Help hatching quail eggs

[Kitsune3524]

So I've been incubating quail eggs for the first time in my life and they've been on lockdown for almost a week. I know I shouldn't open the incubator but I was just so I could put more water and check for pips. Yesterday I opened it and noticed one of the eggs had a small hole. Being the dummy that I am of course I kept opening the damn incubator just to look at it. It had already cracked the shell at 3 but didn't break through the membrane until about 6. After it broke through it stuck it' beak through it and left it there. Now I know they rest for a long time after that point, but before I went to bed I had to make sure it was ok cuz I was freaking out. I whistled at it and it started moving it' beak. Now it's the next day, 23 hours later, and it's still not moving. I started freaking out of course, trying to tap its beak or whistle to see if it would move, and I started peeling away some of the shell (not the membrane) to see if anything would happen. (Yes I know it was a dumb thing to do) Im just freaking out now at this point. I feel like I might've ruined it's chances and it's making me feel sick. I just wanna know if it's normal for it to not be moving at all, if I've 100 percent ruined it's chances, if I should've left it alone longer, could it have been because it got too cold when I opened the incubator or what? Did I just mess with it too much, should I give up on it and take it out? I still have one other egg in there, it hasn't pipped but it's definitely alive, so I'd like to know for the future.

 

[mdees88]

I've had eggs take 24 hours from pip to zip. Typically it's more like 12 hours.

If your tapping his beak and he's not moving that doesn't sound good.

I shrink wrapped some chick's when I was doing a staggered hatch (opening the incubator several times during lockdown). I helped 6 eggs hatch and 5 chick's ended up making it. I zipped the egg for them but left the top on so they had to push their way out...

It sounds to me like he is possibly already dead. You could take him out and zip the egg. Do not take him out of the shell and do not completely remove the top of the shell.

Opening the incubator during lockdown is a big no-no. If you have no pips it's not as bad to open it. But if you're eggs have pipped the drop in humidity will dry out the membrane and will make it hard for the chick's to hatch.

1) what kind of quail are you hatching?
2) how many eggs do you have in the incubator, just 2?
3) what is the humidity?

 

[RosieR]

My first hatch I opened a few times because the chicks hatched so staggered. A few pips didn’t make it to zipping. I tried to help one hatch out but a day later he didn’t make it.
Your best bet is to keep the humidity up for lockdown and try to keep the lid closed.
Good luck with the rest of your hatch!

 

[Kitsune3524]

I've had eggs take 24 hours from pip to zip. Typically it's more like 12 hours.

If your tapping his beak and he's not moving that doesn't sound good.

I shrink wrapped some chick's when I was doing a staggered hatch (opening the incubator several times during lockdown). I helped 6 eggs hatch and 5 chick's ended up making it. I zipped the egg for them but left the top on so they had to push their way out...

It sounds to me like he is possibly already dead. You could take him out and zip the egg. Do not take him out of the shell and do not completely remove the top of the shell.

Opening the incubator during lockdown is a big no-no. If you have no pips it's not as bad to open it. But if you're eggs have pipped the drop in humidity will dry out the membrane and will make it hard for the chick's to hatch.

1) what kind of quail are you hatching?
2) how many eggs do you have in the incubator, just 2?
3) what is the humidity?

I haven't been measuring the humidity which I know is dumb but I've been making sure there's a lot of water, I did a lot of research before starting like I said this is my first time trying to hatch anything in my life. Idk if too much water or too high humidity is a bad thing or not. I'm pretty sure they're coturnix(I think?) Quail eggs, and ya there was six but ended up with 2 left in the end. The one that pipped didn't make it unfortunately and I know it was mostly my fault. The last egg hasn't pipped yet, it will have been on lockdown for a week tomorrow. I read somewhere that lower temp helps them hatch easier like 1 degree less but maybe I should turn it back up? I've definitely learned my lesson. I've been opening to check for pips and add more water but that's it, as soon as I see any sort of hole it's gonna be 100% lockdown mode. If he doesn't make it I'm gonna try again, hopefully at least with a little more knowledge lol. Any tips? If I don't see any pips how long should i wait to give up?

 

[RosieR]

Too much humidity could be a bad thing but it really depends on how high it is. Definitely get yourself a hydrometer for next time.
Do you have a calibrated thermometer you can use to check the temperature? Sometimes late hatches are a result of the temperature being too low, so I would advise turning the heat back up to see if that last bird will make it out.
How long have they been incubating for total now?

 

[mdees88]

I've bought many thermometer/hygrometers but I have 3 of these and all 3 work great.....
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01H...F8&qid=1527526745&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65

 

[Kitsune3524]

Too much humidity could be a bad thing but it really depends on how high it is. Definitely get yourself a hydrometer for next time.
Do you have a calibrated thermometer you can use to check the temperature? Sometimes late hatches are a result of the temperature being too low, so I would advise turning the heat back up to see if that last bird will make it out.
How long have they been incubating for total now?

The incubator tells me the temp just not the humidity. I guess it's been about 24 days since they started incubating. And ya if I have to try again I'll definitely get one.

 

[RosieR]

I've bought many thermometer/hygrometers but I have 3 of these and all 3 work great.....
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01H...F8&qid=1527526745&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65
View attachment 1408077

Ooo I need a fancy cabinet!

 

[RosieR]

The incubator tells me the temp just not the humidity. I guess it's been about 24 days since they started incubating. And ya if I have to try again I'll definitely get one.

It’s a good idea to cross check the temp with a thermometer you know is perfectly accurate. I bought a cheap manual instant read thermometer used for checking cooking temps, then calibrated it properly. I then altered my incubator thermostat accordingly.

 

[LA_BirdGirl]

Ooo I need a fancy cabinet!

That's exactly what I was thinking...I know this is an old message, but if @Kitsune3524 happens to see this, I'd really like to know where you got that at! I'm really struggling with keeping up with 4 incubators. I'm new to quail and chicken motherhood I mean, hatching too