Day 19 quail eggs. STILL NOT HATCHED!!

[Majak5]

This is my second time hatching quail and I’m using a homemade incubator but on my first hatch the temp and humidity where all over the place, now I’m able to keep the temp and humidity quite close to where they need to be now for my second hatch. My last hatch took 19 days ( hatched at 9am on 19th morning). It’s day 19 now and it’s 9:30 and I have seen no movement or anything. I’m just really worried, I only have 6 eggs left out of 13.

 

[JaeG]

Quail can take longer so don't panic. You can candle them to see if they've pipped internally but try not to turn the egg - keep it in the position it's lying in so you don't confuse the chick and make them move into the wrong position for hatching. If they have internally pipped you'll see a little shadow in the air cell. You might hear them tapping if you hold the fat end of the egg to your ear. A dead embryo will sink towards the narrow end of the of the egg and there will be a yellowish, watery layer between it and the air cell. But I wouldn't worry until you've got to day 21 and still have no pipping. It's torture, I know!

 

[Majak5]

Quail can take longer so don't panic. You can candle them to see if they've pipped internally but try not to turn the egg - keep it in the position it's lying in so you don't confuse the chick and make them move into the wrong position for hatching. If they have internally pipped you'll see a little shadow in the air cell. You might hear them tapping if you hold the fat end of the egg to your ear. A dead embryo will sink towards the narrow end of the of the egg and there will be a yellowish, watery layer between it and the air cell. But I wouldn't worry until you've got to day 21 and still have no pipping. It's torture, I know!

got a pip this morning, so very happy, can’t wait till it hatches.

 

[JaeG]

It's the surface area of water that counts so as many damp surfaces as possible is what you need. Have you got a sponge you could wet and put in the incubator somewhere, ideally sitting in a little water so it's constantly sucking up fresh water and releasing it into the air? Or a cloth or even a good wad of paper towels? If the air inside your home is very dry that does affect the incubator too. You could even put wet paper towels around the outside of your eggs if that would work in your set up. Hopefully that will get the humidity up there.

I do hope they hatch for you - they are adorable babies.

 

[Majak5]

Ye

Quail can take longer so don't panic. You can candle them to see if they've pipped internally but try not to turn the egg - keep it in the position it's lying in so you don't confuse the chick and make them move into the wrong position for hatching. If they have internally pipped you'll see a little shadow in the air cell. You might hear them tapping if you hold the fat end of the egg to your ear. A dead embryo will sink towards the narrow end of the of the egg and there will be a yellowish, watery layer between it and the air cell. But I wouldn't worry until you've got to day 21 and still have no pipping. It's torture, I know!

ah I candles them and they all seem alive but no internal pips yet

 

[JaeG]

If your air cells were looking on track then the eggs will be absolutely fine in 99% humidity. I prefer a high humidity so that I can open the incubator as the chicks hatch.

If the air cells don't get big enough during the first stage of incubation then there isn't enough oxygen in the air cell to sustain the chick until it makes an external pip. Chicks cannot drown (it's one of those weird myths that seems to persist). Not unless there's too much fluid still in the egg (because they haven't lost enough during the first stage) and you physically tip them up the wrong way once they've pipped internally.

Hope that all makes sense.

 

[JaeG]

View attachment 1278852 got a pip this morning, so very happy, can’t wait till it hatches.

Exciting!

 

[Majak5]

I've jumped in too quickly to help before only to find the membrane still has live blood vessels in it and the chick isn't ready. And once you start helping them you generally have to keep helping them (once they are ready). I've often had quail take 36 hours from the first external pip before they are ready to actually hatch.

They externally pip because the air cell only holds so much. They are still absorbing the remains of the yolk as well as the blood that has been going through the membrane, so they still have a lot of work to do before they start unzipping. The unzipping part should be pretty quick - maybe an hour.

You wait at least 24 hours from the external pip before even thinking about helping a chick. If you do decide to step in you need to take off just the shell little by little until you can see whether the membrane still has blood in it or not (you may have to wet it carefully to be able to see clearly). If you see blood you need to stop and wait some more.

He started zipping at 6am, fully hatched at 6:40am. Named him pip coz my nan loved that name for a little bird. It’s 8:15am and his eyes still haven’t opened, is that normal?

 

[JaeG]

Thanks, you have helped me so much. If you want you can give me a name for one of them as you have been a really big help

That's so sweet of you - I'll have to put my thinking cap on!

 

[AfiafiAfi]

Oh no I accidentally broke the membrane a bit I tried keeping it wet to help it somehow I triedto keep it under heat but when I opened it it was just half formed! It was so awful anyways thnx for a quick reply