Can somebody help me????

[miss_thenorth]

I am on day 16 of my very first incubation attempt. I have 30 quail eggs, due the 18th, and 12 chicken eggs, due the 21st. So it's very close to the time for the quail eggs to hatch. Do I increase humidity and stop the turner now? Or is it possible for me to move the eggs to a brooder and let them hatch there--providing adequate heat and humidity.

If I stop the turner--do I turn it back on after the quail eggs have hatched?

I realize that for my first incubation--I should have stuck to one type of egg, but I was impatient.

Any help you could offer will be appreciated.

 

[TriciaHowe]

I stagger hatch all the time. What is your humidty at now?

 

[miss_thenorth]

I don't have a hygrometer, but the manufacturer said to keep one slot 3/4 full, and that is what it has been at. My incubator is a Brinsea eco 20

 

[TriciaHowe]

Hmmm, hard to say then if you need to up your humidity or not....You could be running at 60-70% already which will jump even more when chicks start popping. Have you hatched chicks out of your eco before? I know with my oct 20 (regular) it doesn't take much to keep the humidity up. I would be inclined to leave it alone than risk sticky chicks from it being to high.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Thanks--you are realy helping me out. This is my first time incubating anything. So, do I leave the quail eggs in and turn off the autoturner? Then what about the chicken eggs--do I turn the autoturner back on after the quail have hatched?

 

[TriciaHowe]

Yes, I would definately turn off the auto turner. It's not going to hurt the chicken eggs to not get turned at this point for a little while. Leave the quail in there and remove them after they have hatched then resume incubating the chicken eggs as usual. Clean your bator well when you are done. You can also take your chicken eggs out for a short while 1/2 hr or so and clean the bator between the quail and chicken egg hatches so it doesn't get really icky. You don't want mushy chicks or infected navels from a dirty bator.
Hope this helps

and good luck!

 

[miss_thenorth]

Thak you sooooo much!!!!!!!

 

[TriciaHowe]

You're very welcome