Newbie...

[creekrocket]

Here is a link to a thread with pictures that show how to tell.

Thanks James,,,
I was just wondering if you take the eggs that are layed daily, and stick them in the incubator(not knowing if they are fertile or not).

 

[creekrocket]

Also...if you only get four eggs per day, and want to incubate more than that, do you just collect them as you go and wait till you have enough, and then put them in the incubator?

 

[TwoCrows]

You can collect eggs for about 10 days. After 10 days, eggs start to deteriorate. So it is best to set them within this time frame.

Store them on your kitchen counter or somewhere where it is about 50-60 degrees. Do not refrigerate eggs to be incubated. Keep them in an egg carton with the big end up. Give the a twist a few times a day to keep them viable.

When you have enough eggs, and you can set only a few if you want, get your incubator fired up about 24 hours before hand so the temp and humidity stabilizes.

Then set your eggs. If you do not have an automatic egg turner in your bator, you will need to turn them 3 or 4 times a day. More the better. Many incubators turn eggs every hour, but 4 times a day will do if by hand.

Watch the temp and humidity all thru the process, adding water to the bator to keep the humidity up.

 

[TwoCrows]

I may as well finish this story...LOL

Come lock down day, the day you stop turning the eggs 3 days before hatch, you would want to add more humidity and go sit on your hands. LOL Waiting, waiting and more waiting. LOL Then the magical day that eggs turn into quail babies!

 

[Chicken-Farmer]

Creekrocket,
Just in case you don't know, the hens will lay eggs regardless of weather or not a male is around. So if you are just wanting eggs, then keep hens only. If you are wanting to hatch eggs you'll need a male involved in the process.

Chicken-Farmer

 

[creekrocket]

Thanks For All That Help Y'all. Is It Ok To Go Ahead And Assume The Eggs Are Fertile With A Male Or Two In The Pen?

 

[Sycamore27]

Thanks For All That Help Y'all. Is It Ok To Go Ahead And Assume The Eggs Are Fertile With A Male Or Two In The Pen?

Assuming that you're talking about Coturnix (Japanese, or Pharoah) quail you don't want more than 6 females to 1 male or you will see fertility decline.
Also, you're better off keeping your groups of one roo and four to six hens in their own pen, rather than two roos and twelve hens and what not. Less immediate competition makes for calmer, more productive birds.
If you spend any time watching your birds daily at all (and I think they're better than TV!) you will see the roos start to mount the hens. When I happen by our seven week olds checking for eggs I see the boys clumsily trying to mount the girls. Personally, since they are just starting I'll probably wait a week for them to figure out what they're doing (and for me to cull off my extra male) before I think about saving eggs to incubate. I'll probably try to examine some yolks for bulls eyes before I set any, too.
Good luck on your research!
Jessie

 

[creekrocket]

Thanks Jessie.
Speaking Of ExaminingYolks; And By That, I Assume You're Talking About Candling....Is There A Method To The Madness, Or Do You Just Stick A Light To The Egg And See The "Bullseye"?

 

[TwoCrows]

There is no way to see this "bulls-eye" unless you crack open an egg. You can do this with a few eggs before setting. Candling an egg allows you to look into an egg thru the shell with a strong bright light, and see blood veins, embryo's developing or even clear eggs. Candling helps you find eggs that are duds or allows you to follow development.

 

[Sycamore27]

Thanks Jessie.
Speaking Of ExaminingYolks; And By That, I Assume You're Talking About Candling....Is There A Method To The Madness, Or Do You Just Stick A Light To The Egg And See The "Bullseye"?

Actually I was talking about eggs cracked open for eating, the bulls eye isn't visible by candling.
You have to wait until the egg has been incubated a while for candling to be useful because it shows the growth happening in the egg to confirm fertility. There are some good threads on candling you can search for here but the basic idea is a bright light to the small end of the egg that doesn't bleed light (or you can hold your hand around the top of the light to focus it into the egg) and look for veins, a dark spot, or movement in the egg. I know there are time frames of when candling will start to show you anything and how late you can do it, I also know you're not supposed to go crazy with candling your eggs too often, but I couldn't tell you off the top of my head what any of those numbers are as I haven't set eggs myself yet.
Cheers,
Jessie