How long for quail chicks to dry out?

[flickerfarkle]

Sorry about the "new papa" jitters, but it is what it is.

My first chick hatched shortly after midnight (an early "bird," on second day of lockdown) and as of this moment I have two more newbies. How long (as a rule) does it take them to dry? Late this evening I'll move the dry ones to the brooder but I'd rather not touch the ones I don't intend to remove, so I'd like to know if you can reliably judge that they're dry by passage of time, or by their appearance, or will I need to handle them to be sure?

I don't seem to see well enough through the dome of my incubator to tell for sure. Through the plastic, the two oldest chicks look about the same when one has been for hatched 10 hours and the other just 5.

 

[Debbie292d]

There is no set time but at least a few hours after hatching. Speed of drying is dependent on the humidity. If they've all hatched, you could open the vents or crack the incubator a little bit to drop the humidity and speed up drying. If there are others pipped, I'd leave them in there.

I never rush them out. If any seem sluggish, I leave them in there for another hour or two.