Illinois...

[Molpet]

I made a point to lift the lid and let the fan blow a lot of air out of the incubator incase there's anything that was airborne. It dropped about 4 degrees but bounced right back within 30 seconds.

I think it would be fine. Especially since the membrane was intact

 

[BReeder!]

I think it would be fine. Especially since the membrane was intact

Gotta love quail egg membranes. They are tough!

 

[Faraday40]

Good catch on the cracked egg. (Because of the shell pattern, you may not always see cracks in quail eggs.) You can almost always use your nose to sniff out any really bad eggs. If they're weeping / sweating or have a bad odor, that's when they really need to leave the incubator.

I once dropped an egg at lockdown and gave it a hairline crack. I put it in the corner of the incubator away from the good eggs but kept it going. It pipped but ended up needing assistance hatching. The membranes probably got a little too dried out, but at least it lived.

 

[Junibutt]

Hi everyone after a long long break.

For starters just sharing couple of pics. Back in July last year I took a dozen eggs overseas to my dad and 8 of them hatched. Now they are 6 months old and here are pics of two of the cockerels:

First one is a cross of a cuckoo orpington with some sort of easter egger

This one is a cross between a blue jubilee rooster and a blue laced red barnevelder hen

So far they are doing good, however I am worried that since they have been practically in quarantine, what will happen if they get to interact with local chicken or even soil used by local chicken.

 

[BReeder!]

65 alerts today... wow! That's in just 24 hours. I have clearly gotten involved in too many threads and forums.
I candled all my quail eggs and am getting ready for lock down. I added water and am waiting for the humidity to rise and the temp to bounce all the way back after the candling of course dropped both. Going to remove the turner in a little while - trying to spread out the openings of the incubator, letting it come back to temp in between each time I open it.
Of the 102 eggs, 62 passed the candling test and are going into lockdown. I am already second guessing that number and I just counted a few minutes ago, definitely over 60 though. I removed all that were clear. I made sure to check each one and managed to even tell whether or not the dark eggs were developed. I bright LED flash light some duct tape and a sanding pad, which actually had a perfect sized hole that I just cut a circle around and taped to the flashlight.
Here's a few pics. I tried to get a pic of the actual candling in the dark, but it proved impossible. Blurry and out of focus every time.

 

[BReeder!]

The shed is coming along nicely as well. The chicken area is completed and they are in the shed now.
Still working on the quail section. I did adopt a quail today thanks to @Melopsittacus. This quail is in the one completed cage which is housed in our heated sunroom for the time being.

Pics of shed coop progress:

 

[Faraday40]

Hi everyone after a long long break.

For starters just sharing couple of pics. Back in July last year I took a dozen eggs overseas to my dad and 8 of them hatched. Now they are 6 months old and here are pics of two of the cockerels:

First one is a cross of a cuckoo orpington with some sort of easter egger

This one is a cross between a blue jubilee rooster and a blue laced red barnevelder hen

So far they are doing good, however I am worried that since they have been practically in quarantine, what will happen if they get to interact with local chicken or even soil used by local chicken.

Love that 1st roo! He looks like he's got some lacing & barring. So pretty!!!

Because they're living in another country, they're going to have to develop immunity for their heir new home environment. I think breeding them to the local chickens will help develop more hardy birds. For example, Orps don't do well in the heat so these guys may have have some difficulty, but their offspring would fare better. Your dad will be able to develop a line of birds that one else will have. (Maybe try AI at 1st if you're too nervous about direct exposure.)

BTW- Thank you so much for all of your advice over the years and helping me get some outstanding orps. The silver laced is my new favorite type of orp, but I still have my lavs. Just look at what I hatched this summer:
Oreo & Double Stuff (about 6 months)
&

I also still have Jewel (daughter of Oopsie - the recessive white mauve from you) Jewel's a magnificent blue-mauve bird who produces stunningly beautiful offspring. She also carries the recessive white gene so I even had a couple rare Oopsie-like female chicks.

Jewel , Jewel's daughter Big Blue, Trouble raising some of Jewel's chicks

 

[Faraday40]

The shed is coming along nicely as well. The chicken area is completed and they are in the shed now.
Still working on the quail section. I did adopt a quail today thanks to @Melopsittacus. This quail is in the one completed cage which is housed in our heated sunroom for the time being.

Pics of shed coop progress:
View attachment 1641832 View attachment 1641833 View attachment 1641834 View attachment 1641835

Your custom candler is perfect for quail. No need to spend a ton of money when you can make it with stuff on hand.
and
Wow! Your shed coop is coming along great! I'm sure the chickens are enjoying it.

One thing I found helpful in my coop was placing a shelf directly under the roosting area. Some sort of daily poop collection - like sand for sifting or a simple re-purposed feed bag used as a tarp - helped keep the coop clean and allowed the chickens to use the floor space under the roosts.

 

[Faraday40]

Turkey eggs:

The good news is that the turkey eggs keep coming..... Bad news - no usable ones in a while.

I found 2 turkey eggs on Friday, but the silly turkey keeps laying her eggs on a high shelf about 7 feet up. One of the eggs got lodged in the nook of support piece. It was whole but probably there for days & was frozen/split due to the temps. The other egg was only a shell. It probably fell & cracked open when it crashed down. The chickens ate it. That's what I found again on Sat afternoon as well as this morning. I hope it doesn't turn my flock into egg eaters.

Anyone have an idea on how to make a turkey lay somewhere else? I really don't know why she insists on laying eggs up there.

 

[BReeder!]

Your custom candler is perfect for quail. No need to spend a ton of money when you can make it with stuff on hand.
and
Wow! Your shed coop is coming along great! I'm sure the chickens are enjoying it.

One thing I found helpful in my coop was placing a shelf directly under the roosting area. Some sort of daily poop collection - like sand for sifting or a simple re-purposed feed bag used as a tarp - helped keep the coop clean and allowed the chickens to use the floor space under the roosts.

The DIY candler worked out great. The flashlight has a high intense light and a regular light. The high intense light worked best.

Thanks for comments on the shed coop. I'm only $40 deep in the project - I had to buy a box of screws and a sliding barn door rail kit (saves space so I don't need to dedicated room to swing the door open to get into the chicken area).

I was thinking about poop boards. My roosts are at angles and sort of for a V shape it allows for a bit more room for humans to move around in there. The poop boards would have to match that shape I guess. I am sure to come up with something. Likely a piece of plywood cut to size/shape and mounted underneath the roosts. How far should the poop board extend from the roost though to ensure it catches poop rather than the chickens never having past the edge of the board.

I also want to cover the entire floor with sand I think. It would help keep things dry.