Early Hatch for Jumbo Coturnix Quail Eggs - Any Insight?

[FatherFalcon]

I’m currently incubating my "Giant" Jumbo Coturnix quail eggs, which are from a bloodline that produces 20-ounce quail at 12 weeks (Mines @ 560g avg.), and I’m seeing some unusual hatching behavior that I’m curious about. The eggs, which average 14.5 grams, are starting to hatch fully developed at Day 13 – well ahead of the usual 16-20 days hatching window I’m familiar with.

I’ve had experience with both standard incubation and dry hatching, along with the Chaos hatch method, but this is the first time I’ve observed early hatching with jumbo quail. Given the bloodline’s tendency to grow larger quail, could this early hatch be related to size and genetics? I know that larger eggs can sometimes hatch earlier, but I’m wondering if the 13-day hatch might be a sign of something unique about the genetics, incubation method, or even environmental factors.

Has anyone else experienced this with jumbo quail eggs, or does anyone have thoughts on the potential reasons for early hatching? Any insights would be appreciated!

 

[Nabiki]

Even jumbos usually hatch on day 17. From your description, it sounds like your temperature is a bit high. Do you have a calibrated thermometer or three inside the incubator? NEVER trust the readings on the incubator itself. They lie.

 

[FatherFalcon]

*Corrections on average weigh ... ~520 grams..
I ate my big birds (they reached 1 year) LOL
I found that the spot I had chosen to have the eggs rest before incubating gets a blast of sunlight. I guess the eggs were about four or five days sitting in the sun's warmth before puttin em in... Un even hatching is a headache... Pre-incubation station LOL
Thanks for always replying @Nabiki you are awesome...

 

[terriergal]

Even jumbos usually hatch on day 17. From your description, it sounds like your temperature is a bit high. Do you have a calibrated thermometer or three inside the incubator? NEVER trust the readings on the incubator itself. They lie.

I would think 1 degree might shave off a maybe day or so, not that much time… and would probably result in development issues wouldn’t it? (Incidentally I had more trouble with extra thermometers than without, on my kebonix incubator)

 

[catesquire]

Keep us posted on the health of those chicks, fingers crossed nothing went seriously wrong!

Are you breeding for meat more so than eggs? 18 oz birds are awesome, but I'd expect the average egg size to scale up accordingly (my 15 oz birds are throwing 17-19 g eggs pretty consistently--since I'm mostly interested in eggs more so than meat, I'll definitely be hatching those big eggs and seeing where it takes me!)