JUNE - JULY HATCH-ALONG!!!!!!!

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Well, my lid closed, hands off vow lasted all of 1/2 an hour.... Another contaminated, carton egg was hatching so I decided that I clearly needed to cut its membrane... The keets that spill out of the egg onto my hand always seem so shocked at the circumstances!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

About thirty guinea eggs have hatched, but I also lost my first one to low humidity. It was also one that was heavily contaminated so was upright in the carton, which could have contributed. Wish I’d intervened sooner with that one, it’s membrane was so tough and hard it had no chance; it had removed most of the shell but only pierced the membrane in a few places. Unfortunately, the way it was positioned I could only see the pip, didn’t see the zip attempt. Now that most of the eggs are out of the incubator, it’s much harder to keep the humidity up with constant opening and closing of the lid. For the remainder of the hatch, I’m thinking of abandoning my plan to remove right at hatching to prevent bacterial contamination... It looks like this might be a long affair though and seriously staggered hatch, so I hate to think what bacterial counts are like in there... I also have two with spraddle leg. I’ve got a band on one but it came off the other, who also doesn’t look terribly healthy... I’m trying to get it to drink Nutridrench water, but it just wants to sleep...

They're so beautiful @Mixed flock enthusiast !! I love all the colors! Considering their rough start with their guinea moms I'm still really floored by how well this hatch is going! So happy for you and those sweet keets are so lucky to have you caring for them! Even under the best circumstances, we experience losses for reasons we often can't even figure out. You're doing WONDERFUL! I hope the 2 special babies pull through for you!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Quail are by far the most difficult peeps to photograph! lol! They're so full of life and hit the ground running! Little thimble-sized peeps!

 

[jolenesdad]

About thirty guinea eggs have hatched, but I also lost my first one to low humidity. It was also one that was heavily contaminated so was upright in the carton, which could have contributed. Wish I’d intervened sooner with that one, it’s membrane was so tough and hard it had no chance; it had removed most of the shell but only pierced the membrane in a few places. Unfortunately, the way it was positioned I could only see the pip, didn’t see the zip attempt. Now that most of the eggs are out of the incubator, it’s much harder to keep the humidity up with constant opening and closing of the lid. For the remainder of the hatch, I’m thinking of abandoning my plan to remove right at hatching to prevent bacterial contamination... It looks like this might be a long affair though and seriously staggered hatch, so I hate to think what bacterial counts are like in there... I also have two with spraddle leg. I’ve got a band on one but it came off the other, who also doesn’t look terribly healthy... I’m trying to get it to drink Nutridrench water, but it just wants to sleep...

Hope you got some sleep. :-/ those Guineas are so adorable in ALL the colors! How loud are they realllllly?

Quail are by far the most difficult peeps to photograph! lol! They're so full of life and hit the ground running! Little thimble-sized peeps!

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GAH QUAIL ARE SO ADORABLLLLLLLLLE. And. So. Tiny. Do you follow Fat hen farms on Fb or instagram? I specifically remember him taking a photo of a quail baby in a spoon and it was the most adorable photo EVER.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

GAH QUAIL ARE SO ADORABLLLLLLLLLE. And. So. Tiny. Do you follow Fat hen farms on Fb or instagram? I specifically remember him taking a photo of a quail baby in a spoon and it was the most adorable photo EVER.

Well, I'm definitely following him now!! And getting a spoon ready for the next photo shoot. lol

It's nearly impossible to candle quail eggs though I could see that 2 out of 5 definitely weren't fertilized I basically just kept the 3 eggs that were dark inside, lol. Well, these 2 hatched and I though the 3rd must have been a dud as well but when I started to take everything out of the incubator I could swear I hear tapping in that 3rd egg ...back into the incubator! I may be hearing things but I can wait another day to be sure.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Quail are by far the most difficult peeps to photograph! lol! They're so full of life and hit the ground running! Little thimble-sized peeps!

View attachment 1844630

Awww, they are adorable, and they remind me of keets! The first thing that I ever hatched was a pharaoh quail! I was 12 years old and went away for a kit with a dome amd lightbulb incubator and some eggs. Trying to keep a constant temperature in that thing was impossible!!! 2/4 hatched, 1 died soon after, “Worry” was the Quail that Lived... Just long enough for my cat to eat a month later! Just found an old picture of Worry a few weeks ago!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Hope you got some sleep. :-/ those Guineas are so adorable in ALL the colors! How loud are they realllllly?


GAH QUAIL ARE SO ADORABLLLLLLLLLE. And. So. Tiny. Do you follow Fat hen farms on Fb or instagram? I specifically remember him taking a photo of a quail baby in a spoon and it was the most adorable photo EVER.

Well guineas are indeed LOUD! However, once they figure out the world and what’s normal and abnormal, they are not very loud very often. Even my hubby, the not a poultry lover who tried to ignore them, can tell when there is a real threat. Their awareness and volume make them great watch animals. I slept in, but hubby heard guineas alarm call at 8:30 AM this morning. He recognized it as a “serious threat” call and ran out to see guineas flying up from prairie into trees, very unusual for ours! As he ran over he saw a large animal running away through the prairie - he thinks it was a coyote. On head count all guineas were accounted for! My chickens or ducks would have been eaten, but the guineas are survivors and I think they know that we will help them if we can as they follow my lead with predators.

They are also the only birds I’ve ever taken on a walk through the woods! When they were younger and learning our property, they would follow me through the woods, chattering and investigating all of the time. Really those guinea walks were some of my most special moments of poultry keeping!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

Well guineas are indeed LOUD! However, once they figure out the world and what’s normal and abnormal, they are not very loud very often. Even my hubby, the not a poultry lover who tried to ignore them, can tell when there is a real threat. Their awareness and volume make them great watch animals. I slept in, but hubby heard guineas alarm call at 8:30 AM this morning. He recognized it as a “serious threat” call and ran out to see guineas flying up from prairie into trees, very unusual for ours! As he ran over he saw a large animal running away through the prairie - he thinks it was a coyote. On head count all guineas were accounted for! My chickens or ducks would have been eaten, but the guineas are survivors and I think they know that we will help them if we can as they follow my lead with predators.

They are also the only birds I’ve ever taken on a walk through the woods! When they were younger and learning our property, they would follow me through the woods, chattering and investigating all of the time. Really those guinea walks were some of my most special moments of poultry keeping!

Wow! I'm glad the coyote didn't get anything! And that's SO special being able to take them on walks!

 

[jolenesdad]

Well guineas are indeed LOUD! However, once they figure out the world and what’s normal and abnormal, they are not very loud very often. Even my hubby, the not a poultry lover who tried to ignore them, can tell when there is a real threat. Their awareness and volume make them great watch animals. I slept in, but hubby heard guineas alarm call at 8:30 AM this morning. He recognized it as a “serious threat” call and ran out to see guineas flying up from prairie into trees, very unusual for ours! As he ran over he saw a large animal running away through the prairie - he thinks it was a coyote. On head count all guineas were accounted for! My chickens or ducks would have been eaten, but the guineas are survivors and I think they know that we will help them if we can as they follow my lead with predators.

They are also the only birds I’ve ever taken on a walk through the woods! When they were younger and learning our property, they would follow me through the woods, chattering and investigating all of the time. Really those guinea walks were some of my most special moments of poultry keeping!

Fabulous memories and I’m so glad everyone is safe!!!

Bumping Guineas up on my list.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

...does anyone happen to know if it's possible to assist in a quail hatch? I moved the egg to the Nurture Right because I'm able to see better and I added a sponge with warm water to increase humidity because it takes so long in my Little Giant where I had the quail eggs. Anyway, I've seen it wiggle so I know something is going on in there but I can't seem to find a good link on how late is too late or whether it's ever advisable to do safety holes/assist at all.
Does anyone here know or happen to have a link on the subject or even typical time frames for quail? The other two hatched out like clockwork so I find I'm worried about this little one.