My first Quail. A mini blog.

[Nabiki]

If they only have a small dark spot, it sounds like they quit early. Here is a playlist I created of candling day by day.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8AKDZ9NpcmHLecXHu6m5qhUIp67ldEnG

 

[pac]

@Nabiki , I've seen a few videos on checking fresh quail eggs for fertility. Looking for the bullseye.
Can that be done on the ones I know did not develop at all? Or does two weeks in the 'bator negate that test?

 

[pac]

Two of the three suspect eggs looked like day 9 in your (very well done) series. Maybe a smaller dark spot.
And I don't know if it makes a difference, but I was holding the egg on top of the flashlight. So my dark shadows were on top of the air sack, in the narrow end. Almost as if they were stuck.

 

[pac]

Update on the hutch.
I found that piece of lexan, so made some windows for the enclosed side.

 

[Nabiki]

@Nabiki , I've seen a few videos on checking fresh quail eggs for fertility. Looking for the bullseye.
Can that be done on the ones I know did not develop at all? Or does two weeks in the 'bator negate that test?

The time in the incubator negates that one.

 

[Nabiki]

Two of the three suspect eggs looked like day 9 in your (very well done) series. Maybe a smaller dark spot.
And I don't know if it makes a difference, but I was holding the egg on top of the flashlight. So my dark shadows were on top of the air sack, in the narrow end. Almost as if they were stuck.

Quitters often stick to the side of the egg. That's one of the ways you can tell an egg quit. Some of my candling videos show the difference between a live egg and a dead one.

 

[pac]

The time in the incubator negates that one.

Well I wasn't really wanting to crack open those eggs anyway
But it would have been nice to know.

Thank you

 

[pac]

The brooder is doing nicely. Temps on average throughout, 92-94, with it slightly warmer under the lizard lamp.
And I got some Game Bird Starter ground up into even finer crumbles and a qt waterer (with the narrow trough) filled with room temp water and electrolytes.

The incubator humidity is reading on average 74%, which translates to 64-65% if the Govee was still in it.

The farm I got the eggs from got back to me and said my numbers weren't so good and to keep him posted on the hatch.
I got the feeling he might supplement me with more eggs if the hatch rate is low... Which would mean they would be about 3 weeks behind the others if I choose to get them?

I'm seeing that as presenting some more questions on my end.

I've seen slightly rednecked say you can introduce younger birds to an older group as long as they aren't sexually mature. And the older group would be close themselves to reaching that age. But then there is telling them apart a few weeks after that... Or I guess I can try banding the younger group. The time to do that is probably when they are still in the brooder and easier to handle. I'm guessing.
Just leave enough slack in the zip tie... that could be interesting doing myself.

Or I could simply put a second group in the second hutch. But then I don't have a "grow out" hutch... And my hutches, at 24sqft, were really designed for more birds.

Yeah, I've got some thinking to do.
But all that might not happen anyway.
I just don't want to be caught without a plan.

 

[Nabiki]

The only thing I would change is the electrolytes. I generally only give them supplements if there's something wrong.

 

[FatherFalcon]

The brooder is doing nicely. Temps on average throughout, 92-94, with it slightly warmer under the lizard lamp.
And I got some Game Bird Starter ground up into even finer crumbles and a qt waterer (with the narrow trough) filled with room temp water and electrolytes.

The incubator humidity is reading on average 74%, which translates to 64-65% if the Govee was still in it.

The farm I got the eggs from got back to me and said my numbers weren't so good and to keep him posted on the hatch.
I got the feeling he might supplement me with more eggs if the hatch rate is low... Which would mean they would be about 3 weeks behind the others if I choose to get them?

I'm seeing that as presenting some more questions on my end.

I've seen slightly rednecked say you can introduce younger birds to an older group as long as they aren't sexually mature. And the older group would be close themselves to reaching that age. But then there is telling them apart a few weeks after that... Or I guess I can try banding the younger group. The time to do that is probably when they are still in the brooder and easier to handle. I'm guessing.
Just leave enough slack in the zip tie... that could be interesting doing myself.

Or I could simply put a second group in the second hutch. But then I don't have a "grow out" hutch... And my hutches, at 24sqft, were really designed for more birds.

Yeah, I've got some thinking to do.
But all that might not happen anyway.
I just don't want to be caught without a plan.

I admire the ingenuity it takes to build these hutches.
Whether it’s managing their health, habitat, food, water, or keeping everything clean, there’s so much thought that goes into the entire process.
Seems a bit upwhelming at times.
I’ve been doing quail for a while now and I still find myself coming up with random ideas...
like using an aquarium as a temporary grow-out hutch!
Sometimes the more creative or simple solutions end up working best.

As for the hutch situation, putting a divider in one of your existing hutches could be a quick fix until you get the grow-out setup you’re planning. It could buy you some time to sort things out and still give you a way to keep them separated without too much hassle. I’m sure whatever you decide, it’ll work out..!