Nervous first timer

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priccabona

priccabona

Chirping
Sep 20, 2015
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Hello all, first off, Love this forum... Love the Inventions thread, so helpful.. now, my question.. We have 36 quail eggs working on day 16. Tomorrow at 2 pm will be 16 days..I think I already know the answer to my question, "no one knows, wait and see".. but here goes anyway.. History on eggs.. we had 8 girls (12 weeks old), added 2 boys (4 months old), 3 days later started collecting eggs, yes we saw them breeding.. collected for 7 days, kept eggs cool (room temp) and turned 3 times a day. Started incubator, put eggs in, at first temp kept fluctuating, going low.. for first 3-4 days.. finally wrapped incubator in a blanket and put a light on it.. incubator is a china 48 egg, auto turn with fan. ( I know I should have done more research before buying, now) has since been keeping temp of 37.6 C (100f) I do have a thermometer/hydrometor inside box.. stays pretty close on temp.. Humidity is another story, mistakenly added water when we set it up.. (when we were putting eggs in, now I know to set it up several days in advance to get proper temp/humidity) woke up next day and humidity was 92. got all the water out of it, it was still high, upper 70's. finally got it down to 40-50 it took several days though.. since then I have been able to keep it 40-50, temp is great at 37.6c. I tried to candle, but can't see anything for the spots.. With all the ups and downs we have had, what are the chances of any of the eggs hatching..? I know now I should have checked closer on incubting eggs, Please dont bash me for not researching more before starting incubation. I have no idea if there is any chance of them hatching or if all the changes, and me not knowing things has reduced the chance to 0% for these poor eggs.. on day 14 we locked it down, raised humidity to 50-60%, won't open lid till chicks are hatched OR we know they are not going to. when we opened it to take out racks, there was no odor, I take that as a good sign.. we did notice that some eggs seemed heavier than the others. tried to candle, couldnt' tell anything. What do ya''ll think? is there a chance some might hatch?? I am a nervous wreck..
 
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What kind of quail do you have? I have never hatched quail but a quick search shows that their incubation is anywhere from 16 days to 25 days, depending on the kind (http://gbwf.org/quail/quail_chart.html). Keep in mind, incubations periods are only estimates, and are influenced by many different variables. They could hatch a day or two early or late. Don't fret.

While humidity is important, it is more important as an average throughout the incubation. It's main purpose is to regulate how much moisture is lost from the egg. If the humidity is too high the entire time, the chick will be sticky. If it's too low, it will have a harder time positioning itself for the hatch.

Temperature is a little less forgiving than humidity. If you had any severe temperature spikes, there is a possibility the eggs could have perished. I have had a few temperature spikes up to 105F and still had a fairly decent hatch though, but the temperature was corrected quickly. Now, lower temperatures, as long as they aren't too low, will more than likely just delay the hatch. If you had 3-4 days of lower temperatures, you might have an extra day or two on your incubation.

But yes, you are right, the answer is "just wait and see" but I would try not to worry too much. Just think of it as a learning experience and if it doesn't work out, please try again. It is really worth it once you get those little furries to hatch. My first hatch I got 0 (none were fertilized, my bity bantam rooster couldn't get the deed done with my full size ladies) but my second hatch I got 13/15...
 
mirandaleecon said:
What kind of quail do you have? I have never hatched quail but a quick search shows that their incubation is anywhere from 16 days to 25 days, depending on the kind (http://gbwf.org/quail/quail_chart.html). Keep in mind, incubations periods are only estimates, and are influenced by many different variables. They could hatch a day or two early or late. Don't fret.

While humidity is important, it is more important as an average throughout the incubation. It's main purpose is to regulate how much moisture is lost from the egg. If the humidity is too high the entire time, the chick will be sticky. If it's too low, it will have a harder time positioning itself for the hatch.

Temperature is a little less forgiving than humidity. If you had any severe temperature spikes, there is a possibility the eggs could have perished. I have had a few temperature spikes up to 105F and still had a fairly decent hatch though, but the temperature was corrected quickly. Now, lower temperatures, as long as they aren't too low, will more than likely just delay the hatch. If you had 3-4 days of lower temperatures, you might have an extra day or two on your incubation.

But yes, you are right, the answer is "just wait and see" but I would try not to worry too much. Just think of it as a learning experience and if it doesn't work out, please try again. It is really worth it once you get those little furries to hatch. My first hatch I got 0 (none were fertilized, my bity bantam rooster couldn't get the deed done with my full size ladies) but my second hatch I got 13/15...
Click to expand...
xs 2

You may see a delay of a day or two if the early temps flunctuated low, so don't give up if they aren't popping out on hatch day. It's so hard to judge when you have eggs you can't candle. There's always a chance, even we we screw up. My very first hatch I bought a new thermometer and didn't check it for accuracy. I had 17 chicks moving around at lockdown. Day 21 came an went, so did day 22 and 23, I was about to give up and candled and I heard a peep! At day 24 I had a hatcher and another pip. The second hatched day 25, but didn't survive. I had one little survivor. I was told to check my thermometer by multiple people here. I did. It was 6 degrees off!!! I never dreamed a brand new thermometer would be that far off (lesson learned). I fixed that problem, switched to "low humidity incubtion" and haven't had a bad hatch since. So, keep hope that all is not lost and yes, wait and see.
 
Thanks for the responses. We have Coturnix Quail. we have 8 girls (12 weeks old) 2 boys, (4 months old) then we have Texas A&M Quail, (8 weeks old) 11 girls and 3 boys. We got the Coturnix girls, then a couple weeks later went and got the 2 boys. We started gathering the eggs a couple of days after we got the boys.. all the eggs are from the coturnix.. counting on the 17 day hatch.. but prepared now.. keep saying IF any hatch, we are ready.. we will try our hand again.. and will be more prepared.. just hoping a few hatch, just so its not all wasted time.. well can't say its wasted, because I have learned so much... I'm just trying to see what others expectations would be if all this happened to your eggs..Thanks again for your input!
 

sorry for the bad quality, but ... We have success!!! there are 2 babies so far with a bunch more pips, Thank you all for your help. Not quite as nervous now,lol
 
OMG, I have been sitting in front of the incubator all day, just waiting for the next little pip!!! lol there are 11 hatched. This has been so exciting.. I didn't really expect any of them to hatch at all, with all the problems I have had with the incubator, and not knowing what I was doing.. Thank you for all your support, and yes... I am hooked.. lol
 
Hi, I had a humidity nightmare with my first quail hatch too.. they did ok despite me mucking up everything. Im glued to my bator with bantam hatching. Its just magic . So pleased for you
 

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