Incubating and discouraged

[RosieR]

Awesome. In 9 or 10 days when you candle again, even with the eggs you can't see into now you'll be able to identify the clear (more like yellow/green) ones that aren't going to make it and can remove those before lockdown.

I like to mark information on my eggs with a sharpie to help monitor things. For example, if you put a mark on your eggs you'll be able to see your hatch rate on those vs your neighbor's. I have different pens with a male in each, so another way I do it is mark the number of the pen on each egg to see that my males are doing their job. I also routinely mark the date of collection on the eggs to know how old they are when I set them.

I put my initial on my eggs and my neighbors initials on the others, and I spread them all out in case of hot/cold spots.
I really should start dating them...
I’m actually quite curious if my hens eggs are fertile. My roo just looks ridiculous trying to mount them lol I’m not sure he’s hitting the mark

 

[Sara L]

If there are fertility problems because of feathers in the way, I think you can give the chickens a feather trim in that area so they get the job done. I've seen threads about that. What kind of roo and hens?

 

[RosieR]

If there are fertility problems because of feathers in the way, I think you can give the chickens a feather trim in that area so they get the job done. I've seen threads about that. What kind of roo and hens?

They’re coturnix. I think my roo is just a little inexperienced lol
I guess we’ll find out if he’s getting the job done in a couple weeks!

 

[RosieR]

They’re coturnix. I think my roo is just a little inexperienced lol
I guess we’ll find out if he’s getting the job done in a couple weeks!

If not I’ll swap him up for a new one.

 

[Sara L]

They’re coturnix. I think my roo is just a little inexperienced lol
I guess we’ll find out if he’s getting the job done in a couple weeks!

I've found that if they roo and hen are same age, it can be a little awkward until they both figure it out. If the hens are older than the roo, usually they know how to balance better and it's less awkward. If the roo is older, usually he knows how to balance already. That's just my observations though.

 

[BobDBirdDog]

I think I have the ventilation under control. I’ve got a vent hole near the fan at the bottom of the bator where it draws fresh air in, and I drilled a couple air holes in the lid.

Just to note: Carbon Dioxide is heavier than air so it will always be found at the lower levels. In a still air incubator this might be a problem. In a forced air it shouldn't be much of an issue with the fan drawing in fresh air as long as there is a few vent/exit holes as well.
Good thinking..kudos.

 

[RosieR]

Just to note: Carbon Dioxide is heavier than air so it will always be found at the lower levels. In a still air incubator this might be a problem. In a forced air it shouldn't be much of an issue with the fan drawing in fresh air as long as there is a few vent/exit holes as well.
Good thinking..kudos.

It’s definitely not something that is talked about enough in the diy threads. I clued in that it was a concern part way through my failed hatch and ran to drill more vent holes lol

 

[BobDBirdDog]

I just left a 3/16 gab/space/crack at the top and bottom length of the door. Each gap adds up to about a 1'x3" (2.8 inches) square hole, so if they need more air than that...something else is wrong! I also think that helps with the dead space issue as well.

 

[RosieR]

So its day 12 and the amount of eggs with dark shapes is dismally low. I’m struggling to understand where I’m going wrong
My eggs are difficult to see through at all, so I’m going to leave them all in and see what/if anything comes out of this hatch.
If the majority of mine hatch I will assume either the other eggs are infertile or just can’t handle transport.
If they don’t hatch then I’ve obviously gone wrong somewhere. And I’ll take more time to rebuild this bator... again lol

 

[cosmosue]

Not a great weekend for quails here. The coon got 2 of my 8 adults last night. Pulled them right through the mesh no evidence except blood and feathers.
Hubby is going to put taller guards on today so they stay out of reaching level at night.
Down to 4 hens and two Roos.
No pips yet. Today is day 16.

I just scanned this thread and saw this! The neighbors were feeding wild racoons! I would be furious! Don’t people know you don’t feed these wild animals they will NEVER leave you alone and when you stop feeding them you get trash can mess, dead animals (quail/chickens/rabbits people keep), and break ins. Yes break ins! And even if they don’t feed them they can break in and do a ton of damage.

You can get a trap at tractor supply I think around $20. You have to check your state laws though, here in SC it’s very lax meaning if any animal is damaging your property within 100 yards of your property then well, you know, you are within your right, anyway the law also states you can trap the pest animal BUT if you trap it you must NOT release so you know... you have to kill it and some people can’t or won’t do that. But we follow the laws and while I love animals I also love my animals quails/chickens and I’ve lost a hen to a raccoon before, and I lost 5 to the neighbors dog (sued him, and won), so yes we trap nusaince animals that are insistent on killing our flock.

I mean if they are released they will only damage someone else’s property or come back. So it makes sense. We haven’t had any in a while. They really are a pain. I would never ever feed these things. Or opossums they don’t do as much damage to structures but they will absolutely get in a coop if they can and kill. People say how cute and sweet they are and misunderstood - um not when it’s about to eat my chickens I understand it just fine thanks.

Feeding raccoons, infuriating!!!!! So sorry!!!

edit to add that we have a “nest” cam from amazon and a sub for $10 a month I think, so I have a sign outback on the coop that says surveillance camera in use (of course animals can’t read haha but humans can!) and it picks up motion and alerts me - hence being able to catch the neighbors dog on camera and win the court case easy peasy! Now I know if any racoons or other predators are outside as I am alerted by my phone. Ok that’s all just wanted to say that.