New quail hatchling issue....

[MatthewsHomestead]

What do you guys think I should do about this chick? Hatched around 7-8ish this am. The yolk sac was a whole lot bigger but it's been like this at least since sometime between 4 and 5. I have it separate from the others under heat, clean water and water with probiotics and electrolytes. Made up some really mushy soupy starter crumble in a small cap with a drop of nutri-drench. I would like to save it if I can. But I also dont want it to suffer.

 

[mdees88]

What do you guys think I should do about this chick? Hatched around 7-8ish this am. The yolk sac was a whole lot bigger but it's been like this at least since sometime between 4 and 5. I have it separate from the others under heat, clean water and water with probiotics and electrolytes. Made up some really mushy soupy starter crumble in a small cap with a drop of nutri-drench. I would like to save it if I can. But I also dont want it to suffer.

Is he getting around good? I had one hatch with a partially absorbed yolk sac and after he consumed it all it eventually broke off on it's own. He drug it around the incubator for 8 hours and the brooder for another half day.

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

I would check and recheck your incubator. I've run into issues like the ones you have (curled toes, unabsorbed yolk) when my incubator was running too hot.

Bator temp was fine throughout. It's a brand new forced air bator. Humidity ran high for about a week thanks to all the rain we've had. I've never had one that actually had the hygrometer so this was my first time in years of monitoring that. But aircells and development were doing beautifully. Had an automatic turner this time too so I didn't have to interrupt the temps for anything but candling. Our bator took a nose dive off the counter when the first quail chick hatched thanks to our cat. We didn't realize she could push it that good. So truthfully we didn't expect anything from these eggs at that point. It also seems to be at the stage in development where the DIS eggs stopped developing. We have had it set up in the bathroom since as it's the only room in the house that is able to be 100% secure from the cats. The temp and humidity actually have done so much better in there as well. So our next clutch will be done in there from start to finish. I blame the week of high humidity and the free fall for the issues we've had this time around. Our hatch rate has been consistently 90-100% over the last several years. And this is the first I've ever had issues such as these. This is also the first time hatching quail eggs, and hatching with cats around. Our good up I believe was putting it where we initially did and trust that the cat couldn't knock it over.

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

Is he getting around good? I had one hatch with a partially absorbed yolk sac and after he consumed it all it eventually broke off on it's own. He drug it around the incubator for 8 hours and the brooder for another half day.

Yes he seems to be moving around great. But he trips a little over the longer piece that's hanging. Eats and drinks well.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Bator temp was fine throughout. It's a brand new forced air bator. Humidity ran high for about a week thanks to all the rain we've had. I've never had one that actually had the hygrometer so this was my first time in years of monitoring that. But aircells and development were doing beautifully. Had an automatic turner this time too so I didn't have to interrupt the temps for anything but candling. Our bator took a nose dive off the counter when the first quail chick hatched thanks to our cat. We didn't realize she could push it that good. So truthfully we didn't expect anything from these eggs at that point. It also seems to be at the stage in development where the DIS eggs stopped developing. We have had it set up in the bathroom since as it's the only room in the house that is able to be 100% secure from the cats. The temp and humidity actually have done so much better in there as well. So our next clutch will be done in there from start to finish. I blame the week of high humidity and the free fall for the issues we've had this time around. Our hatch rate has been consistently 90-100% over the last several years. And this is the first I've ever had issues such as these. This is also the first time hatching quail eggs, and hatching with cats around. Our good up I believe was putting it where we initially did and trust that the cat couldn't knock it over.

Just because the incubator says the temp is fine doesn't mean that it is. A while ago, my incubator was telling me my temp was 100.5, but my secondary thermometer inside was saying the temp was 105 or higher. You need to test the temp with a calibrated thermometer.

 

[TwoCrows]

X2 on the above post! I never rely on the incubator temp gauge, nor the humidity gauge. I ALWAYS put gauges inside the incubator as well. The machine can go out of calibration easy. So if both inside and out are reading close, I know I am incubating as close to accuracy as possible.

 

[Athena2344]

That's how the vast majority of birds (excluding ducks) breed. They both sort of turn their vents inside out a little bit to get the sperm where it needs to be. Ducks are one of the few birds whose mating involves any actual penetration.

Also geese

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

I had three thermometers in there. They all were calibrated before starting and read between .5 degrees of each other. I've always used multiple thermometers. My previous bator was still air so had to watch for hot spots. I also ran the bator for 12 hours before starting to make sure I had it stabilized.

 

[MatthewsHomestead]

I really do believe it had to do with the humidity level and the fall.