Need help figuring out what I'm doing wrong!?

[gaylyn512]

Hello All. I'm new to this forum. I'm having hatching issues, and I'm hoping someone out there can help.

I have Texas A&M (white) quail. I've done a lot of web research on raising and hatching these. I've had very poor luck. This is my 4th incubation (and 5th one started already too). The 1st one was unsuccessful. I attribute it to being very early (mid-February) and the eggs had just simply gotten too cold. I collect them twice a day, but the temps out in the quail run were quite cold. The second incubation had 10 of 34 eggs hatch successfully, which is a very low yield. It was done in a Brower Top Hatch incubator. The 3rd incubation (same incubator) was unsuccessful. On day 24, I finally pulled the eggs. To help me understand what was going on, I cracked a half dozen or so. To my horror, two of them had 90% developed chicks. They were even moving! The eggs had been out of the incubator for 3 days at that point. I'd already started the next set in the incubator. OK...it just gets worse from here. For this 4th and 5th set, I purchase 3 additional digital thermometers because I'm feeling my temps are not accurate. I even set the incubator up with a glass rectal (yes, it's clean and sterile!) thermometer right along side the "most" accurate digital to ensure what I had was actually 100 deg. F.

I have two incubators going now...my 4th attempt is in a HovaBator with forced air and egg turner. I'm setting the temp to 100 deg. F, and keeping the humidity at 40-45% until I stop turning. Then I'm elevating the humidity to 55-60%. This 4th attempt I'm concerned with is now at day 20. They should have hatched on day 18-19. I candled a couple of eggs and they are developed. This morning, I physically made the decision to sacrifice one egg to see what development stage they were at. The chick is formed, but only about 60% of the sack is utilized. I candled about 6 eggs (out of 92) and all 6 look just like the sacrificial egg. Formed. I have a week and a half to go on the 5th set (in the Brower). I'm just terrified that they are going to be in the same situation.

Please, does anyone out there have any idea what I might be doing wrong?

My breeders are in a community pen at a ratio of 1 male to 3 females. I feed Purina Quail to them and supplement them with calcium in their water. The eggs look great, and I'm getting about 1 egg for every female every day now. I clean and sanitize the incubator(s) between every set.

At my wits end here.

Thank you in advance for any input.

 

[aprophet]

I have been running my humidity a little higher 55-60% the first 14 days and 70+ until they hatch, mine is a homebuilt so far my best hatch is 46 hatched out of 68 eggs. the not quiet developed chicks sound like not enough heat I have checked my bator and found hot spots and cold spots in it. I have had chicks hatching on day 16 that egg was in a hot spot I have had eggs hatch on day 21 a cold spot the hatch I started having success with I moved the eggs around I do not have a turner yet. i am only on my 4th hatch .

 

[JJMR794]

Humidity Needs To Be Higher.

 

[kingmt]

Sounds like the temp is to low. Try to go to 101 to see if it does any better. If it is a. Still air bator then it should be. A 100.5 to 101 anyhow. Forced air should be 99.5 to 100 but with what you have happening I would try a higher temp. This isn't hot enough to cook them. It might lowe hatch rate but it sounds like you have nothing to lose.

 

[DLS]

If they are developed ,It has to be in the last days of incubation.
Questions:
1. Do you stop the turner during the "lock down"?
2. Do you stand the eggs up with pointed end down for the last 3 days? .
3.Do the chicks(dead in the shell) look wet like they have drowned?
4. Are the chicks(dead in the shell) kind of dry(just kind of slick)
5. what smell comes from the open eggs?
6. is there a smell from the eggs in the incubator? what is it?
7.If you have NO EGG TURNER, how often & how do you turn the eggs. do you mark them?

I have many more questions but lets see if these might untangle your mess

 

[95yj]

is 1 or 2 degrees of temperature really gonna affect a hatch that much. same with humidity. at the recomendation of an older and more experienced poultry enthusiast i tried dry hatching a batch of coturnix eggs. the humidity was consistently 35% (i just didn't add any water) until lockdown when i brought it up to 50-60, as high as i could. I hatched 10 out of 16 eggs, and i'm convinced the rest weren't all that fertile, all the chicks are healthy as can be. These are just my findings, all i'm trying to say is that maybe the temperature or humidity isn't the problem. Or maybe try dry hatching, its worth a shot, maybe...

 

[DLS]

95yjeep ,
I have found your findingsto be
true fror me also
blue 95yj

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
If your temp is 100-101 and it goes down to 98-99 it may not mean a lot but if you are at 102 -103 and it goes to 104-105 it might make a little bit of difference I have been trying to find as much out about hatching gamebirds as I can, everything I have found so far recommends the dry bulb be 99.5*F and the wet bulb should be 86* at the start of incubation 98.5*F at hatching with a wet bulb of 90*F. Of the 6 eggs that did not hatch did you break them open to see when /why? TIA

 

[cpbirds407]

I'm not sure what the problem is or how to solve it because I am not there to "inspect" the possible issues however, bottom line is...

You can't hatch healthy chicks from poor quality birds. If your birds are in good breeding conditions, you have a good male to female ratio and you store the eggs correctly, you should have a good hatch. Now, if you don't have a good hatch, then you might have incubation issues.

I just hatched some Texas A&M from my own breeding stock. This is what I did;

I set the incubator to 99.5 degrees. Make sure you have TWO digital thermometers and make sure they both read the same temperature. This way you KNOW that the thermometer is not off by a few degrees. Do the same with the Hydrometer for the humidity. I set my humidity at 60% throughout the whole incubation period and I do not raise it during the last three days.

I stop turning the eggs during the last three days prior to haching and I lay them on their side.

This is all I did and I got a 94% hatch rate.

I hope this helps.

Charlie

 

[gaylyn512]

Thank you all sooo much for all the comments. This is such an amazing forum... I'll crack them tomorrow to see what condition they made it to and report back. I'm still thinking my main problem is lousy digital thermometers. Are there any "outstanding" thermometers out there that are so darn accurate I can trust them? I've got three digitals and they all read different (2-3 degrees). I've been pretty good at boosting the humidity at lock down to as high as I can get it (around 60%) with all plugs in. The one set that I actually had hatch, I pulled the plugs as they were hatching to assist them in drying...

DLS, I hope to provide you with as much as possible for your feedback. Here's what I can answer so far...

1. Do you stop the turner during the "lock down"? Yep, I stop turning EOD on day 15.
2. Do you stand the eggs up with pointed end down for the last 3 days? . They are in the egg turners pointed end down.

Sad...hum...I'll know tomorrow evening when I get home and start cracking for the rest of these....it's just really been too long at this point.

3.Do the chicks(dead in the shell) look wet like they have drowned?
4. Are the chicks(dead in the shell) kind of dry(just kind of slick)
5. what smell comes from the open eggs?
6. is there a smell from the eggs in the incubator? what is it? No, no smell in the incubator...
7.If you have NO EGG TURNER, how often & how do you turn the eggs. do you mark them? I have them in a turner in the HovaBator, and the Brower Top Hatch rolls the eggs.

Again, thank you all for your kindness in responding and all the knowledge you have. It's greatly appreciated.