well that was a disappointing hatch... the temp was low for about a day, and the next day the fan quit, so i quickly replaced it, but found the replacement had a slight vibration... didn't think much of it, but i think between the 2 i lost 13 good near hatching eggs... one hatched successfully(sg), one pipped, started to zip and died (colored), another pipped upside down, but managed to make a big enough hole to get out most of the way(red) i finished helping, i couldn't stand to listen to him cry any more.
on the plus side, of the 60 quail eggs i set, (some going on 3-4 weeks old at set time) i have 20+ quail-lets. they won't sit still long enough to get an accurate count, and the hatch may not be done, there's still more eggs in the hatcher. had one that rocked and rocked and rocked, zipped most of the way then stopped... after i pulled everyone else out, i checked it out, it was stuck to the bottom. ick. decided to open it up and see what happenned. his entire guts were outside the belly, mixed with his feet and legs. the worst part, he wasn't dead (yet). fixed that quickly tho.
nearly the same thing with the colored dorking chick... i openned it up to see what happenned, he had a loop of intestine running around one leg! explains why he didn't finish hatching. but seems to have died quickly as he bled out in the shell. going to give the rest a bit more time, but i think this hatch is over...
now i've heard back and forth about mixing quail with chickens, and i haven't, until now. the mostly stuck chick (red dorking) can't seem to stay upright yet on his own yet (the ee that had same thing happen got over it pretty quick), but with all those quail babies running around him, he seems to be motivated to staying upright more. it's funny seeing a sg and red (my first red!) dorking surrounded by brown and golden quail. as soon as both chicks can hold their own, they'll be relocated to the older chick brooder (7 week old EE's with a 2 week cochin bantam baby).
on the plus side, i've got more fans to test, and i'm getting 48+ red dorking eggs tomorrow from the same breeder. but they won't be shipped this time, i'm going down after them. 8)
86 egg - 15 belong to someone else. So that helps.... Brooder is almost finished and will be put to good use soon. I tossed 42 eggs from the other tray of eggs (180 originally) So that will help too. Feeling better. I have some people that want chicks and hatching eggs. That will keep me from hatching some
