Is This a Pip?

[maxride14]

Can you put a cookie sheet or something under the paper towels on the shelf but sticking out to cover that gap?

It can take up to 24 hours before the pip becomes a zip. I wouldn't worry about it yet. It hasn't begun trying to get out yet.

That sounds like a plan. They'll let you know how they feel...

What's your humidity set at?

I'll try to find something. Humidity is at 30-35, which I've been told is okay for Gambel quail. Temp is at 99. @Nabiki putting something under the paper towels will probably move the eggs, and I know that isn't something you're supposed to do because it messes up the position of the egg. Will it cause other problems or do I just have to be really careful?

 

[mdees88]

30-35% sounds okay until lockdown but usually you raise the humidity to 60-70% (or even higher) during lockdown so the membranes don't dry out and stick to the chick preventing them from turning inside the shell and zipping.

I can't imagine gambel quail would be much different with regards to raising humididty during lockdown. You might wan't to jack that humidity up a lot. I'm sure someone else can verify....



If you would like a little validation for the brooder temps I use here is the manual for GQF 1502 cabinet incubators and what it says about setting up a brooder.... 100F for quail, 95F for chickens....

But again these are just recommendations, it all depends on how your quail react inside your brooder.

http://www.gqfmfg.com/PDF/1202 1250 Cabinet model instructions.pdf

 

[maxride14]

30-35% sounds okay until lockdown but usually you raise the humidity to 60-70% (or even higher) during lockdown so the membranes don't dry out and stick to the chick preventing them from turning inside the shell and zipping.

I can't imagine gambel quail would be much different with regards to raising humididty during lockdown. You might wan't to jack that humidity up a lot. I'm sure someone else can verify....



If you would like a little validation for the brooder temps I use here is the manual for GQF 1502 cabinet incubators and what it says about setting up a brooder....

View attachment 2127631

http://www.gqfmfg.com/PDF/1202 1250 Cabinet model instructions.pdf

On another thread I saw someone else in my state also had gambel eggs and they hatched theirs under a heat lamp rather than an incubator. So humidity was pretty much nonexistent (AZ is really dry), so I thought changing the humidity dramatically could cause more problems than benefits. Please let me know if I'm wrong though.

Thank you for your help everybody. I really appreciate it!

 

[mdees88]

On another thread I saw someone else in my state also had gambel eggs and they hatched theirs under a heat lamp rather than an incubator. So humidity was pretty much nonexistent (AZ is really dry), so I thought changing the humidity dramatically could cause more problems than benefits. Please let me know if I'm wrong though.

Thank you for your help everybody. I really appreciate it!

99% sure you're wrong but someone else will surely chime in and verify. Not sure how much trust I would put in someone who hatches their eggs under a heat lamp either, lol.

Maintaining a proper humidity in the incubator allows the eggs to lose the correct amount of moisture so that the air cells are the proper size for the chicks to hatch. Once you reach lockdown the air sacs are already whatever size they are. You raise the humidity very high to keep the membranes moist as I mentioned earlier. Tracking the weight of the eggs during incubation is the most concrete way to determine the proper humidity settings.

My only two experience's with Gambel quails were not good. My buddy had been hatching a bunch of bobs and pheasants for hunting season and needed more birds late in the breeding season.

He brought me a couple hundred gambels and I only hatched out around 30%, the ones that didn't hatch never developed at all. The guy gave him 200 more and 5 hatched out with 290 something being infertile. We assumed this was because it was so late in the breeding season and the eggs were infertile. That's my only experience with them....

All my other quail and pheasants have had pretty respectable hatch rates (75% on total eggs set and 93% on viable eggs at lockdown, those were all shipped eggs too)....

 

[maxride14]

99% sure you're wrong but someone else will surely chime in. Not sure how much trust I would put in someone who hatches their eggs under a heat lamp either, lol. Maintaining a proper humidity in an incubators allows the eggs to lose the correct amount of moisture so that the air cells are the proper size for the chicks to hatch. Once you reach lockdown the air sacs are already whatever size they are. You raise the humidity very high to keep the membranes moist as I mentioned earlier.

My only two experience's with Gambel quails were not good. My buddy had been hatching a bunch of bobs and pheasants for hunting season and needed more birds late in the breeding season. He brought me a couple hundred gambels and I only hatched out around 30%, the ones that didn't hatch never developed at all. The guy gave him 200 more and 5 hatched out with 290 something being infertile. We assumed because it was so late in the breeding season. That's my only experience with them....

All my other quail and pheasants have had very respectable hatch rates....

Yeah, there's 16 eggs in this batch and only 4 seemed promising. As far as I can tell, this one egg looks to have the most progress, but I can't see the other eggs as well. If someone else comments I'll add some water when I fix the gap between the shelf and door. I don't want to open it too many times since it really kills the humidity.

 

[mdees88]

To save a lot of reading for anyone who missed it, the question is.....

Humidity has been 30-35% since day one for Gambel quail and is still 30-35% in lockdown with a pip already. Should the humidity be raised to 60-70%?



My vote is yes and considering the circumstances I would probably assist hatch the one that's pipped because I think it might already be shrink wrapped....

 

[maxride14]

To save a lot of reading for anyone who missed it, the question is.....

Humidity has been 30-35% since day one for Gambel quail and is still 30-35% in lockdown with a pip already. Should the humidity be raised to 60-70%?

Actually humidity has been up and down since day one. I'd wait till it went down to 30% before adding water, which could sometimes get up to 70-75%. It went down a lot after opening the incubator to turn the eggs so it would take a couple days until I needed to add some water again.

 

[mdees88]

Actually humidity has been up and down since day one. I'd wait till it went down to 30% before adding water, which could sometimes get up to 70-75%. It went down a lot after opening the incubator to turn the eggs so it would take a couple days until I needed to add some water again.

Okay but it's been 30-35% throughout lockdown right?

 

[quail are totally rad]

looks pretty pipped

 

[maxride14]

Okay but it's been 30-35% throughout lockdown right?

Yes.