It Is Hatch Day. Eggtopsy Result totals and chick pics.

[BlueBirdChick]

WOOOOHOOOOO awesome

 

[TCollier]

Well here is my problem. I had a batch of silkie eggs hatch in the same incubator 1 week before I set these quail eggs. 24 of my 28 silkie eggs hatched and in fact they all hatched a half day early. Now with the quail temps were the same but the humidity was higher for the quail and they hatched late and had a very poor hatch rate. If I can have one excellent hatch of Silkie eggs then a crappy hatch of quail with the only difference being the humidity was higher for the quail. What is the issue or problem? I would love to figure it out or have someone figure it out for me. I am not going to give up I am going to keep going until I get it right and consistant for any type of egg I hatch. Thermometers were placed in the same locations for both hatches and they stayed within the same range for both hatches. It will be nice when I have enough quail to get my own eggs to incubate a full incubator full at a time but until I have adults and enough of them I am paying for eggs that I am not even getting a 50% hatch from. If need be I will tear the inside of the incubator apart and redo and reroute the airflow or whatever I need to do. I have a good solid outer box so I can do anything I need to on the inside. Someone please help me figure this out. If you want and speciffic pictures of the incubator or diagrams just let me know. If there is anything you want me to try let me know. I am all in to getting this resolved.

 

[Stellar]

Quote:
That must be it then! Humidity

If you are able to get 50-60% then that is all you need for quail. No need to increase it at all

 

[JJMR794]

Ok Tom I Have Read The String... I See A Couple Things Here

Still Or Forced Air?

What Type Of Air Flow Do You Have In The Bator? 24 Silkies Will Not Require The Amount Of Oxygen 120 Quail Will.... So That Could Be A Source Of Your Low Hatch. Also Anytime You Smell A Bad Egg--- Hunt It Down Vigorously And Remove Asap--- Even If You Have To Break Lockdown To Do So--- That Rotten Eggs Smell? Its Sulfure Dioxide Gas, A Byproduct Of Decomposition, Its An Asphyxiant--- It Competes With Oxygen In An Enclosed Space And Can Literally Suffocate The Embryos.

Never Discount The Shipped Egg Theory--- You Have No Idea What/ Where/ How Those Eggs Were Treated Or Even How Old They Are At Time Of Setting. So There's Alot Of Wiggle Room Here For Difficulties/ Low Hatch Rate

Humidity--- (sorry Alexandra I Have To Respectfully Disagree With You Here Kiddo..) Humidity Is Critical With Most Gamebird Speces The 50+% During Incubation Is Fine, But I Never Hatch In Forced Air #1, And Never Use Anything Less Than 65% Humidity For Lockdown #2--- In Fact I Use Ultra High Humidity For Hatching (only Possible With Upright Hatching- See Next Paragraph)

Here's A Big Bonus--- Always Set Your Eggs Upright For Hatch. I Dont Care If You Use Paper Egg Flats, Old Egg Cartons In Either Paper Or Styrofoam, Duct Tape Them To The Bator Walls, Build Some Wild Contraption, Hang Them Upright From The Heating Element, Or Just Un Plug The Auto Turner And Leave Them In It--- Set Them Upright For Hatch And You Will See A Readily Appreciable Increase (20+% In Many Cases) In Your Sucessful Hatch Rate--- Your Mystery Deaths(as Well As Many That Didnt Pip Thru The Shell, But Did Manage To Break The Inner Membranes)? Likely Drowned In Their Own Amniotic Fluid--- Very Very Common In Gamebirds, Also Almost Impossible If They Are Upright Because This Allows Those Fluids To Escape Without Blocking Jr's Air Source --- And If Jr Cant Inhale Liquid Then He Cant Drown

This Method Even Works With Your Upside Down Pippers!

Lastly--- What Is Your Bator Made Of? (what Type Of Wood?) As The Pix I See It Looks Sucpiciously Like Cedar? If So Junk It For Gamebirds---- Cedar Gives Off Toxic Fumes To Quail And Does So More Readily With Added Heat And Humidity Of Incubation--- It Makes Great Humidors For Cigars, But Lowsy Incubators For Quail

I Cant Tell You For Sure What Part If Any Or All Of These May Have Had In Your Results--- Just Observations And Suggestions. Ultimately With Patience, Observation, And Experience You'll Develope Your Own Incubation Style/ Techniques That Yeild The Best Rates For You.... As Hatching Is An Artform We All Develope Thru Experience.

 

[neb]

I am having the same problem as Tom. I have had three more hatch on day 21 today, and more are still coming

I am not very happy with my first hatch, but I will definitely get more eggs (I think i am addicted). I learnt a lot from my mistakes as 4 chicks have died RIP.

I have four fluffed out and active quail, but more are coming in, is it safe to mix the new comers and the bigger ones (they grow so fast).

Neb

 

[TCollier]

JJMR794

OK lets take these one at a time here. My answers have **** in front of them.

You Smell A Bad Egg--- Hunt It Down Vigorously And Remove Asap--- Even If You Have To Break Lockdown To Do So

****If I smell any bad eggs I pull instantly. But had none this batch.

Still Or Forced Air?

****Forced Air

What Type Of Air Flow Do You Have In The Bator? 24 Silkies Will Not Require The Amount Of Oxygen 120 Quail Will.... So That Could Be A Source Of Your Low Hatch.

*****I used a 3/8 inch drill bit and drilled 17 holes in various places in the incubator. I have 6 in the back, heat and air blow down the back of the incubator between a false wall and a real wall and comes out the bottom up to the eggs then back through the top and down the back. I have 3 holes on each side one in the middle and two at the bottom and I have 5 holes drilled on the front door at the bottom. Incubator is 24 w x 24 d x 24 h

Humidity--- (sorry Alexandra I Have To Respectfully Disagree With You Here Kiddo..) Humidity Is Critical With Most Gamebird Speces The 50+% During Incubation Is Fine, But I Never Hatch In Forced Air #1, And Never Use Anything Less Than 65% Humidity For Lockdown #2--- In Fact I Use Ultra High Humidity For Hatching (only Possible With Upright Hatching- See Next Paragraph)

****My humidity was 55% during uncubation and 63 to 65 % during lockdown. I will add another humidity pad next hatch to push it higher.

Here's A Big Bonus--- Always Set Your Eggs Upright For Hatch. I Dont Care If You Use Paper Egg Flats, Old Egg Cartons In Either Paper Or Styrofoam, Duct Tape Them To The Bator Walls, Build Some Wild Contraption, Hang Them Upright From The Heating Element, Or Just Un Plug The Auto Turner And Leave Them In It--- Set Them Upright For Hatch And You Will See A Readily Appreciable Increase (20+% In Many Cases) In Your Sucessful Hatch Rate--- Your Mystery Deaths(as Well As Many That Didnt Pip Thru The Shell, But Did Manage To Break The Inner Membranes)? Likely Drowned In Their Own Amniotic Fluid--- Very Very Common In Gamebirds, Also Almost Impossible If They Are Upright Because This Allows Those Fluids To Escape Without Blocking Jr's Air Source --- And If Jr Cant Inhale Liquid Then He Cant Drown This Method Even Works With Your Upside Down Pippers!

****I had them in a turner during incubation and laid on their sides for hatch I will change that next time.

Lastly--- What Is Your Bator Made Of? (what Type Of Wood?) As The Pix I See It Looks Sucpiciously Like Cedar? If So Junk It For Gamebirds---- Cedar Gives Off Toxic Fumes To Quail And Does So More Readily With Added Heat And Humidity Of Incubation--- It Makes Great Humidors For Cigars, But Lowsy Incubators For Quail

****Absolutely not cedar. It is poplar. I know the problems with cedar and would not even begin to use it. I have clear coated all of the inside for easy cleanup with several coats of flat varnish to seal everything though.

****One other thing I had 3 thermometers in the bator and was seeing good temps where ever I moved them too. Front, back, Sides at egg height level.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

When did you make the bator? Varnish.

My DH thinks it is the varnish, if this is relatively newly done. He said that Varnish will release vapors for a very long time in heat and humidity. He knows cause that is where we live. He suspects that. That's why he didn't make me one when I tried to talk him into it. He just bought me a Hova and I thought he was taking the easy way out. He doesn't know that much about hatching (just what I do). But he is a wood worker and works with wood and varnish all the time.

Lets see what others think it is. But I'd sand the inside down and get most of the varnish out at any rate before you hatch quail eggs again. Just make it pretty on the outside.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Way too cute!
We need more pictures!!!

 

[TCollier]

OK more pics for everyone. I cannot detect any odor at all from the varnish. It was gone after 5 days and the Silkie chickens had no problem with it.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

I love the white ones with the brown dotts on their heads!

What are you doing with all these quail!