Coturnix Quail hatching their own?

[Karen Sal]

Until a couple days ago, all my hens laid their eggs in the communal nest and I see them taking turns checking on the eggs constantly. I am FAR TO NEW at this to expect much. It just seems to me that If the birds are a communal breed then why not a communal nest. We will see.

 

[DK newbie]

Actually they pair off in the wild, as far as I know - one male and one female. And once the female goes broody, she will have nothing further to do with the male so she incubates and raises the chicks on her own.

 

[Karen Sal]

I finally figured how to candle the eggs. All the eggs from the incubator are so dark no light comes thru them. I know that of all the other eggs I have collected, I can see light thru them. I candled all the eggs that were in the nest and they all showed light. One had been fertile. I could see the red dot. It did not develop to the vein stage after 12 days and the shell broke. So all my eggs are a no go THIS round. I will try again. So sad.

Oh my God! I rechecked the eggs in my incubator with the float test and they all floated with barely any above the water. I put them all back in the incubator except one. I broke that one open and there was a chick inside. They are so dark because there are chicks in there. You just can't see them clearly. Are they alive? We will see.

In other news, one of my hens was injured today. I had my head in the coop to change the water and Rudy got randy and chased her out behind my back. My dog caught her for me. Unfortunately, It was not a careful capture. I've isolated her to keep an eye on her. She seems to be moving about okay. I just don't want Rudy to bug her until she is healed. She still laid her egg today and is resting quietly. The coop is considerably less active with her out. I think she may have been the one to stop laying her egg in the communal nest.

 

[Thangbom]

That is so cool! So that hatched there own eggs.

My parents have lots of quails and they never sit on eggs. Then again, we don't give them a nest since we incubate them ourselves.

ThangBom.