Unless the room your incubator is in is cold and causing condensation on the inside of the incubator, a high humidity is fine. I incubate the whole way through with a higher humidity and it's just what works for my climate (it's very humid here in summer so I figure the eggs are set up to cope with that).
The chicks take ages to dry in the incubator and they can knock the other eggs around a lot. I take them out once they've found their feet and are semi dry and let them dry completely in a toasty warm brooder. If you whip them out as they hatch, rather than waiting until you have to do a mass move of many squirming babies, the humidity won't plummet.
Being smaller I wouldn't leave a quail in the incubator longer than 24 hours. They are ready to eat very quickly and even chicks that aren't fully dry yet will peck at the bottom of the brooder looking for food. I scatter some food everywhere initially, and after a few days they figure out where the food bowl is.
Remember to teach them to eat and drink by tapping the food and water.
Are these your first quail chicks? They sleep in the most hilarious positions so be prepared to have your heart stop thinking they've died, like one of our latest babies:
The chicks take ages to dry in the incubator and they can knock the other eggs around a lot. I take them out once they've found their feet and are semi dry and let them dry completely in a toasty warm brooder. If you whip them out as they hatch, rather than waiting until you have to do a mass move of many squirming babies, the humidity won't plummet.
Being smaller I wouldn't leave a quail in the incubator longer than 24 hours. They are ready to eat very quickly and even chicks that aren't fully dry yet will peck at the bottom of the brooder looking for food. I scatter some food everywhere initially, and after a few days they figure out where the food bowl is.
Remember to teach them to eat and drink by tapping the food and water.
Are these your first quail chicks? They sleep in the most hilarious positions so be prepared to have your heart stop thinking they've died, like one of our latest babies:
