Day 19 and our quail eggs our quail eggs are very smelly!

[f18wife]

Hi everyone! I purchased a very small incubator from ebay that came with 3 quail eggs. Everything was packaged nicely and we have followed the instructions thoroughly. Yesterday, the eggs began to smell and one had brownish stuff on the shell. Does this mean the embryos are dead? This is our homeschool project for my second grader and we'll be so sad if not one of the eggs hatch Can anyone give me any suggestions or advice. I've attempted to e-mail the seller, but haven't heard anything yet. I look forward to hearing from some of you experts

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

What breed of quail are they, and what type of incubator is it?

 

[Katy]

The smell means at least one of the eggs is bad. CAREFULLY remove the egg with the brown on shell. I'd place a plastic bag over it so if it pops the goop and smell will more likely be contained. I've never hatched quail, but some of them (maybe all of them) only take 16 days.

 

[Shanay235]

If the eggs are smelly and weeping, then yes, the embryos are gone. You should get them out of the incubator ASAP, before they explode. You may never be able to get the incubator fully clean if that happens.

 

[RuffTuffCreampuff]

Those mini dome incubators, have some "issues". Your quail really should have hatched by now, but you might try removing the stinky one...and give the others another day.

There are some threads here on BYC, on making homemade incubators....that would make a good homeschool project. Also it would be better to buy some quail eggs from someone here on BYC vs. Ebay. Quail are usually pretty easy to hatch, so I am sure you would have better luck next time.

Pam

 

[Lextextrapper]

If it's bobwhite eggs they take anywhere from 23-25 days, cortunix take 17-18 days. You can candle the eggs to see if they are ok or not. You probably have at least one bad egg if it stinks in the incubator. Be careful so it doesn't "blow up" on you and get you covered in stinky goo.