Hatching quail eggs that are nearly at the hatching date

[nikirushka]

Let me explain. I posted a short while ago about having a broody coturnix. She sat on her eggs dutifully until the first one hatched - he/she is doing very well - and now she appears to have given up, completely devoted as she is to her little solo fluffball.

That leaves another 12 viable eggs. I have float tested and last night, I cracked one open thinking they must be all dead... nope. Very much alive, sadly. And I think on about day 12, looking at development photos online.

So I find myself with a bunch of eggs and no willing hen, and no incubator! What to do? I'm trying to see if I can borrow one but chances are I won't (unless there are members on here very close to Scunthorpe in the UK who have one spare?) so I need to come up with a home setup, or let them die. I'd rather not do that if there's any chance I can save them.

 

[asudavew]

A cardboard box, a heat lamp and a thermometer.


Turn several times a day.

 

[nikirushka]

Thank you. I've ended up doing something along those lines but not quite - I've got a polystyrene box, a heat mat anda thermometer, and I've used two of the trays from my veg steamer to lift the eggs a little so they're in the right place temperature-wise as right on the mat was going up to 45C!

I candled them the other night,and I've got three definitely live chicks, 5 with chicks in but I saw no movement (but knowing how hard it can be to see with quails and as I was candling with my phone I'm not abandoning them yet!), two that I believe are duff but I'm not 100% sure and two that were all air so those have gone.

The two I'm not sure about - when I candled them there are clear air sacs, but the rest looks empty and if I move them, the air sace appears to move slightly but of course, small well-patterned eggs and my rather basic candling "torch" mean it's hard to tell. Float testing says they're viable - any opinions on them please? I can't get a pic unfortunately. I'll have another look at them tonight.

 

[asudavew]

I'm glad you found a way to incubate them.

We just had our second hatch of coturnix. We have 20 birds to start with and shall take it from there.


They're cute little boogers.

Good,luck with your hatch !

 

[nikirushka]

Holy moly! I was only half-hoping with how utterly ramshackle everything has been, there have been temperature up and downs, I thought the eggs had cooked a few times until I got finally it all stable yesterday but this little guy just this minute popped out and started cheeping his little butt off!

I got my tibetan tuxedo

 

[eHuman]

That's great! That 1st guy is your cheering section for his buddies. Any more little ones answer his call yet?

 

[nikirushka]

One has pipped, I am waiting very impatiently for it to appear!