I'm Probably Gonna Need My Hand Held Quail Hatch-A-Long

[redinator]

So I candled 4 of the 8 filled rows. I sorted the ones that looked viable to the left of the incubator and the questionable ones to the right. I'll do the last 4 rows tomorrow. Then recheck again before lock down.

I did manage to drop one egg, trying to be too quick to keep the lid off the incubator for the shortest time and the eggs are so darn little. So #12 got cracked.

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I cracked it open later, and there was definite development of an embryo.

Spoiler

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That sucks. I'm always nervous when I handle my eggs since I have to take them to the bathroom to candle them properly.

 

[Sefirothe]

That sucks. I'm always nervous when I handle my eggs since I have to take them to the bathroom to candle them properly.

Luckily I have LOTS of back up eggs lol.....so loss of one isnt super horrible.

 

[SemiSweet2391]

So I candled 4 of the 8 filled rows. I sorted the ones that looked viable to the left of the incubator and the questionable ones to the right. I'll do the last 4 rows tomorrow. Then recheck again before lock down.

I did manage to drop one egg, trying to be too quick to keep the lid off the incubator for the shortest time and the eggs are so darn little. So #12 got cracked.

View attachment 4280391

I cracked it open later, and there was definite development of an embryo.

Spoiler

View attachment 4280398

Sad that it got cracked. That’s a cool look inside though

 

[GreenJay]

Let's grow tiny quails!

 

[Sefirothe]

Candled the last four rows and managed to not drop a single one....GO ME!!

I have around a dozen that look either pretty definitely clear they werent fertilized or is that faint shadow just the yolk hanging out close to the shell type of questionable. They are segregated off to the right of the egg turner.

The rest I can see veins, reddish shadows or very clear opacity that something's going on in there.

Did some start developing and quit? That I have no idea, I guess i'll find out if 80 chicks hatch or not. EEK!

Edit to add: At what stage do you usually start seeing movement? Because it looked like some shadows were moving on a couple. Dont know if it was just contents sloshing due to my picking up the egg or if it was independent movement.

 

[redinator]

Candled the last four rows and managed to not drop a single one....GO ME!!

I have around a dozen that look either pretty definitely clear they werent fertilized or is that faint shadow just the yolk hanging out close to the shell type of questionable. They are segregated off to the right of the egg turner.

The rest I can see veins, reddish shadows or very clear opacity that something's going on in there.

Did some start developing and quit? That I have no idea, I guess i'll find out if 80 chicks hatch or not. EEK!

Edit to add: At what stage do you usually start seeing movement? Because it looked like some shadows were moving on a couple. Dont know if it was just contents sloshing due to my picking up the egg or if it was independent movement.

I find it better to set them down when looking for movement. Trying to decide if your hand giggled the egg, or the embryo moved is taxing, lol.

ETA: I mostly look for growth when I'm candling, seeing movement is a bonus.

 

[Sefirothe]

Yea, if I had less eggs and could remember what that specific egg looked like the last time I candled it....At this point I'm mostly just hoping sheer numbers are on my side.

Once I hopefully get these hatched and they start laying, I'll probably do a couple smaller more focused hatches to better learn what to look for.

 

[redinator]

Yea, if I had less eggs and could remember what that specific egg looked like the last time I candled it....At this point I'm mostly just hoping sheer numbers are on my side.

Once I hopefully get these hatched and they start laying, I'll probably do a couple smaller more focused hatches to better learn what to look for.

I recorded my candlings and saved them on YouTube so I could refer back to them later. I didn't have quite so many eggs at once though. I think 34 was the most I did in one go. I also marked the questionable eggs and moved them to recandle them a few days later.

 

[GreenJay]

Let's grow little quails!

 

[Sefirothe]

The new egg turner should deliver tomorrow I think. I’m debating on swapping it out for the current one or not.

I’d have to remove all the eggs, cut a small slot in the lid or base to allow the power cord to pass thru, trial run it, troubleshoot any issues then replace the eggs.

I dunno how long that will take. Or if that much jostling around of the eggs at this point in development would be bad for them.