BRM's Quail Adventure Hatch-Along!

[_-Captain BRM-_]

What breed and what day is it on? Looks infertile to me.

It's... It's a robin egg. I have no idea what day it's on, I found it yesterday.

 

[MGG]

It's... It's a robin egg. I have no idea what day it's on, I found it yesterday.

Ohh. It probably hadn't been incubated at all yet then.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Ohh. It probably hadn't been incubated at all yet then.

So do you think I stick with it or is it dead?

 

[The-White-Elephant]

So do you think I stick with it or is it dead?

If it's not fertilized, it's not gonna hatch

 

[RDchicken99]

Just say it’s a..... blue bantam egg. Yeah. I think you should stick with it! If it doesn’t hatch it doesn’t hatch. Not that you are gonna hatch it in the first place.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

If it's not fertilized, it's not gonna hatch

Oh course... But sounds like she's saying it just hasn't been incubated yet.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Just say it’s a..... blue bantam egg. Yeah. I think you should stick with it! If it doesn’t hatch it doesn’t hatch. Not that you are gonna hatch it in the first place.

Yeah! I'll check on it tomorrow or in a few days and see what happens

 

[MGG]

So do you think I stick with it or is it dead?

Well, it's going to be incredibly hard to feed if it hatches, robins are one of the most difficult breeds to handfeed. I'd honestly just recommend tossing it before it starts to develop. It's probably fertile but I wouldn't pursue it.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Just so everyone knows, I will try to hatch this, uh, blue bantam egg, and if it ends up hatching, I realize the work and dedication I would have to put into it to keep it alive. And if it ends up dying, it would have anyways if I didn't incubate it. It's been in the incubator 24 hours now... We'll see what happens.

 

[MGG]

Just so everyone knows, I will try to hatch this, uh, blue bantam egg, and if it ends up hatching, I realize the work and dedication I would have to put into it to keep it alive. And if it ends up dying, it would have anyways if I didn't incubate it. It's been in the incubator 24 house now... We'll see what happens.

The problem is, there's no formulated hand feeding formula for birds like that. Kaytee is what I'd usually recommend but the protein content wouldn't be high enough. Supplementing with chopped live mealworms could work but I'm not sure that it would meet the requirements either. I get what you're trying to do and I'm not against it or anything, but it's just going to be physically impossible to keep alive. And even if it did survive, it wouldn't leave because it will have imprinted. And then you have to tiptoe around because you'll be keeping an illegal bird. It's just a rabbit hole that's not worth going down. Life hadn't even started yet in it when you found it, it just never would have developed like any fertile chicken egg you eat. It wouldn't have "died" because it wasn't yet alive. If that makes sense.
Once you allow the conditions to become suitable for life to develop, it's up to you to care for it. And it's not going to be possible, they have crazy nutritional needs. Just like swallows. I tried saving a couple young swallows once and they just deteriorated despite my best efforts. It would have been more humane to just cull them when I got them. I love saving and rescuing things, it's my passion. But I understand the difference between it being selfish because I know it's not possible to save them, and actually helping them. The best thing for it would have been to find another robin nest with eggs that weren't far along yet and put it in there.