Rothy_058
Chirping
Out of my 24 mixed Pharaoh quail eggs I've ended up with just 11 chicks, which are now out of the woods and are all doing brilliantly. (To my absolute delight...)
We are now on something like day 26....a good week and a bit after hatch day... At day 22 I did a float test, being sure that the water temp was exactly 37.5 degrees which told me that 3 of the eggs never stood a chance - sinkers...but the remaining eggs checked out viable....floating with about 10% of the egg above the waterline. I quickly patted them dry with a paper towel and returned then to the bator...with a renewed hope that some of them may well hatch yet.
But now at day 26 and no signs of activity whatsoever and following a brief consultation with my Wife we agreed that it was time to literally pull the plug.
I thought it would be easy and I'd just shrug it off with a 'Oh, well...' but the sound of the incubator air circulation fan coasting to a standstill and the deathly silence that followed really got to me - I'd fought so hard for those unborn chicks. The ritual of emptying the bator of the dead eggs and cleaning and disinfecting it ready for the next use didn't do anything to improve my state of mind.
Once it was all over a visit to the brooder to feed those ever-hungry little week-olds and spend a little time watching them helped a lot.
"Oh, well..."
We are now on something like day 26....a good week and a bit after hatch day... At day 22 I did a float test, being sure that the water temp was exactly 37.5 degrees which told me that 3 of the eggs never stood a chance - sinkers...but the remaining eggs checked out viable....floating with about 10% of the egg above the waterline. I quickly patted them dry with a paper towel and returned then to the bator...with a renewed hope that some of them may well hatch yet.
But now at day 26 and no signs of activity whatsoever and following a brief consultation with my Wife we agreed that it was time to literally pull the plug.
I thought it would be easy and I'd just shrug it off with a 'Oh, well...' but the sound of the incubator air circulation fan coasting to a standstill and the deathly silence that followed really got to me - I'd fought so hard for those unborn chicks. The ritual of emptying the bator of the dead eggs and cleaning and disinfecting it ready for the next use didn't do anything to improve my state of mind.
Once it was all over a visit to the brooder to feed those ever-hungry little week-olds and spend a little time watching them helped a lot.
"Oh, well..."
