Coturnix chick born without eyes

[Lilyofsalen]

Another thought . . . if the egg turner (which is homemade so it's possible that it's not as optimal as others on the market) or temperatures were a problem then wouldn't there be more deformities in the hatches than (1/13) and (1/16)? If the incubator or egg turners were at fault, wouldn't more of the batch be affected?
Considering this, wouldn't bad genes/bad nutrition be a more likely cause of the deformity issues?

 

[Ebony Rose]

Thank you for the advice, do you give your birds treats or table scraps to help boost nutrition as well?
Were the quitters embryos in the egg or hatched chicks? Also, will Nutri-drench work in place of chick booster?

Nutri-drench isn't as complete, but it's far superior to no supplementation.
I treat my quail a couple times weekly with grass clippings (bugs, roughage and boredom relief), chopped green cabbage (they don't like red cabbage and just as well since it costs more here), and when the temperature is very high, I offer iceberg or romaine lettuce (for its high water content), bananas or papayas (grown in my back yard) are also special treats for hot days. I cut one end off of the bananas, and only punch a small hole in the papaya to make them 'work for' the sweets; it provides environmental enrichment for them.
I read somewhere that meat treats is a no-no, so bugs in the grass is as far as I push that envelope.
Many treats that my chickens loved, my quail won't touch; on the list is raisins, dates, prunes, apples, hard boiled eggs.
When I say quitters, I mean they never made it out of the shell during the incubation process.

 

[Ebony Rose]

Another thought . . . if the egg turner (which is homemade so it's possible that it's not as optimal as others on the market) or temperatures were a problem then wouldn't there be more deformities in the hatches than (1/13) and (1/16)? If the incubator or egg turners were at fault, wouldn't more of the batch be affected?
Considering this, wouldn't bad genes/bad nutrition be a more likely cause of the deformity issues?

I've successfully hatched by simply shifting an object under the 'incubator' to cause the eggs to rock into a different position; I agree with your assessment, genetics or insufficient nutrition in the parent stock (which translates into insufficient nutrition in the egg for proper development) is the most likely cause.

 

[Nabiki]

Another thought . . . if the egg turner (which is homemade so it's possible that it's not as optimal as others on the market) or temperatures were a problem then wouldn't there be more deformities in the hatches than (1/13) and (1/16)? If the incubator or egg turners were at fault, wouldn't more of the batch be affected?
Considering this, wouldn't bad genes/bad nutrition be a more likely cause of the deformity issues?

If it's only one chick per batch, you're probably right that it's not incubation issues. Your deformity rate sounds about the same as the rate I was having when I was breeding silver to silver, which has a potential lethal gene combination.

 

[Lilyofsalen]

Nutri-drench isn't as complete, but it's far superior to no supplementation.
I treat my quail a couple times weekly with grass clippings (bugs, roughage and boredom relief), chopped green cabbage (they don't like red cabbage and just as well since it costs more here), and when the temperature is very high, I offer iceberg or romaine lettuce (for its high water content), bananas or papayas (grown in my back yard) are also special treats for hot days. I cut one end off of the bananas, and only punch a small hole in the papaya to make them 'work for' the sweets; it provides environmental enrichment for them.
I read somewhere that meat treats is a no-no, so bugs in the grass is as far as I push that envelope.
Many treats that my chickens loved, my quail won't touch; on the list is raisins, dates, prunes, apples, hard boiled eggs.
When I say quitters, I mean they never made it out of the shell during the incubation process.

I've had quite a few quitters . . . now it all makes sense. Thank you, for your help. Also, I've given mine watermelon rinds on hot days. They really like it.

 

[Lilyofsalen]

If it's only one chick per batch, you're probably right that it's not incubation issues. Your deformity rate sounds about the same as the rate I was having when I was breeding silver to silver, which has a potential lethal gene combination.

I've successfully hatched by simply shifting an object under the 'incubator' to cause the eggs to rock into a different position; I agree with your assessment, genetics or insufficient nutrition in the parent stock (which translates into insufficient nutrition in the egg for proper development) is the most likely cause.

I got my birds from others who keep quail locally and from what I understand they're pretty inbred. From a few I've talked to, it's common practice to breed brother to sister for generations.
The blind chick came from a roux X roux pairing, could this pairing cause any potential lethal genes?

 

[Lilyofsalen]

Also, how long does it take for chicks to get their flight feathers in? I noticed that is the first thing to grow in but my latest batch is almost a week old and they are just starting to come in. Some are growing faster than others but I definitely have a runt this batch.

 

[Nabiki]

Roux to roux pairing doesn't have any lethal factors as far as I know, but I'm not a genetics expert. It sounds like your stock is really inbred, though, so you might want to see if you can introduce a new roo or something to widen your genes.

I normally see feathers starting to come in at 3 days.

This is an 11 day old chick.