How many hours can a hatched quail stay in incubator?

astatula

Songster
10 Years
Mar 19, 2009
162
2
119
Astatula
I have left chickens in the incubator for 12 hours after they hatch and they are fine. How long can Coturnix quail stay in the incubator after hatching before they suffer from thirst or starvation. I like to leave my birds in the incubator until I do not see any piping or zipped eggs and then I take everyone that hatched out and replace the top quickly.

I don't want anybody getting stuck in the egg from a loss in humidity so I wait until the incubator looks likes a big ball of fluff inside and remove them then.

I just don't know if quail can survive this like chickens do.
 
Gamebird Chicks Should Be Removed As Soon As Dry For Best Results... If You Have A Hatch In Progress Do Not Worry About Opening The Bator As The Chicks Drying Will Correct Any Humidity Drop And In Most Case Even Cause A Transient Spike. Gamebirds Do Not Have The Reserves Chickens And Other Poultry Do. They Need Food And Water At A Much Sooner Stage Of The Game Than Other Poultry. As Well As This Practice Will Help Decrease Or Prevent Other Malladies Like Spraddle Leg...
 
I had a farily large crowd of Bobs (79) being hatched in a Little Giaint bator a while back, and the vast majority were poppin out all at the same time. I learned quickly that if you wait long enough (18-24 hours) to move them to the brooder.............and raise the top up to do so.................you're gonna have one of the wildest stampedes that you've ever seen by some very tiny birds. It'll be a covey-scatter that you'll never forget............at least with Bobs. They're gonna go jumpin off the sides, and unless you have a retainer wall around the bator, you're gonna be chasin some little boogers like you're chasin a mouse......and yes, they can just about run that fast being only a few hours old. I found a way around this problem with the LG though. Because the sides of the bottom in relation to the wire floor is so short, they will hop out of there in a heartbeat. I popped the two lexan viewing windows out of the top while leaving the top in place, and reached in and got them out through these two big holes. It worked fine.........just a teeny bit uncomfortable when your wrist is up against the heating element for several seconds. But hey, I didn't mind it at all. Sure was easier doing it this way. And too, the lexan windows fit snuggly back in place when you've gotten the crowd out. The last bunch I had, I took them out when they were dry ....... about 3 - 4 hours after hatching. No problems. They started feeding on crumbles on the brooder floor immediately.
 
Last edited:
The recommendations are for up to 24 hours. I remove them when they are dry, usually a couple hours.
 
Quote:
everything I have seen on game birds has not had very much about removal ,most pubs look like they just copied the chicken part I have been waiting until the main part of the hatch is over then give them a couple of hours to dry out I took 13 out last night I only had 6 eggs left I should have a few more this morning to take out
 
Yep, they can jump like crazy. I use a Sportsman and have had as many as 350 eggs in the hatchilng tray. It helps to have two people when removing them. I set the tray across my tub I'm using for a brooder and my husband gets on one side and I get on the other and we raise the cover keeping it against the back. It amazes me how fast the little buggers are. I wait until I have quite a few hatched and dry to remover them, then I wait 24 hours and remove the rest.
 
I had a farily large crowd of Bobs (79) being hatched in a Little Giaint bator a while back, and the vast majority were poppin out all at the same time. I learned quickly that if you wait long enough (18-24 hours) to move them to the brooder.............and raise the top up to do so.................you're gonna have one of the wildest stampedes that you've ever seen by some very tiny birds. It'll be a covey-scatter that you'll never forget............at least with Bobs. They're gonna go jumpin off the sides, and unless you have a retainer wall around the bator, you're gonna be chasin some little boogers like you're chasin a mouse......and yes, they can just about run that fast being only a few hours old. I found a way around this problem with the LG though. Because the sides of the bottom in relation to the wire floor is so short, they will hop out of there in a heartbeat. I popped the two lexan viewing windows out of the top while leaving the top in place, and reached in and got them out through these two big holes. It worked fine.........just a teeny bit uncomfortable when your wrist is up against the heating element for several seconds. But hey, I didn't mind it at all. Sure was easier doing it this way. And too, the lexan windows fit snuggly back in place when you've gotten the crowd out. The last bunch I had, I took them out when they were dry ....... about 3 - 4 hours after hatching. No problems. They started feeding on crumbles on the brooder floor immediately.
I love your story, You had my son and I laughing and nearly in tears. we have 7 so far hatching this morning and was looking to see how long to wait before moving to the brooder. Thank you for and info
56956535_2341973625836466_1777835196020686848_n.jpg
57099059_2341973395836489_4363841400148590592_n.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 57328106_2341973519169810_217707172065181696_n.jpg
    57328106_2341973519169810_217707172065181696_n.jpg
    58.5 KB · Views: 37

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom