help in attempt at saving premature button quail

[garett]

So I have been incubating 4 button quail eggs for 20 days now. I let them sit for an extra few days just in case. Well today I decided that I would open one up and see what had gone wrong. I do this with all of my bird species unhatched eggs just to learn from the failure. Well I opened it up expecting it to smell and it didn't and as I opened it I realized that the bird was only a day away from pipping. I warmed some water to 101 degrees and wet a few folded paper towels. I laid the bird on the wet paper towels inside the incubator and folded them up and over the body of the bird. Then I closed up the incubator. I am 100% expecting this bird 2 die and will remove it as soon as I am sure that it has. But I was wondering if anyone has had birds live in similar circumstances. And what else can be done to potentially save the bird.

 

[GrandmaBird]

sorry for your loss. Waiting is the hardest part of incubating eggs of any kind. It can take up to 20-21 days depending on the temperature and humidity of your incubator and how many times you had to open it and the eggs might have cooled off a bit. also if you tried to candle them they can get cool as well. patience is the best with hatching. good luck with the rest.

 

[TwoCrows]

Unfortunately it probably won't live, although after posting this, someone will probably chime in and say they did this same thing and the chick lived. LOL

However, usually the 24 to 48 hours before hatching, the chick is busy absorbing the last of the egg yolk, closing off the umbilical cord and disconnecting from the inner membrane. If these things don't happen, generally they don't survive.

BUT, don't let that discourage you from opening up unhatched eggs! That IS the best way to learn from mistakes during incubation. Incubating blindly and just pitching unhatched eggs teaches nothing.

Hope the little guy makes it.

 

[garett]

thanks. for the comments. I thought I should wait a couple more days but I figured an extra 2 should have been plenty of time. guess I was wrong lol! live and learn.