Getting quail out of the incubator

[BlakeS]

Good morning. I have a pretty urgent question. BLUF: I'm wondering when I should take my quail out of the incubator.

Details: I have 32 eggs in the incubator. I came in here yesterday at around 5 A.M. to find one of them happily exploring the space. They continued to hatch periodically through the day yesterday. My plan was to wake up and put them in the brooder this morning. We have 14 of them moving around in there right now but they are still hatching. One of them is still working its way out of the shell and two others haven't fluffed up yet. I know I need to get these little guys to water (I've been told I need to move them within 30 hours) but i don't think that will be good for the new ones. When do I get them out?

 

[SnackMeat]

I would get them out but only because when I have tried chickens (taking out a couple hours after they hatched versus leaving them in) more eggs that were moving around recently died. I'm guessing all the bumping the little ones did severed something or shocked, but it was a big disappointment for me because of which eggs they were.

I assume the same is for the quail. So long as they stay warm and they've started drying, moving quickly to the brooder would, I assume, be just as fine for quail as with chickens.

 

[BlakeS]

OK. Thank you. I'll let this one finish hatching and I'll move them over.

 

[catesquire]

I move them over in batches every few hours, as they get fluffy. If you get too many in at once they start tripping all over the eggs trying to hatch. I can't imagine that getting stepped on repeatedly helps the hatching process, lol

 

[BlakeS]

I move them over in batches every few hours, as they get fluffy. If you get too many in at once they start tripping all over the eggs trying to hatch. I can't imagine that getting stepped on repeatedly helps the hatching process, lol

I think that's what I'll do next time. Is it OK to move the fluffy ones now with some currently hatching or am I going to harm the ones that are hatching if I do?

 

[Nabiki]

I move them as soon as they're dry. 30 hours is an awful long time. I never let mine stay in there more than 12. While they are still absorbing the yolk, the sooner they start eating and drinking the faster they start growing.

 

[BlakeS]

OK. I apparently misunderstood. I was led to believe that the humidity was super critical and that opening it up to get them out was sure to kill the rest.

 

[SnackMeat]

I've botched some hatches badly with humidity and so long as everyone had positioned themselves correctly the worst I had to do was wet the membrane down a few times to slide it off their bodies. Not sure how it goes with quail but probably similar. If worried, take incubator into bathroom and run the shower hot for a few minutes for lots of steam before opening. I think it's overkill but I understand wanting to be too careful rather than not careful enough.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

OK. I apparently misunderstood. I was led to believe that the humidity was super critical and that opening it up to get them out was sure to kill the rest.

When opening the incubator it should be as FAST as possible, complete ninja kidnapping of that quail. Like everyone else in the thread I remove them once dry, or if they're running around in full panic mode, I can't listen to panicked babies so I take them out and help them finish fluffing up with some loves and reassurance. The humidity in the incubator can change with too frequent openings or being open for too long, usually not severely but it's good to be minimal to prevent too much fluctuations

 

[nuthatched]

OK. I apparently misunderstood. I was led to believe that the humidity was super critical and that opening it up to get them out was sure to kill the rest.

Nope. Unless you take off the lid and then go make a sandwich, they'll be fine.