First quail hatch ever... I suck... need help please...

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I set approx 50 eggs. It's a Lyons TX6. They started hatching a couple days early. 15 hatched fine at 55% humidity. I waited until the end of the day and quickly took them all out and bumped up the humidity to about 65%, about 5 more hatched with difficulty, and now I've had about 10 more pipping but dying in the shell... some look to be shrink wrapped but only about half.

Did I shrink wrap them when I opened it the first time, or did messing with the humidity mess them up? It's my first time using this incubator and I need to know what I did wrong...

Thanks for any help!

 

[TheRealTimShady]

i have yet to deal with any of that, but i've heard alot of people saying just let nature run its course. the shrink wrap....maybe so, its called "Lockdown" for a reason, i have a pipe going from the outside of the incubator to the dish on the inside so i don't have to open it up.

all you can do is hope, if you really want, you can try and help out but be VERY careful, if you see any blood...stop

 

[_Randall_]

Quote:
It's a possibility you "dried out" the process a little. I only raise Bobs, so this may not apply to all breeds. Randall's rule of thumb (for Bobs): You can't get the humidity too high during lockdown.............and yes, if you have got a calibrated hygrometer.....and you see 85%+ humidity on it, consider yourself equipped for a good hatch as far as humidity is concerned. Think about it.........it's a fully matured bird in that shell, and that rubbery-like membrane is its barrier from getting out of that shell. If this "latex-like" membrane has a chance to dry out, it will do that....especially if you allow ambient (drier) air get inside the shell where you want it to stay moist. It's easier to tear moist (wet) cardboard than dry, right? Too much fan air will assist in this problem, even though the fan is stirring the trapped "moist" air. You can't get humidity too high during lockdown........PERIOD!!! The wetter the air, the better..........at least on this hill. I've got proof in some grow-out pens and brooders, and am hatching weekly by boosting the humidity as high as I can get it!! Get some wet cloths or sponges in there if you've still got some due. And also, it does not hurt to leave them in the bator for 24 hours, so if you think you need to hurry them to the brooder to keep them alive, that's not true. (Again, I only raise Bobs).

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
NOPE NOTHING YOU DID... WELCOME TO HATCHING IN FORCED AIR...NEXT TIME YOU MIGHT TRY PLACING A DAMP DISPOSEABLE DIAPER BETWEEN THE EGGS AND THE FAN... OR TAPE SOME CARDBOARD LOOSELY OVER THE FAN VENT... SOMETHING TO DECREASE THE AIR FLOW. BETTER YET IF YA CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON A STILL AIR HOVABATOR COOLERBATOR--- THEY MAKE WONDERFUL HATCHERS

 

[MobyQuail]

sorry WMR, same thing has happened here... and I think Randall nailed it.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
With coturnix you have to 'open it up'. They cannot stay in the incubator as long as other species are able to.


To the OP: When you open the incubator to remove hatchlings you need to have a cup of HOT water or a cloth soaked in HOT water to put in the incubator so it will bring the humidity back up fast.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I have to disagree with Randall, there is such a thing as 'too high' concerning humidity, even with gamebirds. I once had a big hatch of coturnix in my Hovabator 1588. I had the turner completely full. It was the worst hatch I've ever had on eggs from my own birds. The humidity was so high that the chicks weren't drying and I assume several of them died after internally pipping. That hatch was less than 50%, from my own birds.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

These all seem to be externally pipping and then dying with just the beak poking out. I do think they aren't moist enough, even though humidity is reading 79% right now I still see dry membranes!

I think JJMR nailed it, I think it's the fan drying them out.

Bummer! Well at least I got 20. Crazy how the first 15 hatched JUST FINE at 55% and THEN when the humidity was raised they dried out.

Must be from opening it even though humidity was up.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Did you calibrate your hygrometer? Just because it's reading 79% doesn't mean that's the actual level unless you have calibrated it.

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
I hate to open seems like the hatch is over after you open the first time. If you do open spray the remaining eggs with water to up the humidity. I've been letting them all hatch before opening & my hatch rates have really increased. I got 61 out of 70 last hatch. Time before that I got 30 out of 36.