Hey how are yall? Just curious as to tips or tricks to getting more fertile eggs the past couple of times only have had about 30 percent of eggs fertile candling them during incubation. Thank you
There are lots of reasons eggs are not/less fertile or you are getting a poor hatch rate. This time of year, the hens and roos are not as fertile as they will be come spring and summer, as well as how long the birds have been mating. (birds need to be breeding for 2 weeks before you collect eggs for hatching). The manner in which the eggs are handled and stored before setting makes a big difference in the hatch rate. And of course the incubation itself plays a huge roll in the hatch rate. The health of the hens and roo's also effect the fertility of eggs. Oh, and welcome to BYC and the quail forums!!
First, welcome to the Quail forum on BYC. Second, there are no "tips or tricks" I can offer, other than read everything you can about the humidity / temperature of your incubator. I could tell you to check the Farmers Almanac and face the rising moon while loading your eggs with your left hand while rubbing... ehhh, just kidding; couldn't resist. Here is one link I recommend you read. Another thing I can recommend (as I fell victim to this on my first hatch); have more than 1 thermometer. The one on your incubator may/could be off a few degrees, and this could be fatal to your chicks. I have 2 thermometers... one is a digital thermometer with a gage for the humidity... that gage on your incubator may be off as well. I'll operate my incubator for several days monitoring both temperature and humidity before I get my eggs. If you have any other questions, there is a search tool at the top of the page... just type in your issue... nine chances out of 10, another member had the same problem(s) and an experienced member assisted. This will save you from typeing inyour question and waiting a day or 2 until somebody responds. The last thing I can say is "stay positive". Sometimes getting a 50% hatch from eggs in the mail is pretty tough. James
One thing that helps sometimes is to clip all the feathers near the vent in both male and female. That will get fertility rates higher.
