First time incubating quail eggs, need help!

[plsavary]

Hi Everyone!
We are trying to hatch some quail eggs and are having some issues. Once we revived the incubator we did plug it in along with another thermometer that shows humidity as well. After we had it on for a few hours everything read fine. A few days later we picked up our eggs. We turned the incubator back while the eggs rested them loaded them up when the temps were correct. But in the following days the temp went down and the humidity too high. We have tried all the tricks I read on the internet. We did get the humidity down, bit the temp still fluctuates. What else can I do? They have been in there since 3/15. Is it too late to save anything? The temp this morning was 98.9 but it has been as low as 95. The humidity is finally at 45% but was as high as 79%. Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[scyllarus]

I personally think it's worth continuing the incubation. Eggs in the wild undergo fluctuations all the time, and while that decreases the odds, it doesn't mean that none will hatch. That being said, what kind of incubator do you use? Where did you get your eggs?

I've seen 99.5F to 100.0F recommended - the temperature drop might affect the hatch rate and/or the hatch time (lower temp = takes longer). High humidity affects hatch rate, I believe? I've had similar issues with humidity, so...

Tagging a few of our quail keepers @Nabiki @Kiki

 

[Nabiki]

Have you candled? There is a chance that you have some live ones in there still. I would candle and pull out any that are obviously dead or infertile, then keep an eye on the rest.

 

[Nabiki]

This playlist has candling pics from day 1 to hatch, including some that show the difference between live and dead embryos.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8AKDZ9NpcmHLecXHu6m5qhUIp67ldEnG

 

[Ridgerunner]

Any advice will be appreciated.

Really need some information about the incubator before I can even think about asking helpful questions. Is it a still air or forced air? Is it a commercial model you can give us a link to or is it homemade? Did you calibrate the thermometer or hygrometer? Where are the vents and are they open? How stabile is the temperature and humidity where you are incubating? Is it in direct sun or exposed to wind? Where in the incubator is the thermometer?

Personally I'd keep going. An instantaneous humidity isn't that important, it's more about average humidity over the entire incubation. Temperature is more worrying but even there it takes a while for the temperature inside the egg where the embryo is located to change to air temperature. Good luck!

 

[plsavary]

Have you candled? There is a chance that you have some live ones in there still. I would candle and pull out any that are obviously dead or infertile, then keep an eye on the rest.

The eggs have been in since the evening of 3/15, is it too early to candle?

 

[plsavary]

Really need some information about the incubator before I can even think about asking helpful questions. Is it a still air or forced air? Is it a commercial model you can give us a link to or is it homemade? Did you calibrate the thermometer or hygrometer? Where are the vents and are they open? How stabile is the temperature and humidity where you are incubating? Is it in direct sun or exposed to wind? Where in the incubator is the thermometer?

Personally I'd keep going. An instantaneous humidity isn't that important, it's more about average humidity over the entire incubation. Temperature is more worrying but even there it takes a while for the temperature inside the egg where the embryo is located to change to air temperature. Good luck!

Our incubator is Howuxzo, we purchased this off my sister in law. She said it worked just too small for her chicken eggs. I am not sure about the air, the instructions did not say. Hubby messed with the thermometer and hygrometer, it is a two in one. We have it placed in the incubator in the middle. We have moved the incubator to a corner in our loft. It was down stairs. There is the package Styrofoam and towel wrapped around to help keep heat.

 

[plsavary]

I personally think it's worth continuing the incubation. Eggs in the wild undergo fluctuations all the time, and while that decreases the odds, it doesn't mean that none will hatch. That being said, what kind of incubator do you use? Where did you get your eggs?

I've seen 99.5F to 100.0F recommended - the temperature drop might affect the hatch rate and/or the hatch time (lower temp = takes longer). High humidity affects hatch rate, I believe? I've had similar issues with humidity, so...

Tagging a few of our quail keepers @Nabiki @Kiki

I purchased our eggs from a local that is a member of one of the Facebook groups I'm in.

 

[Nabiki]

The eggs have been in since the evening of 3/15, is it too early to candle?

It's probably too early, but at the same time, that makes the temperature and humidity fluctuations less likely to affect the hatch rate. I would start candling around day 5. You can see in the candling play list that you can see some growth by day 3, but it's not very certain. By day 5 you have a much better idea, and by day 7 you should be seeing veins.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Our incubator is Howuxzo, we purchased this off my sister in law. She said it worked just too small for her chicken eggs.

I found two different incubators online, a 6-chicken egg size and a much larger one. Useful information is hard to come by online. Both said they came with a styrofoam cover to help maintain temperature but I did not see any photos. You are using that and a towel. I'm not sure what else you can do. Do not block the vents.

I am not sure about the air, the instructions did not say.

This is some of the information missing online. if it has a fan, it is a forced air. From appearances I'd guess that both models have a fan. That means the temperature should be the same everywhere inside so it should not matter where inside you put the thermometer.
I don
t feel like I'm much help to you, you seem to be doing what you can.