I found a quail nest and then the mom got smoked...

[jess91906]

I collected the eggs which I am aware were there 4/30/17. I have put them in the house and a heating pad which is keeping the temp about 99-101. What are my chances of actually getting them to hatch. We are turning them at least 3x's a day. And how should I try to figure out what I'm looking for when I candle??? Can anyone post pics of candled eggs with how long they have been setting???

Thanks, I appreciate any help!

Jess

 

[Binki]

Hey there, aw sucks for the mom... I would look up DIY incubator - the simplest are a lightbulb to create heat and a sponge in a dish of water to create humidity.

A heating pad won't cut it, too much heat in one area, you need an insulated container so that the heat is all around the egg evenly

After you check out what you can do for the incubator, check what kind of quail it is and read up on coturnix incubation and follow that humidity and temperature if you can't find specific information about your species but maybe keep turning them in case they are a longer hatch than 17 days?

 

[Emmaxx]

Did you have any luck with candling?

 

[jess91906]

I'm not sure what I should be looking for. How long should it take to see anything?

 

[Emmaxx]

I set some eggs on 1st of May, so if I can see anything and manage to get pictures I will post as the development should be about the same as yours, although I don't know if she had been sitting on your eggs before she died (plus mine are button eggs) so could be a few days out but should help!
Or if you can get any pics yourself people might be able to tell you what you're looking at?

 

[jess91906]

Ok, so yes I have had some luck candling. It looks like 7 of the eggs have developed, the eggs are almost solid dark and the air sack has gotten larger. I should be somewhere between 15-20 days. so hopefully we will have babies in the next week. Any pointers for taking care of them once they get here???

 

[silkie1472]

Okay, I have a couple questions about the eggs:

1. Are these wild quail or domesticated (pet quail)? This is because most wild quail are bobwhite and take around 23 days to hatch. Coturnic take anywhere from 16-18 (typically 17) days to hatch.

2. Are you using an incubator or still the heat pad? Are you seeing any movement when candling the eggs?

**some quail are hard to raise. Make sure that your brooder conditions are near perfect if they do hatch**

Good Luck!!!!

 

[silkie1472]

Coturnix*

 

[Emmaxx]

That's great! I tried to get photos but I use my phone light, which then leaves me nothing to take pics with, and I couldn't find another light that was strong enough! Then they went to read-only so I couldn't have uploaded them for you anyway :/ 2 of my 5 hatched yesterday and woke up to 2 more this morning so not much I can do with candling now
Could you describe or add a photo of the eggs? Someone could probably identify what kind you have then.
When/if they hatch you'll need a brooder, ie an enclosure with a heat source, with a cover if you're dealing with quail as they can fly out quite early on, water with marbles to prevent drowning and some high protein crumbles (you will most likely to to grind then up small enough for them to eat) x

 

[jess91906]

I know that they are California Valley Quail. And yes they are wild, I live in the high dessert of Southern California. They are still on a heating pad, the seven that I am hopeful for hatching, yes there is definitely life, I can see veins and the shadows move inside when held in front of the phone light. Does anyone have pics of how large the air sack is prior to them hatching? I think that will be my best shot of judging, I don't have any idea of how long the eggs were there prior to seeing the nest on 4/30, and then finding mom on 5/5... should be in the next week or so. I will keep updating.