Lockdown tommorrow-Any tips

[NicoleRook]

This is my first time doing this so I'm looking for some guidance from some veterans. First the eggs are on an egg turner in an incubator will a fan, is it ok to move them into a lockdown incubator that has still air? Recomendations of heat/humidity? Also any first aid items and things to have on hand. My husband is putting the brooder together tommorow night. We have a plastic storage tub, heat lamp w/ dimmer....What type of brooder did you have on hand? Do you show them how to eat/drink? Any surprises I should be prepared for. Tommorow is day 14-these are Japanese Quail, what is the max time I should wait for hatching?

Thanks all, Crossing my fingers and listening to the peeps.

 

[NicoleRook]

Also may have found a pipped egg! What do I do, should I take it off egg turner?

 

[TwoCrows]

Keep the temp the same all the way thru complete hatch. Humidity level should be raised by 10% more than you incubated with. If you have to, add wet sponges.

By lock down and all the way thru hatch, it is VERY important for the chicks to receive fresh air and a lot of it. They need a ton of oxygen at this time. So I do not recommend moving these eggs into any still air incubator. If you are worried about the egg turners, either remove them, or cover them with some non slip liner of some sort and place the eggs on top.

After the babies are completely dry in the incubator, you can place them in the brooder. Have it all set up with the proper temp of 95 degrees. Keep the heat off to one side and the food and water on the other. Put down paper towels and spread the feed all around on the floor, around the feeder area so they can figure out where the food is kept. Dip their beaks in the water as you place them in the brooder so they know where the water is kept as well.

Use a chick waterer or put marbles or small stones in the base of regular water font. You can even use jelly jar lids with tiny stones in it too. Quail fall in and drown really easily in water when they are tiny.

Use a brooder with solid sides and solid floor to keep drafts down. Do not cover the top of the brooder with anything but a screen or wire of some sort. You want good air and heat exchange.

The first week, start the babies out at 95 degrees and lower the temp by 5 degrees each week until 5 or 6 weeks old.

As for how long to wait on a hatch, I would go 4 or 5 days past expect due date.

 

[James the Bald]

This is my first time doing this so I'm looking for some guidance from some veterans. First the eggs are on an egg turner in an incubator will a fan, is it ok to move them into a lockdown incubator that has still air? Recomendations of heat/humidity? Also any first aid items and things to have on hand. My husband is putting the brooder together tommorow night. We have a plastic storage tub, heat lamp w/ dimmer....What type of brooder did you have on hand? Do you show them how to eat/drink? Any surprises I should be prepared for. Tommorow is day 14-these are Japanese Quail, what is the max time I should wait for hatching?

Thanks all, Crossing my fingers and listening to the peeps.

Nicole, having one more incubation than you, I don't consider myself and expert, but I can offer suggestions. What I did was candled each egg as I took it out of the turner for lockdown, then placed them on a paper towel that I spread out on top of the wire in the incubator. Any eggs that were infertile were removed from the incubator and tossed. To add more humidity, the Mrs and I had placed a small glass bowel with water and placed a clean sponge cut up into thin strips. The bowls I used were high enough that the chicks couldn't get into them and drown. I can't help with temperature info on a still air, as I have a forced air incubator. For a brooder, I work at a warehouse, so I brought home a huge cardboard box. I placed an old towel in the bottom, leaving no cardboard flooring visible. Any smooth surfaces can cause the chicks to injure their hips and get "splayed legs". I actually have 2 towels... you will quickly learn that chicks are poop machines and your towel will have to be replaced daily, otherwise, you may notice them pecking at their own doo-doo. Your heatlamp with dimmer will do fine. The first item I placed into the brooder was a watererer with aquarium stones in it, and they found the water on their own; after I was sure that both chicks were drinking, I put the feeder in, and they found that too.
Just curious, are you hatching 2 different types of quail? Thought it was odd that you have chicks piping the day you go into lockdown. As for "surprises", don't be disappointed if not all of the eggs hatch.

 

[laseterlass]

Do not open the bator. Do not touch them while they are hatching. Their moms dont have thumbs and dont help them out. They can live in the bator for at least 24 hours after hatch. Good Luck. I just had a hatch start in day 17. And continue through day 21. I had to take chicks out at 48 hours. I made it quick and I laid a warm damp paper towel over the unhatched eggs while the bator was open.

 

[NicoleRook]

Thanks everyone for the advice, they are now officially on lockdown.

 

[gingerly1983]

I saw somewhere along the threads that someone took the hatched babies out through the window of their incubator. It kept the temp from falling too much and it recovered quickly. I did this with my last hatch and it worked like a charm. So, if you have an incubator that you can easily pop the windows out, do that. Good luck!!

 

[NicoleRook]

So today is day 18, counting the first day as zero. I was really getting worried. I candled and sorted the eggs today, I put aside 8 that I was unsure of. The were completely dark. Float test showed no movement and they were floating higher than the rest. Decided to open one...and found it dried out and hallow?! Dried up yolk, or stinky sludge were in the preceding ones, but I was really unsure of the last two and hesitated. I did the water test and they began spinning...yay. Put one in my hand and it started bouncing. I rushed it back to incubator. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Also a question, when I candle some the air pocket sometimes glowed greenish/blue. Is that normal?

 

[NicoleRook]

Day 19, This morning was disappointing, no change, not much movement and I'm getting worried because tommorow morning until thursday I won't be here. I felt the eggs and found around 6 more that were very light and not as dense as the others. Water tested they indeed floated up almost completely to the surface. Opened them, and they were completely dried.

We had many temp spikes early on and I wonder if we cooked these poor little eggies. Yet the other eggs seem so much denser and heavier. One even flipped over in my hand.

My husband thinks I'm crazy when I tell him they move....but I swear to you I'm 150% certain that little eggy moved.

Please, tell me what you do at this point. So disappointed

 

[kenazzo2000]

If you put them against your ear you should hear them try it