Finch Egg Incubation!

[JaeG]

Unfortuneately, that chick died. I went to do the autopsy because she wasn't doing so great and, I got a fully developed chick!! I put her in the incubator. I checked the other and it was almost developed, so I put half of the shell around the bottom, and now I'm preparing the incubator. How hot does it have to be in celsius? I need answers asap! Will the undeveloped chick live? Everyone says that I'm just going to end up killing them and that I should've left them alone.. Should I have?! I don't know at this point!!

You can only try to save them and know you've done your best whatever the outcome. They were dead anyway if the parents weren't taking care of them. I'd set it at 37.5-38C.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Thank you so much for reassuring me. The developed chick seems to be doing well, when I first opened the shell it was begging for food even though it has a stomach full of yolk Here are some pictures:

 

[Coturnix Quail]

They're all the same.. I don't know why it posted two photos so many times

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Oh yeah, do you think I could slip the chicks in at night, or should I not risk it?

 

[JaeG]

Oh, look at them! Put them together when you can in a little bowl so they have each other. If you want to try giving them back to Poot, that's up to you and whether she's still sitting on her nest.

My big mistake when I fed my Society chicks was letting them swallow too much of what I was using to feed them (a plastic fork tine!) So they ended up hurting their crops. The babies seriously latch on when they know it means food.

I used a shot glass to mix their food in. Stand it in hot water to keep it warm. At first only one side of their crop fills. They have to grow a bit before both sides fill. There are lots of YouTube videos of people feeding zebra finch chicks so watch those for some ideas if you do want to try feeding them.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Do you think the baby will keep developing? The other one seems strong. Whenever I open the incubator to see how they're doing, it just opens its little mouth! When can I start to feed it? Also, would I possibly be able to take off the yolk sack and start feeding it myself, or is that a bad idea? I've watched many videos of feeding finches, when you file down a toothpick, would that work? No one believes in me, but I do! SO lets do this! Also, I just noticed the chick roll out of the little cup, I made it a little deeper, but what should I do to prevent that? Thank you sooooo much!

 

[JaeG]

Have you got a little bowl or container you can put him in to stop him rolling out? I wouldn't remove the yolk, just leave him. Initially make the formula very watery to help get his system going. I've read that they often don't need to be fed for a couple of days, but you might need to do some research. I'm not sure what will happen with the other baby. Keep the humidity about 50% or so in the incubator.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

I hope I'm no cooking them even though it's the right temperature.. And no, I don't have a little bowl or anything.. What do you mean by 50%? Sorry, I'm a complete noob when it comes to incubation. Be honest, do you think it'll survive? Wish me luck, I've got the formula now, syringe is on its way. Sweet little thing.. Should I know anything else? Thanks again.

 

[JaeG]

Just put a cup of water in there so the air doesn't dry out too much which would dry the babies out. Initially you'll need to feed the chick every hour. I tried feeding mine at night but, because I didn't turn on any lights they never wanted to feed. I tried to do a last feed about 10pm and got up at 4am to try and get them feeding again. It'll only take a drop of formula to start with. You'll see its little crop bulge. Make up the formula fresh each time. Don't keep it and reheat it as it grows bad bacteria and mould very quickly. I'd leave it in the incubator if you can while you feed it. They cool off so quickly (and my Java finch chicks would stop begging every time I took them out). If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

There is an article on here about raising a Society finch from hatch. They even incubated the egg.

 

[Coturnix Quail]

Okay, thanks! Feeding every hour shouldn't be a problem as long as I'm not somewhere. Unfortuneately, the yolk in the other hick dried, and it died.. But so far, everything with the other chick is good. It still begs for food everytime I open the lid or even make noise around it.