Float Testing, Checking Egg Viability For Late Or Overdue Hatching

[dc3085]

Keep it in the incubator and see what happens. there is nothing you can do at this point because handling it means having it at far too low of temperature for it's body at this point. If it is a coturnix chick it would very likely have developmental problems anyway at day 24.

 

[texpainthorse]

I had a peachick that did that. I helped it out and the yolk was still attached. I should have left it in it's open shell until it was ready. The left over yolk fell off and the chick was very week for a few hours. Then it began to pick up strength. Now, I don't float test until they are a week overdue. I don't help one out that I can see is breathing unless it is shrink wrapped. That's just my opinion though.
Good luck and post your results!

 

[minihorse927]

OK what happens at day 24 float test and it appears that the chick developed but died then you crack open AND IT IS ALIVE :-((

Can someone please tell me the protocal right now it is still in the egg with the top already cracked off. She appears to be breathing but still in fetal position. omg I cant believe how dumb I am I checked them so many times and no movememnt no sound no ripples in water float. Sad day. Can it be saved still?

to keep the membrane from drying out, rub neosporin all over the membrane. If it pipped internally already, don't cover it's beak. I had a orpington chick just do this to me. No movement, thought it died, opened the top and oops! It happened last night and the chick is out and dry and very alive.

 

[stargazer1974]

I think I will try this test on Saturday if my duck eggs don't hatch by then. They are due tomorrow. The reason I am concerned is that I had one duck hatch on lockdown day, Sunday! I was going to take the turner out around 9 Sunday night, it was about that time at night that I set them, and I happened to look through the bator window around 7 PM and there was an empty egg staring at me!!! I found a perfect little fluffy duckling stumbling around on my turner. Now I'm just wondering why it would have hatched so early and it makes me worried about the 5 eggs left in the bator. There were still no pips this morning, maybe I'll have more when I get home. I'll leave them in the bator until Saturday before I mess with them, though. Then I'll do a water candling to see. I'm so anxious!

 

[LinaNate]

Just did the float. No sinkers and no high floaters... none were rock n rolling either.
When I candled one has a visable air cell but I see no movement or internal pip.
The other is 100% dark inside, no air cell that I can see.

I put em back in the incubator w/ the lonely chick. I've got 15 1 week old mail order chicks in a brooder already... would you put lonely incubated chick with the 1 week olds (if they don't pick on it)?

 

[dc3085]

They will almost certainly pick on it. Put it in the brooder in a clear tupperware if you have to, that way the others can see it but not pick on it. By the time it can jump out of the tupperware it should be able to get by with the others. Keep in mind they may kill it, if they start picking on it game birds are very aggressive from hatch on.

 

[aperez54]

I'm so confused about this thread -

It's under Quail but I read posts about overdue chicks at Day 23/24 etc...

Don't all quails hatch at Day 17? Or is that only for Coturnix? Can quails actually hatch on Day 24?

 

[dc3085]

I'm so confused about this thread -

It's under Quail but I read posts about overdue chicks at Day 23/24 etc...

Don't all quails hatch at Day 17? Or is that only for Coturnix? Can quails actually hatch on Day 24?

Old world quail hatch closer to 17 days while most new world quail like valleys gambels and bobs hatch on day 22 or 23 (so 24 is only a day late for bobs).

Aside from coturnix; mearns, bobwhites, blue scaled, gambels, valleys, mountain, harlequin, elegant (bensons), and chinese blue breasted are all commonly kept birds so when you see specific info on here you have to qualify if it applies to the quail you are raising.

 

[aperez54]

Old world quail hatch closer to 17 days while most new world quail like valleys gambels and bobs hatch on day 22 or 23 (so 24 is only a day late for bobs).

Aside from coturnix; mearns, bobwhites, blue scaled, gambels, valleys, mountain, harlequin, elegant (bensons), and chinese blue breasted are all commonly kept birds so when you see specific info on here you have to qualify if it applies to the quail you are raising.

Thanks dc3085

 

[loobylu]

I wish I had come across this post first, now I'm worried that I might have killed my potential chicks, got home and found one of the eggs under the broody had exploded, turfed her off and removed that as did a quick clean up of the area, we don't know exactly how many days the eggs are that she is sitting on, the oldest are 21 days but she collected a variety of extra ones before we realised what she was up to. I quickly candled the rest and also did a water test removing those that sank, however I didn't know that the water needed to be warm, everything that rocked and rolled and floated as well as could be see to be ok when candled I put back, the 4 sinkers I removed, 3 were duds and nothing at all, but one was a chick though I think it must have died in the shell. I'm now panicking that I did a bad thing with dipping the others in cool water though, I didn't have them in long, but I really hope I didn't accidentally kill them, I'm now cursing myself for not finding this post and going on incorrect advice :-( I really hope some of these do hatch in the next few days and that I havent done them harm, the eggs were quite full when candled.