First Quail Hatch- could use some advice

[suzettex5]

We incubated 10 coturnix quail eggs, and yesterday was day 17. We had 5 hatch, but one is missing a foot, and one has a leg that sticks waaaay out to the side with curled toes. One pipped, then died in the shell. Still waiting on 4 that havent done anything yet. I kept the temps right except for a temp spike around the 11th day, it went up to 101 for a few hours.

Humidity has been perfect all along. These are shipped eggs. Are the deformities due to the temp spike? I know a certain amount of deformities are going to happen, so I accept that, unless it is my fault with the temps.

How do you all dispatch a weak/faulty quail chick? This is my sons project, so the least traumatizing method for the chick and us will used. Thanks all.

 

[Denninmi]

I'm so sorry it hasn't worked out. It's tough to be in that situation.

Most of the hatches I had this year didn't go well, either. I feel for you.

The euthanasia thing is hard, too. Most people on here seem to feel that the easiest thing on the bird is to quickly decapitate with scissors or similar sharp object. Probably easiest emotionally on you is to either gas with carbon dioxide or to put it in the freezer to die of hypothermia, but those aren't necessarily the easiest on the bird by any means.

 

[Stellar]

Where did you get the eggs? Shipping does affect hatchability, you don't know where the eggs were sitting before they came to you. 101 shouldn't hurt them. 105 is the temperature that kills the embryos. Curled toes is a high humidity problem. Also if they pipped and died in the shell, it can be a high humidity problem with the chick sticking to the membrane. Do you have two thermometers in the hatcher? Also what is the hygrometer reading? What is the lining of the hatcher? The chick with the leg that sticks out could have a condition called splayed leg caused by slipping. The curling sometimes overcomes so give the chicks some time. Good luck.

 

[suzettex5]

Quote:
I only have 1 thermometer in there, but it has always read accurate when I've used it in my other incubator with another, more expensive thermometer. Hygrometer read about 63-68 during LD, and went to 70 as hatching went on for a few hours. Was the humidity too high/low?

I put a double layer of cheese cloth over the wire flooring in the bator. I think the curled toes and slipping leg are getting better already, it seems to be getting up and about a bit more now.

I'm losing hope for the last 3 eggs, its day 18 and they havent pipped or anything. BTW, I have the eggs in tiny egg cartons for hatching, they seem to pop out pretty quickly with no problems.

Thank you everyone, for all your help and support- it really does make a difference.

ETA- they were shipped from pretty far away, many states, and the P/O was very rough on them, a few were broken despite a phenominal packaging job.

 

[Stellar]

Humidity should be 55% for the first 14 days and then 60-65% the last 3 days. 70% is a bit high.

It seems the eggs were very fertile since you were able to hatch them out. I would toss out the last 3 eggs. Too much moisture could have seeped into the egg pores and in that case, the chick won't hatch, if the egg is viable, of course.

 

[suzettex5]

Ah- Thanks! I wasnt sure on humidity....there are soooo many opinions on the subject. I tried to keep it kinda in the middle of the high and low of what everyone suggests. The average humidity was about 58 till LD, but didnt go to 70 till they were actually hatching, which, in my experience, always sends the humidity up, then after hatch it comes down a few points.

I just had to dispatch the footless baby....it was hard and sad, but it is the comitment I made when I chose to raise animals- not to let any suffer and provide the best life possible. Gotta take the good with the bad, I guess.

I think I am going to do an eggstopsy to see what happened to the other chicks. 18 days is long enough, right? Dont wanna mess up any late bloomers. I feel so sad for my son- this is his first hatch ever, and only had 10 to start with, and now he has only 4 chicks. BUT, they are soooo cute, and 4 may be just the right # for him to handle at his age (11) and not to many to keep track of, AND we can probably keep them in the house with us longer with that few.

I think we will be trying again very soon, and this time with alot more eggs, and maybe someone local so we can avoid the whole shipping thing. We'll see, I do like getting eggs in the mail!

<--- our 4 new quail babies!!

 

[Stellar]

I leave eggs in the incubator for 18 days just in case for late bloomers. But if I see no pips by day 18 I toss them. I love gettting eggs in the mail too

I also love shipping them for some odd reason . I am happy your son gets to experience raising quail. They are so much fun

 

[chickenwhisperer]

101 is NOT a temp spike

What kind of incubator are you using?

It all sounds like humidity problems to me.
There could be 2 or more causes for pips w/no hatch- 1 is too low humidity and the chicks stick to the membrane and 2 is too high humidity and chicks drown because they cant get out from the inner membrane.
Positioning in the egg affects hatch too, for obvious reasons and the reason for not turning in lockdown.


Im sorry, but chances are that your hygrometer is off, as most usually are unless you spent a couple hundred $ on it, and was giving false readings.

I find with my hatches(just hatched 38/38 of my own eggs, and well over a 100 chukars 18 days before that) that as long as there is water in the bator but no fogging of any kind on the sides/glass, its all good.
I put my water either right in front or right behind the lower fan.

Drier is better than wetter, because some of the inside of the egg needs to evaporate, and when eggs hatch it raises the humidity also.
Always go with drier rather than wetter.

That all being said, Id get eggs from a different source . . .
No foot sounds maybe genetic or something, curled toes is usually incubation but no foot is pretty crazy.

Where are you located?
My eggs hatch really well, and Im in Sac, Ca.

 

[chickenwhisperer]

To add . . .

It has been MY experience:


- that the chicks that are gonna hatch and survive, will usually hatch all at nearly the same time

 

[Stellar]

Some color variations are harder to hatch Chicken Whisperer due to their genetics so I wouldn't blame the source this time around. I am 100% positive the cause of this was high humidity OR shipping