Getting quail out of the incubator

[The Moonshiner]

You can absolutely shrink wrap them and kill them by opening it for a few moments.
It all depends what the humidity is in the room. If you're in the desert with next to no humidity it doesn't take no time.
But if you're in the rainforest you'd probably have time to make that sandwich and still be okay.

 

[Nabiki]

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.

There's no problem if you're quick. I pour a bit of water in (avoiding the eggs, of course) when I pull chicks out so the humidity bounces back up quickly.

 

[catesquire]

I've also heard of people putting in a wet paper towel after they get the chicks out or misting the air around the incubator with a spray bottle before opening, to help keep humidity high.

I personally haven't had issues just cracking the lid and kidnapping them out quick (I set a bowl with a towel in it next to the incubator, and move them all over in a few seconds), but my house has about 50% ambient humidity, which I didn't think is low enough to cause shrink wrapping in small doses.

 

[pac]

My last couple batches I tilted the lid of my 360 and reached in and grabbed one or two. Then put the lid back down to choose my next ones. The fan and heat were still blowing on the eggs (and water below) as I was grabbing. Temp and humidity loss was minimal.