the chick inside dies it will sink towards the narrow end of the egg leaving a watery gap between it and the bottom of the air cell with no veins visible. If it still looks full under the air cell then that's a good sign too. But I had a Button hen who laid dark green eggs and I could never see what was happening inside them. Very frustrating.

 

[Peskypigeon]

With the egg you can see into can you see any veins under the air cell? That's a good sign. If the chick inside dies it will sink towards the narrow end of the egg leaving a watery gap between it and the bottom of the air cell with no veins visible. If it still looks full under the air cell then that's a good sign too. But I had a Button hen who laid dark green eggs and I could never see what was happening inside them. Very frustrating.

With the egg that I can see inside of- the shadow is towards the blunt end. But I can’t see if there are veins. That goes for the 16 batch as well, so it’s half-blind I suppose.

 

[JaeG]

With the egg that I can see inside of- the shadow is towards the blunt end. But I can’t see if there are veins. That goes for the 16 batch as well, so it’s half-blind I suppose.

Their beautiful shells do make candling difficult and it's very frustrating not being able to tell what's going on. I'd give them at least a few more days.

 

[Peskypigeon]

Additional note- I am at high elevation. Apparently 5,412. The first batch was from Connecticut and the second is from PA. How can I help them hatch at such a higher altitude...?

 

[JaeG]

I found this for you. It looks like you need a higher humidity if the eggs have come from somewhere with a lower altitude to yours and incubation can take longer.
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/arti...roblems facing,increasing altitude (Figure 1).

 

[Peskypigeon]

I found this for you. It looks like you need a higher humidity if the eggs have come from somewhere with a lower altitude to yours and incubation can take longer.
https://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/incubating-eggs-at-high-altitudes#:~:text=The extra loss of carbon,appear to affect the embryo.&text=Thus, the main problems facing,increasing altitude (Figure 1).

Okay, Thank you. That’s actually good- I know it has always been higher for the second batch since the start (and they showed better development signs on day 10). Right now, the humidity is at 76% with all the slots filled with water (lockdown for the first batch).