Incubating Quail eggs: Variations in temperature

[Sammbalina]

How sensitive are quail eggs as far as temperature? I know 99-100 F, but I made my incubator using a reptile thermostat, and it doesn't keep it exact. It cuts the lamp off 2 degrees higher and turns it back on at 2 degrees lower. Does anyone know how this will effect the hatch rate, if at all?

 

[Derrin]

It sounds like the thermostat may be faulty and the backup is kicking in. I have used reptile incubators with success and they never had a variance that big.

 

[Sammbalina]

The unit I have isn't exactly state of the art or anything, it's not actually called a 'Thermostat' either. It's Zilla's "Temperature Controller". I've had it for a while, but it's all I got. I would just like to know how much this will effect my hatch rates. If ya'll think it will effect it too much, I may start with chicks instead of eggs. I am planning on getting about 100 eggs to start with. I would like to be able to get at least 6 breeding groups (1 male 4 females per group) out of it.

 

[Erkenstein]

I try to keep my range at about a single degree, but coturnix are pretty forgiving. I would make sure that you have the incubator in a room with no draft at all and where the temperature is very constant. I'd also avoid opening the incubator if at all possible; in my incubator, I use a turner and add water to the reservoir by threading a piece of aquarium tubing through the vent hole and using a big syringe. You could also make sure to have some heat sinks like covered jars of water in the incubator to hold heat and avoid fluctuations.

If you think about it, eggs hold heat pretty well and don't cool right off immediately. Let us know how it goes!

 

[DK newbie]

Quail eggs are pretty hardy, but it might still affect your hatch rate some.. At day 13 my eggs suddenly measured 103 using a calibrated ear thermometer and I hadn't measured the temp for days, so it could have been that high for long. But only around 4 of 36 fertile eggs never pipped, so the vast majority survived the spike and the 4 that didn't pip might have died for other reasons.
I've also read that changes in temperature can actually be good for the chicks, as it helps them 'breathe' - when the egg cools down, the contents shrink and thus fresh air is drawn into the egg. When it heats back up, old air is pushed out.. Not sure we are talking variations of 4 degrees here though, that might be a bit too much. But as for how big the effect might be on your hatch rate, I don't know. I probably wouldn't do 100 eggs the first time in a home made incubator though, as those are often pretty unreliable.

 

[Sammbalina]

The reason I am starting with so many is because no one near me sells them. I am going 30 min south of Atlanta (for me a 3 hr drive, though I do have other things I need to do in Atlanta as well) to get my eggs, so I want to start with a large number of them in order to get enough out of them to be able to sell extra eggs that I don't eat myself. I would hate to start with a lower number and not have enough hatch out to be able to supply myself and have enough to sell. I am planning on using the money from selling extra eggs to go towards a better incubator after we move.

I went to Home Depot today and found a table lamp dimmer, and I'm going to try and see if I can get the temperatures more stable. I just hope that my family fighting over the house thermostat won't cause too much of a fluctuation, I do keep most of my vents covered so maybe they won't. That was why I wanted to use the thermostat, but if the thermostat itself causes too much variation, I guess it's no good.

 

[007Sean]

It will certainly have an effect on the hatch. How much and to what degree, I don't know. You'll have to play around with the settings to get the best range for the temperature.

If I was doing it, I'd set the temp to the low side and not to the high side. You will probably get a late hatch but if you get a spike and the temp goes too high for a couple of hours, you could lose all the eggs or at least a greater majority of the eggs.
Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck in hatching your eggs.

 

[grandbayou]

I added another layer to my desktop incubator. The top layer stays at 100 degrees and hatches at 16 days. The 2nd layer stays at 98 to 99 and hatches on day 17. Both hatch good but the lower temp slows the process down a little.

 

[grandbayou]

The reason I am starting with so many is because no one near me sells them. I am going 30 min south of Atlanta (for me a 3 hr drive, though I do have other things I need to do in Atlanta as well) to get my eggs, so I want to start with a large number of them in order to get enough out of them to be able to sell extra eggs that I don't eat myself. I would hate to start with a lower number and not have enough hatch out to be able to supply myself and have enough to sell. I am planning on using the money from selling extra eggs to go towards a better incubator after we move.

I went to Home Depot today and found a table lamp dimmer, and I'm going to try and see if I can get the temperatures more stable. I just hope that my family fighting over the house thermostat won't cause too much of a fluctuation, I do keep most of my vents covered so maybe they won't. That was why I wanted to use the thermostat, but if the thermostat itself causes too much variation, I guess it's no good.

 

[grandbayou]

I keep my incubator in an unused bathroom with the door shut to maintain temp better. Good luck with selling eggs and young birds. 100 quail will eat s lot of expensive food quickly and when grown probably 3 to 5 lbs a day or more.