Incubation help

[rwwjsw]

Got several rounds of eggs in the incubator and I am having trouble I had 1 out of about 12 hatch, cracked open the ones that did not hatch all had fully developed chicks in them. When I cracked them open I had the hardest time tearing through the inner membrane. A few of the eggs I have tried to cook were the same way the shell just crumbles up but the membrane will not tear open to let the egg out cannot get any I can cook. Are all quail egg membranes this tough? I kept the humidity up to about 70% all through the hatching period and around 50% through the incubation period. I have another load getting ready for lock down the first of next week and then I am going to be starting about 25 more then, so I would like to figure out my problem by then. Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[astatula]

All of my Coturnix Quail eggs have a very strong inner membrane. You will need to practice breaking them to get good at it and then your success rate of getting a clean break will be around 70%. I now break my quail eggs over the frying pan and fry myself about 3-4 and they are delicious.

We had a party last month and hard boiled 200+ eggs, but I am married, so my wife pealed every one of them herself the night before.

She enjoys it for some strange reason, or she doesn't complain.

As far as your hatching problems, it's hard to put a finger on it. Quail eggs are typically the easiest to hatch. I have hatched them dry, with no humidity and overheated and I still get 90% hatch.

Whatever is causing your almost hatchlings to die in the egg is a mystery.

Try a different incubator.

 

[FeatheredObsessions]

Well if the developed then something late in hatch I'd guess.
Did you turn them up till the last three days?
Did you have a temp drop/spike?
Do your testers function properly?

I would start with your gages. If they are giving wrong readings then you will have problems.

 

[rwwjsw]

Well I feel some of my problem is I am using LG incubators. I have 2 of them. 1 of them I use as an incubator and the other I use as a hatcher. I have 2 new temp / humidity gauges. In the incubator I just use the wire to tell the temp and just add some water to it as needed. The one I use for a hatcher I use the wire and I also sit the gauge inside that way I am getting high low temps and humidity. The gauges seem to be accurate when I set them in a room they read what my house temp is according to my thermostat seting. As far as the temp high low spikes go with that type of incubator from what I am reading on this web site and others it is very likely to have happened I check them every morning and evening they are usually between 98 deg and slightly over 100 deg but who knows what is going on when I am not there. I am just getting started so what I have is it for now but there will be something better next year.

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
HUH???

EXPLAIN "USE THE WIRE TO TELL THE TEMP" I'M NOT FOLLOWING YOU HERE...

AS FAR AS GUAGES BEING WRONG--- WHEN I SEE LG COBINED WITH 70% HUNIDITY THAT SETS OFF WARNING BELLS IN MY HEAD--- UNLESS YOUR ADDING ADDITIONAL HUMIDITY SOURCES I HAVE NEVER SEEN AN LG INCUBATOR CAPABLE OF THAT RANGE--- IN FACT THEY ARE NOTORIUSLY KNOWN FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO GET HIGH HUMIDITIES FOR GAMEBIRDS AND WATERFOWL EGGS. IF IN FACT YOUR GUAGES ARE CORRECT (WHICH I DOUBT BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE LOW HUMIDITY PROBLEM...) THEN SET YOUR EGGS UP RIGHT--- LG END UP, IN CARTONS FOR THE LOCKDOWN/ HATCHING PERIOD AND YOUR HATCH WILL INCREASE

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
this kina sounds like a shrink wrapped egg to me if you play with your bator enough and know how much to turn your t-stat down for turning the fan off during lockdown and still maintain 99-100* it is seeming to help me with not shrink wrapping chicks I just picked up a hova bator to just use for hatching but I added a fan and done stuffed it full of quail eggs trying to prove fertility on my oens some how my plastic pan is for reptiles and there are more holes to put water in that and I like using sponges from lowes that are kina course I seem to be able to get a bit more humidity then I thought . calibrating your hygrometer would help you some . good luck with your hatches.