Can I hatch quail eggs w/o incubator in summer Phoenix

[CarleeG]

Hello,

I live in Phoenix AZ and the daytime temps are 100-110 and night time is around 90 degrees in summer. Just wondering if it is possible to hatch quail eggs without an incubator.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Nope, the fluctuation in the evening will prevent them from making it to hatch. They should have a consistent 99.5F. It get's similarly hot here in Georgia and I did end up with an egg that developed for several days before I put it in the incubator. It rolled into some insulated corner of the coop. At some point the temps swinging up and down would cause the embryo to quit though. Then again, I'm sure you could somehow rig something that could be moved around and use radiating temps off of bricks or some other MacGyver contraption...stranger things have happened...I don't think I would try it simply because there are too many variables.

 

[mixedUPturk]

Hello,

I live in Phoenix AZ and the daytime temps are 100-110 and night time is around 90 degrees in summer. Just wondering if it is possible to hatch quail eggs without an incubator.

I wouldnt count on it, sorry. The temps need to be as stable as possible for that to happen.

Now. If i did it as an experiment? I would find the warmest place where over all hours of every day for a week i had registered temps of about the same as you would need for incubation. Maybe inside of an old cooler inside of a shed that gets full full sun? Maybe just the cooler in the sun with ventilation? Idk but the night time drops would concern me and you would need to check the temps at all the coolest hours of wherever you put it.

Once eggs are in it you would want to disturb the heat as little as possible.

Those fluctuations in temps are just too dangerous for embryos to incubate correctly.

If you couldnt tell, Im in southern LA so ive wondered the same thing as we went thru 2 months of 110* days

 

[BReeder!]

Hello,

I live in Phoenix AZ and the daytime temps are 100-110 and night time is around 90 degrees in summer. Just wondering if it is possible to hatch quail eggs without an incubator.

I'm not certain I would try it, but I'm not saying it's impossible. You would want to avoid spikes (high or low) in temperature though. I certainly wouldn't want the eggs getting up to 110, nor down to 90. Another factor is humidity. Phoenix air is quite dry I believe. You would need to keep the moisture in the air around the eggs between 40-50%. If it's too dry, you risk drying the eggs out - shells are porous.

 

[CarleeG]

Thanks! I was curious because I see wild quail everywhere in Phoenix so assumed it was possible.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Thanks! I was curious because I see wild quail everywhere in Phoenix so assumed it was possible.

Not impossible, just improbable, and as you can likely tell by both mine and @mixedUPturk's quick replies, you certainly weren't the first person to consider it!

 

[BReeder!]

Thanks! I was curious because I see wild quail everywhere in Phoenix so assumed it was possible.

Those wild quail are sitting on eggs at night and fanning them during the day I bet.
I would get an incubator and try to hatch before temps get over 95. That way you can best control the hatch. However, if you try to just but a bowl of eggs outside in the summer, let us know what happens.

 

[BReeder!]

A fun thought... what's the ground temp in summer in pheonix? I'm thinking what if you dug a hole and set a cooler into the ground. Ground temps tend to be more consistent then atmospheric temps.

 

[Chip76]

I hatched mine in Phoenix, but in the house in a shoebox with a lamp. They were abandoned after my neighbor trimmed their nest's bush down to nothing. I was very surprised that they hatched!