Button Quail Hatch Day 17 -- Pips but no peeps yet.

[Denninmi]

On day 17. Now down to 16 good eggs out of the original 24 (25th was broken accidentally). I found 2 more bad ones that were beginning to smell and removed them.

Last night around 6:00 PM I discovered the first external pip. I have 6 total this morning with external pips. None have hatched yet, but I assume it is at least 24 hours from external pip to zip?

It should be interesting seeing what happens tonight. I do hope I end up with at least 10 or 12 healthy chicks.

I may order another batch of quail eggs depending upon how many hatch out and also if the weather for shipping cools off a bit, since it is so hot in the eastern US right now.

Thanks for reading.

 

[FeatheredObsessions]

I hope you have a good hatch. If there was a temp drop it could have slowed your hatch. If your humidity is too low they might not be able to hatch out of the shell. Check your humidity and temps. Don't opne the incubator often or at all if you can help it.... Good luck.

 

[Denninmi]

Day 18 started at 11:45 pm July 6th -- at that time, I had 3 hatched -- a pale golden colored one, a soft golden-tan one, and a dark one with slight yellowish patches on its back. One more has hatched in the last hour, another very dark one.

4 more eggs are externally pipped. I don't know about the rest, I don't want to disturb them by candling. We'll see what happens.

So, 16 eggs went into the final hatching timeframe -- the score so far is 4/16 hatched, 4 of 16 pipped, and 4 unknown.

4/25 total shipped.

I would like to get to 12 or 13 of 25 so I can claim a 50% success rate with shipped eggs, which is what people say is the average -- I don't know if that will happen.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Your are having better luck then I am. I have 6 button eggs that are due today, but nothing yet ....

 

[Denninmi]

At this point, I have 6 hatched and 2 working on it. I haven't seen any more pips or heard any pecking coming from the remaining eggs. Still, I have faith that at least a few more will hatch.

I had to help one of my 6 a bit -- it was backwards/breach and was trying to come out the small pointy end. It seemed to be struggling and not making too much progress, so I gently went around the entire circumference of the shell and broke/cracked the shell, but not the membranes. This seems to help a lot, I have done this before a couple of times. He then popped out and seems perfectly normal.

These little birds are SO tiny -- still make me nervous.

So far, I have mostly very dark colored birds -- the last 2 are almost pitch black with little signs of any mottling or variation, so it will be interesting to see what they grow into.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I scream again ... PICTURES!