Button quail laying, and!...

[Ducklove334]

I DO have a pair!..a couple days ago, the biggest one looked like it had a spot where feathers pulled out of it's back, then this morning I found an egg, layed in the food bowl, of all places. must have been last night or yesterday, then tonight I found another,in the food bowl.

the first one I got this morning I cracked, and a pretty little bullseye!!,

I do not have another bator, and my current is full of duck and chicken eggs..

sooo, can/do buttons even go broody? I've read they can.

if so what do they need to do so?, or will she set if I just leave the eggs??

next auction I want to see if they have any bators for cheap.

is there a way to make a homemade bator thing for them?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Yep, they can go broody, but it is more the exception rather than the rule. Just leave the eggs in the cage, wherever she lays them at. She will move them around if she does decide to go broody. They don't need anything to make a nest, she will just make a 'nest' in the bedding. Hope she does go broody for you!! I can't wait to see if mine will!
ETA: You could just set the eggs in the bator you have now, they don't take up too much room! They need about the same temp and humidity as chickens, maybe a bit higher humidity. But they are like ducks once they hatch, lower the temp and increase humidity. There is no reason why you can't just put them all together.

 

[Ducklove334]

I might have to try that then,when get a few saved up.

though i think I might try leaving some eggs in the cage, and see if I can induce broodiness, I might as well, I can't eat em

then I can throw some in the bator

I've got a mallard egg growing really well so far, and I don't wanna kill it!

, so i didn't want to mess with the temp any,

are buttons like any other bird, and lay every day(cept geese wich re wierd and lay every two) except when they are brooding?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Yeah, she should lay every day, except 1 a week like most birds. I believe a typical clutch size of eggs is 8-12, so if you decide to try and let her hatch them, you should wait at least 2 weeks before giving up on her. Or you could mark the date on the eggs and put them back, that way you can take only the ones that are getting too old. If she is happy and well-fed, she should go broody for you. At least that's the theory. There are some that never go broody, so she could be one of those. We'll just say she's not

Good luck and keep us posted!! The only time you'll need to mess with the temp is when the duck egg is due to hatch. Ducks and quail both need at least 70% humidity to hatch well. What day is your duck egg on?

ETA:Button eggs only take about 15 days, anywhere from 15-18.

 

[Ducklove334]

the mallard egg is on day 9, I candled it day 7 and already REALLY good full viens all over the egg, little embryo blob in the middle, not like my last two who had just started to "spider" then died

.

Muscovy eggs are on day 10, and cayuga eggs on hour 14

also have 11 auction RIR eggs in there, other peoples eggs seem to hatch better than your own

I'm going to try seeing if she'll brood first, then I'll set some button eggs once the bator is empty, or atleast most of the eggs have hatched(and provided the muscovy eggs develop), everything but the muscovy and cauyga eggs should hatch within three weeks.

are buttons easy to hatch for being so little??, I can't imagine how little the babies must be!

 

[shelleyd2008]

As you press the 'enter' bar on your computer, look at your pinky nail. If you keep your nails trimmed short, that's about how big a brand new baby button's head is.

They are extremely difficult to hatch!! They dry out so quickly, and they are super dark so it's hard to candle them. A good hatch from your own eggs is about 50% give or take. I had 15 of 23 hatch for me, from my own eggs, so that's pretty good! The key thing to buttons is to make sure you keep your humidity up!! I try to keep mine at 50% during incubation, and no less than 70% for the hatch. But they are so cute when they are babies, their little coos will melt your heart!!

 

[citalk2much]

Quote:
I would just use the homemade bator plans that Miss Prissy has posted.

Best of luck with your buttons!

 

[sandyj]

By the way, you can eat button eggs. I've eaten them myself. One small bite is all, but really yummy. My friend must have gotten really lucky with hatching her buttons. She got 6 eggs and all of them hatched. Beginners luck?

sandyj

 

[citalk2much]

I always have good hatches
6 of 6 is great where they shipped eggs

 

[sandyj]

No, they were'nt shipped. She picked them up. Maybe thats the difference????
sandyj