First Order with JMF and an Incubation Question

[AClassicalLife]

I just talked to Robby (Robbie?) from James Marie Farm and put in orders. I should be incubating soon but I'm in no hurry except to be prepared, equipment-wise, for my eggs. I have the Brinsea Mini Advance being shipped to me soon (two-day, should arrive today).

ETA: Question was answered, and I ordered an auto-turning tray for later/just in case of and another hygrometer.
I am so excited.

Wish me luck!

 

[ekalf33]

Nice! What kind of quail did you order?

 

[AClassicalLife]

Nice! What kind of quail did you order?

Thanks for asking! I ordered James Marie Pharaoh Jumbos since they are the largest heavy egg producer, and large meat birds as well. Those I will be using as a kind of "test basis" for my brand-new incubator since they were less expensive than the eggs I want the most (I still really wanted the Jumbos, by the way). The other eggs I'm getting are the blue quail, once I'm sure my inc is up to snuff.

Yesterday I got my eggs in the mail and I'll be setting them soon! There are some really beautiful patterns in there. None were broken, despite the post office losing my package for a week but Robby was really great about it. I decided to set them and see what happens. He does an awesome packing job on the eggs. Only two, *maybe* three were cracked. Patched them up with beeswax, one crumbled a little when I did so I don't have high hopes for that one. One other one was a little more porous than the others, but we shall see what happens! I can't wait to see them developing.

 

[Fat Daddy]

Good luck with your eggs.... Im sure you will like the little Brinsea. I love my eco 20. The thermostats in these are rock solid, so once you get the temp right, the hardest thing is leaving it alone..... You mentioned you repaired a crumbled egg. Keep a eye on these. Once the shell is broken nasties can set in real easy. If they start to go south, first thing you notice will be a "seeping" and off smell. Any signs of this get them out quick! You'll find you can spot a foul egg with your nose much faster than your eyes! Good luck.

 

[ekalf33]

That is what I want to do too. I need to get a coop, brooder, and a bator set up first though. Just curious, how many eggs did you end up ordering? I currently have 8 chickens, down from 13 due to a stray dog getting into our coop, and 13 2 month old chickens (to replace the killed ones). I am selling the extra eggs that we get and saving the money for feed and also to invest into quail. I promised the wife that I wouldn't do anything until I had all the money for it. COME ON CHICKENS! So currently I am in the R part of R&D. Are you gonna let them set for a day or two before you throw them into the 'bator? Do you have plans to candle them or just see how things go? I am living vicariously through you right now!

 

[AClassicalLife]

Thanks Fat Daddy. The egg only crumbled (on the point, and very little) while I tried to repair the crack. But I've seen people salvage way worse. Good thing my nose is abnormally sensitive to smells.

ekalf33, I ordered 12, but received 16 in case of breakage. Probably a good thing because of the two cracked and one kinda porous. But we'll see what happens. I'm loathe to just pitch eggs if it's possible they might make it, just a personal preference kind of thing... 4 are being incubated by a friend to see what happens. So I put my 12 into my auto-turning tray. It's pretty cool, it just turned them! The little Avianweb hygrometer/thermometer thing that came with it for $8 extra is useless though. It says the temperature is much lower than it is. Seems unlikely because Brinsea is known for having one of the best possible built-in thermometers for accuracy. I added water carefully because it seems like both hygrometers were fairly close, they were reading at 30ish% with no water added (Pacific Northwest for you), so I tried to fill one water well to bring it up to 40-50%, but it sloshed a bit into the second one. Sigh. I wish I could have purchased automatic humidity! I also got a Brinsea Spot-Check, but it won't fit into the tiny vent to take a reading. Gah! First time incubation fears... The incubator itself is reading 99.6 and flashes in between that and 99.8.

I let my eggs sit in a temperature controlled room (70 F) for just under 24 hours to acclimate before setting them in the incubator. I would have had them in there early this morning, but my alarm clock didn't wake me.

Yes, I'll definitely candle! I got a high-intensity ovascope/ovaview kit which is supposed to help with seeing through dark shells and mottled eggs like quail eggs. I used it to help me spot cracks that would have been very difficult to see with my teeny LED keychain flashlight (which is also the perfect size for quail!). Candling is really fun. I can't wait till I can see veining. Good luck with saving up for the quail! You might be able to persuade your wife to start out with fewer quail rather than more for later. That's kind of how it went in my house. I think DH is skeptical, I told him about a 50% hatch rate being GREAT on shipped eggs, and then 50% of those being males we can't all keep, but I think he feels every single egg will hatch and we will be overrun with birds.

Which is part of the reason I got a tiny incubator, to alleviate his fears.... I can always fit 24 quail eggs in it, if I turn them by hand!