Best incubator for quail

[Birdinhand]

Hello all, I’ve been dipping my toes in the realm of quail… I just have to say, I had no idea there were so many types and that there is a super jumbo version that people breed for meat that tops out at about 1 lb! This is a game changer for me. The only viable source of Cornish cross that I’ve found near me (I’m in Seattle) stopped selling them. This made me motivated to once again look at breeding my own source of meet bird. My friend started into it over a year ago and he was delighted to have a self sustaining flock in the city, as the roosters make an innocuous sound that blends in with the song birds and no one complains. I could ramble for a while about all this but my question is specifically about quail egg incubators. I’ve read people extol the virtues of automated eggs turners that are pointy end down, and how this vastly improves the rate of hatch of shipped eggs. Seems that I will be trying various types of quail and need a reliable way to get a decent hatch rate from shipped eggs since local options are limited…. My first go was horrible, 4 out of 29 eggs hatched from the first batch I received in the mail. My incubator might be the culprit, it’s made for chicken eggs, I modified the turner with straws to reduce the gap to assure the quail eggs actually turn, but I’m wondering if I would have better luck with a quail specific incubator. My first run of my own eggs got me a hatch rate of 50%, which I feel is sub par. I can not find a quail eggs specific egg turner, pointy end down, that fits in the incubator I have. Any suggestions or general info would be much appreciated.

 

[casportpony]

How much can you spend on an incubator?

 

[farmer90]

I have the cheapest and tiniest incubator I found from online market of China. My hatch rate was awful at first. Then I made some research and tossed away the egg turner. Now I turn the eggs by hand two times a day and the hatch rate has gone up from 30% to 90%

 

[007Sean]

Hello all, I’ve been dipping my toes in the realm of quail… I just have to say, I had no idea there were so many types and that there is a super jumbo version that people breed for meat that tops out at about 1 lb! This is a game changer for me. The only viable source of Cornish cross that I’ve found near me (I’m in Seattle) stopped selling them. This made me motivated to once again look at breeding my own source of meet bird. My friend started into it over a year ago and he was delighted to have a self sustaining flock in the city, as the roosters make an innocuous sound that blends in with the song birds and no one complains. I could ramble for a while about all this but my question is specifically about quail egg incubators. I’ve read people extol the virtues of automated eggs turners that are pointy end down, and how this vastly improves the rate of hatch of shipped eggs. Seems that I will be trying various types of quail and need a reliable way to get a decent hatch rate from shipped eggs since local options are limited…. My first go was horrible, 4 out of 29 eggs hatched from the first batch I received in the mail. My incubator might be the culprit, it’s made for chicken eggs, I modified the turner with straws to reduce the gap to assure the quail eggs actually turn, but I’m wondering if I would have better luck with a quail specific incubator. My first run of my own eggs got me a hatch rate of 50%, which I feel is sub par. I can not find a quail eggs specific egg turner, pointy end down, that fits in the incubator I have. Any suggestions or general info would be much appreciated.

The best ones are the ones that will work for you....they can be cheap or expensive. There is no such thing as a 'plug & play' incubator. Not any are 'specifically' made for quail eggs but if you put quail egg rails in the turner, then you can use it as an quail egg incubator.

 

[Susan Skylark]

The best incubator is the one that maintains an appropriate temp. I’ve struggled with autoturners and quail eggs, even ones supposedly designed for them, I actually prefer hand turning. Shipping will either screw up your eggs or it won’t, it is luck not incubation technique, a traumatized batch can’t be fixed, the damage is done. I got 85% on a first time hatching anything on shipped eggs and a year later (and a dozen hatches) I got 25% on another batch (saddled air cells indicated severe shipping trauma). But of all the things you can hatch, quail are certainly tough (and cute) little buggers!

 

[Birdinhand]

How much can you spend on an incubator?

If I were confident that it would be worth the investment, I’d be willing to spring for a fancy one. The very worst I’ve used was one of those classic plastic ones that came through mail order in the 70’s with just a small light bulb in it for heat and almost no way to regulate the temperature in the cold house I grew up in.

 

[Birdinhand]

The best ones are the ones that will work for you....they can be cheap or expensive. There is no such thing as a 'plug & play' incubator. Not any are 'specifically' made for quail eggs but if you put quail egg rails in the turner, then you can use it as an quail egg incubator.

From what I can tell the best ones allow you to evenly control the temperature and humidity, and some are particularly bad at that, so I ask to see if anyone has a favorite who have tried many. I’ve made incubators out of coolers and radiant heat mats, I’ve borrowed incubators from tool libraries… there are lots of variations and after nearly a half a century of raising chickens I figured for sure someone has an opinion about what’s best for quails because the eggs are so much smaller/lower to the ground and since heat rises, the parameters must be much narrower. In particular, I’ve read be claim that a turner that is pointy side down can overcome some of the damage to the air sack from shipping. I’ve got 50 jumbo meat quail eggs coming, my third try at a sustainable, breed yourself in the burbs source of meat for my family. It sure would be nice to know if it’s worth replacing my incuview with one that has such a turner.

 

[Birdinhand]

The best incubator is the one that maintains an appropriate temp. I’ve struggled with autoturners and quail eggs, even ones supposedly designed for them, I actually prefer hand turning. Shipping will either screw up your eggs or it won’t, it is luck not incubation technique, a traumatized batch can’t be fixed, the damage is done. I got 85% on a first time hatching anything on shipped eggs and a year later (and a dozen hatches) I got 25% on another batch (saddled air cells indicated severe shipping trauma). But of all the things you can hatch, quail are certainly tough (and cute) little buggers!

Thank you for that, it’s good to be reminded that there’s a certain randomness to it when it comes to shipping. I opted for the fastest shipping option this last go round to reduce the miles of vibration from ground shipping.

 

[007Sean]

From what I can tell the best ones allow you to evenly control the temperature and humidity, and some are particularly bad at that, so I ask to see if anyone has a favorite who have tried many. I’ve made incubators out of coolers and radiant heat mats, I’ve borrowed incubators from tool libraries… there are lots of variations and after nearly a half a century of raising chickens I figured for sure someone has an opinion about what’s best for quails because the eggs are so much smaller/lower to the ground and since heat rises, the parameters must be much narrower. In particular, I’ve read be claim that a turner that is pointy side down can overcome some of the damage to the air sack from shipping. I’ve got 50 jumbo meat quail eggs coming, my third try at a sustainable, breed yourself in the burbs source of meat for my family. It sure would be nice to know if it’s worth replacing my incuview with one that has such a turner.

I think Incuview does have a turner? I haven't looked at their site in a long time! No incubators can overcome rough handling during shipping! Placing the eggs in rails (pointed end down) keeps the yolk stable, even while turning, (However, horizontal egg placement and turning, causes the yolk to roll around inside the shell) because the turn rate is so slow. I can not tell any difference if it helps with saddled eggs. I have never hatched a saddled egg. I just order more eggs than I need, because I know a certain amount will not hatch.