ROFL that was my first thought!the best way i know to hatch quail is with an incubator.
yes, lock down on day 15, they'll hatch between 17 and 18 days (for coturnix at least). they're like popcorn, once they start you have hatching all over the place. i think it's contageous.
Oh, lady, you are going to be overrun with cuties!I put a batch in lockdown today. I accidentally bought 17+ EE hatching eggs last night... I never buy auctions, too much stress. Nobody else bid so they were mine for $5 I guess. I have not heard from the seller yet....
Anyway... I have about 60 + eggs I was going to set next. I got some Lavender AMs, Olive Eggers and Wheaten Ams that came in the mail Monday, but since I have this batch coming I will wait. I called my neighbor and he had 5 doz hatching eggs for meI will have to sell some of this hatch... I can't handle that many chicks back to back. I have a batch of 220 in the bator now... Not including what I put in lockdown...... or what is in the brooder.... I am going to be in so much trouble in a few months.
I am new to this but am fitting right into the incubators anonymous.......I have a mixed bag of chickens now and have usually added to them from the local hatchery......but this year I was reading all about making incubators and thought .......why not?? So son and I colaborated and made an ice box incubator. It was really easy with his ingunuity and my cheering him on. So I loaded it up and went to lock down. I knew I would not have all them hatch because I have only one roo and 30 plus hens. He has his favorites but I don't know which are those eggs so it was a guessing game.
I candled and threw out and candled and threw out. ended up with about ten eggs, some I couldn't see into so didn't know what was happening. I ended up with four hatching. I finally opened the others and had four more that looked fully developed and two unfertile ones. So I went to the hatchery and got 4 to go with the 4 I hatched. But I couldn't stop there.....I talked to my Sister in law and she wanted some hatched so we filled the bator again. They are still there and will hatch good Fri. with the easter hatch. That didn't make me happy though because I knew I wasn't going to get a good hatch again.....even though I put the roo with just a few select hens...The bator started glitching on me. The light will flicker and not totally turn off. It didn't do that the first time around.
So I just had to go and order and new Genesis 1588. That wasn't good enough either I wanted to be sure I had some good eggs so I had to order some.....Got them today from BunnyMamma and they are all in great shape. I can see inside them and the air sacks are not scrambled like I have hear here. Right some I couldn't find but most were on the top just a little irregular. She sent more than the order and a couple of surprise eggs....So now I will have two bators going after these are ready to go in and I can't have just a small amount in there I want to fill it up.......sigh.
My husband is shaking his head and son is complaining we didn't need another bator cause his was fine just need a little loving care. And everyone but me agrees we don't need more chickens. Every one but me!! So I am a hatchaholic and may need help. What am I to do. I want more eggs!
My new hatching eggs from Bunnymomma.
I wash with warm water running from the faucet, and put back in hatcher to fluff up. THe hatcher is warmer than my brooder. Prevents chills.
well this hasn't been a bad week, all told... had 14 colored dorkings hatch on thursday/friday, and 9 reds yesterday/today. still 4 more eggs that have movement but i've learned my lesson on assisting, since of all the ones i've assisted, i think 2 are still going... there's a reason for it. LOL.
one of the colored babies that hatched on friday was fine but complains constantly. this morning, i noticed he's starting to splay some. after 3 days? he's been running around like a nut, so no idea why. i did figure out a support for him tho. first time he tried to run he landed on his face. and the second, and third... now that he's learned to walk it seems to be helping a bit.
he was already banded with the yellow, so i can tell them all apart, so i just added the others that i had sitting on my desk...
and yes, dorkings are supposed to have 5 toes.
