Dying before hatching

[Bethany101]

I bought some quail eggs on ebay. I received 32, and 24 were put into my incubator. I removed 4 more that did not develop on day 9.

Day 14, a single egg pipped and died shortly after, so I quickly removed and dissected. What I found was the unabsorbed yolk and its guts in a bag outside the body.
Day 16 now (barely), 3 more pipped, and 1 has died after about 8 hours and half a turn. It was getting pretty close. It was very active and seemed to be making great progress. I again dissected and found the same thing as before. Also, this one appears to have had a second, slimy membrane that I had to peel back?? Is that normal?? What the heck is going on. I really hope this doesn't happen to all of them. This is only my second batch of quail, not sure I'm good at it. Why would it make it so far in zipping, without making it far enough into development? Did I do something wrong/is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening next time? Maybe just stick to chickens...? Maybe I just need to hurry up and build my fridgubator. Really confused about this, I'm still a newbie to hatching but I get great rates with chickens!
Thanks everyone. Really confused about this.

((I would attach a photo, but I guess the new Samsung 21 ultra camera is way too powerful for this website lol.))

 

[007Sean]

I bought some quail eggs on ebay. I received 32, and 24 were put into my incubator. I removed 4 more that did not develop on day 9.

Day 14, a single egg pipped and died shortly after, so I quickly removed and dissected. What I found was the unabsorbed yolk and its guts in a bag outside the body.
Day 16 now (barely), 3 more pipped, and 1 has died after about 8 hours and half a turn. It was getting pretty close. It was very active and seemed to be making great progress. I again dissected and found the same thing as before. Also, this one appears to have had a second, slimy membrane that I had to peel back?? Is that normal?? What the heck is going on. I really hope this doesn't happen to all of them. This is only my second batch of quail, not sure I'm good at it. Why would it make it so far in zipping, without making it far enough into development? Did I do something wrong/is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening next time? Maybe just stick to chickens...? Maybe I just need to hurry up and build my fridgubator. Really confused about this, I'm still a newbie to hatching but I get great rates with chickens!
Thanks everyone. Really confused about this.

((I would attach a photo, but I guess the new Samsung 21 ultra camera is way too powerful for this website lol.))

Do you have a calibrated hygrometer? What is the %Rh in the incubator?

What your describing is a 'stuck' chick. This happens when the humidity is too high. This is different from a 'shrink wrapped' chick, which is results of too low humidity. The 'extra' moisture acts as a lubricant. While it's turning during the zipping process, it can't turn because it's too moist...keeps sliding back, unable to get any traction and exhausts it's self out as a results, thus resulting in a (dis) chick.

 

[Bethany101]

Do you have a calibrated hygrometer? What is the %Rh in the incubator?

What your describing is a 'stuck' chick. This happens when the humidity is too high. This is different from a 'shrink wrapped' chick, which is results of too low humidity. The 'extra' moisture acts as a lubricant. While it's turning during the zipping process, it can't turn because it's too moist...keeps sliding back, unable to get any traction and exhausts it's self out as a results, thus resulting in a (dis) chick.

That makes sense. I actually have 4 in there because my incubator doesn't hold humidity very well. It can go from 50% to 15% in just a few hours even with several small sponges inside. Nothing I can really do about it, other than duct tape the vents (not doing that) or putting extra water. I can either sit and watch and spray them every 30 minutes (can't do that) or just add extra water so they don't completely lose it all while I'm busy... That worked for my chickens just fine, but clearly not the quail. I guess that's what I get for buying something cheap. It worked great for my chicken eggs though. Ugh.

 

[007Sean]

What species of quail eggs are they? I presume from your post that they are Cot's? They will actually hatch better if the humidity is raised to around 50 - 55% durning the hatching process...anything higher and you get the results your seeing. During incubation it is better to have the humidity around 35 - 40%.

 

[als77]

Have you checked the temperature with a calibrate thermometer before/during this hatch?

Day 14 was very early. I had one that pipped on day 14, but it never zipped (never absorbed the yolk). I had temperature-issues with my bator.

 

[Kiki]

The Samsung camera is not too powerful for this website. Use the attach files button to attach a photo.

Your temperature is off in your bator. The eggs should not be pipping on day 14.

Calibrate some thermometers and salt test a humidity gauge before you set eggs again.