Button Quail Lockdown (no pipping)?

[cuckleberry]

Okay so by sheer impulse we candled anyway and we're both a mess! We were so worried.
2 eggs didn't seem viable. One was empty and one was completely full. The others all had air sacs to the fat end, and they were tilted. We didn't see any beaks (we were kind of rushing but no eggs were harmed). Does that mean they have any chance? God I hope we did it rightksjdksjd.
The eggs that had the air sac did feel heavy, if that matters.

 

[JaeG]

If it still looks full and dark under the air cell then there's hope, especially if they've developed a slant. Perhaps your little early birds egg got stored in too warm an area, or perhaps it was sat on by a hen for a couple of days before it was collected. Fingers and toes are crossed for you.

 

[cuckleberry]

Oh God thank you so much. I'm really on edge but this site and everyone's help has made this a less nerve-wrecking experience.
A lot of air cells were slanted and I didn't see much of a gap between the cell and the dark mass, so I guess they're okay? Or so I hope. I did rest some of them to the left of the incubator where our baby girl hatched! Maybe that'll help if it's warmer.
(Who by the seller was confirmed to be a girl, and we're arguing over the name Hazelnut or Tater Tot)

 

[cuckleberry]

One more question.
Depending on how many more chicks hatch, would it be a bad idea to purchase another batch of eggs from the same seller and try incubating those? Would the "age gap" cause problems between our chick now and chicks from the 2nd clutch?

This is only a what if.

 

[JaeG]

If she's on her own she should take to some new chicks pretty easily. She may even be happy to let them snuggle into her and raise them for you, but you'd have to play that one by ear. We have one, who at only 3 weeks old, sat and helped her older sister incubate and raise some chicks. She's a brilliant mother, but without her younger sisters help, the older sister turned out to be a terrible mother.

If nothing else has happened with your current eggs I'd candle again tomorrow, 24 hours after you've done it the first time, and see if anything has changed.

 

[cuckleberry]

Alright! I'm really hoping that they hatch overnight like she did. Thank you again for all you've done!!
If the second clutch idea happens, I'd see her try and teach the little ones.

 

[cuckleberry]

Sadly, still nothing. I'm going to candle like you said, and if any of the ones we thought were viable still seem to have a chance, I'll give them til Sunday. It seems though that they may not hatch, which is disappointing. But I'm happy we had one healthy chick!

Unless the other chicks suddenly start popping out between today and tomorrow, I've got 2 last questions. (Though I'm sure I'll ask 20 more!)

When we do candle, if we see their little beaks move, should we leave them be? Would we need to, at any point, open the egg or create a hole where the air cell is? As newbies I doubt we should try it, but I also want to help any chicks that may still be alive. I don't want to hurt the chick or mess with what nature intended, however.

For our second clutch, what can we do to make it better? I know having shipped eggs is already a risk, plus it's January. But in terms of humidity and temperature. We ran at 99-100 temp. til lockdown and brought it down one degree. Was our humidity too high for the incubation process? I see so many people doing different things, and yet all having good hatch rates. I'd like to learn what's best as I really don't want our chick getting too lonely, even if we give her lots of TLC.

 

[aart]

what can we do to make it better? I know having shipped eggs is already a risk, plus it's January.

I may have already posted this here, but...test your therms and hygro's:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...incubator-thermometers-and-hygrometers.73634/

Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[cuckleberry]

Thank you! We will test our hygrometers so this doesn't happen again.

And I updated my location on my profile. Sorry about that!

 

[JaeG]

As @aart says make sure your hygrometer and thermometer are accurate as the temperature readings on incubators are notoriously unreliable. Once you know how much they are out by you can adjust accordingly. Also candle at days 5, 10 and just before lockdown for these little eggs to track how the air cells are developing. If they are looking too big increase your humidity, too small drop it a bit. Temperature is also extremely important for the eggs ability to lose sufficient moisture.

Incubation is really affected by your particular incubator and the microclimate it’s sitting in, so often it’s a case of figuring out what works for you in your situation.

This is a good candling guide - it’s for Coturnix quail but Buttons are only 2 days less. It’s got a video of an internally pipped chick too.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coturnix-quail-egg-candling-guide.71783/