Hatching quail eggs under a broody HEN..

[Aquira]

I just hatched a total of four coturnix chicks under my broody bantam Cochin. She ended up crushing one (my fault for not thoroughly checking under her) so probably what I will do next time is let her brood them most of the way then put them in the incubator for lockdown. She did break one of the eggs the first night I put them under her, though.

 

[All4Eggz]

Homemade incubators can be made for cheap. There are some pretty cool videos on you tube. Like a cooler with a bulb and socket. As long as they turn the eggs and monitor the temp with a thermometer and with a wet sponge and water, they are good to go.

Whatever breed of chicken, she would have to be about the size of a quail. A serama maybe?

The smallest breed I have is a sebright

 

[ozzie]

My Silkie just hatched some Jap quail eggs for me. What happened
1. 10 out of 12 hatched.
2. She squished 2 of them whilst they were hatching.
3. 8 survived. But quail chicks have this habit of burrowing into the feathers of their mothers. I read that’s what quails do. They “carry” their chicks around with them post hatch. Then when they find food, they shake them out and they eat together. Anyway, 4 chicks died in the first week. The strangled themselves in my Silkie’s feathers during the burrowing process. The Silkie’s feathers were too long.
4. By week1, they had grown to a sufficient size so the strangling didn’t happen anymore. I kept them in a small hutch with the Silkie.
5. They are about 3 weeks old now. They are now in the run with the Silkie and just sleep next to her at nights. They are feathered enough to survive on their own.

What I would do differently next time. This is all trial and error.
1. Near hatch day, I would take them out from under the broody Silkie and hatch them out in my incubator. Replace the eggs with fake eggs.
2. keep them under heat in a brooder till they are 1 week old then attempt to sneak them in under the broody Silkie again. I am not sure if they will imprint on her seeing they are already a week old.

Will probably wean them off her in another week. She’s already having times in the day where she’s away from them and back with the flock. She does still rush back to them. Such a good mother.

By the way, this person has done it before and she inspired me to give it a go. She has a lot of information available.

https://holistic-hen.blogspot.com/2012/03/hatching-and-raising-quail-organically.html

 

[All4Eggz]

My Silkie just hatched some Jap quail eggs for me. What happened
1. 10 out of 12 hatched.
2. She squished 2 of them whilst they were hatching.
3. 8 survived. But quail chicks have this habit of burrowing into the feathers of their mothers. I read that’s what quails do. They “carry” their chicks around with them post hatch. Then when they find food, they shake them out and they eat together. Anyway, 4 chicks died in the first week. The strangled themselves in my Silkie’s feathers during the burrowing process. The Silkie’s feathers were too long.
4. By week1, they had grown to a sufficient size so the strangling didn’t happen anymore. I kept them in a small hutch with the Silkie.
5. They are about 3 weeks old now. They are now in the run with the Silkie and just sleep next to her at nights. They are feathered enough to survive on their own.

What I would do differently next time. This is all trial and error.
1. Near hatch day, I would take them out from under the broody Silkie and hatch them out in my incubator. Replace the eggs with fake eggs.
2. keep them under heat in a brooder till they are 1 week old then attempt to sneak them in under the broody Silkie again. I am not sure if they will imprint on her seeing they are already a week old.

Will probably wean them off her in another week. She’s already having times in the day where she’s away from them and back with the flock. She does still rush back to them. Such a good mother. View attachment 2783967View attachment 2783968
By the way, this person has done it before and she inspired me to give it a go. She has a lot of information available.

https://holistic-hen.blogspot.com/2012/03/hatching-and-raising-quail-organically.html

Great story. Thank you!