anyone else got eggs hatching right now? (PHOTOS NOW)

[thecityman]

I'm still quite new to hatching eggs and though I've done it 2-3 times in the past, I forget how incredibly exciting and fun it is!!!! Anyone else going through the thrilling anticipation???
I have about 40 quail eggs that are right on the verge of hatching....actually, one has already knocked the top off its egg but has been laying there for about 6 hours. Still breathing and wiggles a little once in a while. I'm not really worried about it yet. Its white, and I understand from you all that they often hatch first. The 40 that are due to hatch are all Coturnix and/or button (is button technically a coturnix?). I have Texas A & M's, Pharoh, and Tuxedos.... they were all set on Friday, July 30 so today is late on day 16...meaning I guess I'm still a little early for most of them. Because they are coturnix, they are almost impossible to candle...at least for me. SO I honestly have no idea whether all of them are likely to hatch or if only a few are viable. I have seen 3 eggs literally MOVING, kind of rocking, so at least a few seem to be on their way!!! One other one has peeped just a tiny bit.

I also set 9 bobwhites at the same time. They are easy to candle and they were 9 out of 9 alive when I candeled just before lockdown Friday..... BTW...that brings a quick question.....

Because my bobwhites still need to be turned after cortunix should be locked down, I've broken the golden rule of lockdown and opened my bator VERY QUICKLY 2 times per day to turn the BW's each of the last 2 days. How much damage do you think that is doing? Temp recovers quickly and humidity too, but I still worry. I'm thinking that since tomorrow will probably be the big hatch day for the coturnix, I may just not open and not turn the BW at all for that one day....what do you all think? Which would be less harmful....not turning the bobwhites or breaking lockdown on the coturnix on day 17???

Anyway, I hope some of the rest of you are enjoying- or soon will- the thrill of hatching right now!!!! Still feels like I've "created" life, though of course I know I've just facilitated it. Either way, there is nothing quite like seeing those eggs rocking and piping and opening!

 

[bemba]

Cool, I love quail, I have a courtnix hen named Bergarnigle LOL She was the remaining survivor of 12 who had drowned from the person who hatched them.... she was on deaths door when I got her.... stone cold and barely breathing! But with some warmth and lots of TLC she came good and grew really fast, She started laying eggs, and then, wait for it........... She went BROODY, Couldn't believe it, got some fertile eggs and she hatched 5 out of 6, and she raised them to adult size!! AMAZING.

Look, You should'nt really open the bator after lockdown, it is better not to.... BUT I have to admit I do it all the time and I know I shouldn't, nothing bad has come of doing it thus far anyway, as long asa your quick

 

[thecityman]

bemba- thats great about you saving that hen and then her laying and hatching her own eggs!!!! How old was she when she started to lay??? BTW, how in the world did the other person you got her from manage to drown 12 quail??? Did you mean from over-high humidity durring hatch or did they literally drown in water somehow??? Also, I think you're right....I suspect a lot of people know not to break lockdown, tell others not to do it, yet end up doing it themselves at least once or twice!!! But we all know we shouldn't! My case really is a little diffferent, though. Its becuase Bobwhites take several days longer to hatch than coturnix, so they still need turning when Coturnix eggs are due to be locked down. I've operated under the assumption that its better to quickly break lockdown than to not turn my bobwhites, but I'm interested in hearing from others if they think that is true or not???

 

[thecityman]

For anyone else who is currently waiting on eggs in their 'bator.....I for one had forgotten how exciting it is! I feel like a kid again!

I came home for lunch today just to check on them, and its insane! I've got several eggs moving, one chick completely out....and here is the craziest part..... I looked VERY carefully at every egg, and while several had started to pip, none except the one already born had muchmore than the first little hole cracked through. Within 30 minutes (30 MINUTES!!!) one went from the a tiny pin hole to being completely out of his shell and tryingto stand....not just laying there like they usually do after comming out. How in the world can one completely hatch in 30minutes!!!! And Imissed it all!!! Oh well. Can you tell I'm excited! ??? this is what its all about.

 

[thecityman]

I know...its hard to convey the thrill of a hatch unless you are actually experiencing it, so forgive me for having this thread conversation with myself!

But this is only my 2ed quail hatch and obviously I'm overly excited about it! Also, believe it or not, 15 of these quail all hatched out in a 4.5 hour period of time!!! I couldn't even keep up!

One sure way to help the rest of you experience what I'm seeing is via a photo....so here it is. (yes, shame on me for breaking lockdown to get a photo and remove discarded shells...but temp and humidity returned to normal very quickly, so no harm done imho).

 

[bemba]

Hi, I can't remember how old she was but it was not long after she was fully grown, and yes the person who hatched them was actually feeding them parrot handraising mix in a bowl with the consistency of custard.... it got caked all over them, thats how they died, plus a couple did drown in the slop

I have staggered hatches all the time and it hasn't affected them yet anyway (touch wood) Yeah quail seem to literally jump out of the egg

LOL I have King quail also, and they hatch incredibly fast! Currently in my bator I have 65 sebright eggs and 8 pied duck eggs, and yes it is like being a kid in a candy store

LOL PS I will try find some pics of her with her babies, and i'll upload them for you.

 

[bemba]

Wowwww, love the pic.... u have a nice range of colours too, how many more do you think will hatch?

 

[bemba]

also what do bobwhites look like?

 

[thecityman]

I've actually done a quick inspection and know for certain that AT LEAST 10 more are comming...and hopefully more. In fact, that photo taken about 2 hrs ago had 17 (I think) and I'm already at 23 live, fully hatched quail now. And still think I have 10 that have detectable life...maybe more. Looking like my hatch rate is going to be at LEAST 60% and hopefully better. I'm satisfied with that.
Bobwhites are actually my very favorite and I think they are the most beautiful quail of all....but of course that is subjective. As babies they look almost exactly like the Coturnix pharoh (the ones that are mostly black but with some yellow stripes. As adults they look like the "traditional" quail you see in paintings and so on. The white eggs are Bobwhites and take 5-7 days longer to hatch.
thanks for the interest, and best of luck with yours!!!

 

[Denninmi]

Oh, you've got the hatching bug bad now, Cityman, real bad!!!

See what happened all because you got a few turkey eggs!

Congrats on the quail hatch, it sounds like it's going well.