NY chicken lover!!!!

You don't have anything hatching in the next week or two, do you? Just in case my broodies can't hatch out anything next w/e - one poor girl is on at least 5 weeks sitting.

Me, not have anything!
lau.gif
We will have Golden Cuckoo Marans hatching on the 1st that I can spare a few. Let me know...
 
You don't realize just how small a quail chick is until you put it in a brooder with a Silkie! (They do look pretty cute snuggling together, though!) Hopefully, when I get home there should be a whole bunch of buddies for him / her.
 
Yesterday, I went through my brooders, and "kicked" out the older chicks to make room for the new hatchlings. They are in the same areas as a Silkie Pair. When I went back later in the day, the youngest chicks were all sleeping around & under the Silkie Pullet. It was cute, like she was taking them under her wing....
 
I was hoping for some help from experienced egg incubators....

I have 6 button quails that seem to be hatching right now. They are a few days early (directions I read online said it takes 17-21 days for them to hatch in an incubator even though it should take 14 days to hatch under a hen). It's day 14 today and all the eggs are cracked and have been since I check on them this morning at 9:30 am. It's now almost 3 and I can't tell if there is any progress. I wouldn't even say they are cracked enough to call it a "pip" yet. Some of the cracks were on the bottoms of the egg, so I turned them over (I already had the incubator open). I handled all of the other eggs as well (looking at the shell carefully to see if they were cracked too). I didn't hurt them by doing that I hope? And you're supposed to stop turning them a few days ahead of hatching, but I turned them last night thinking I had one more day of turning. The humidity is up and the temp is right. Should it take this long? I know many of you have never hatched button quails, but I'm assuming they're similar to chicken eggs.

To throw another problem in...my husband and I have to go away this weekend (would rather stay, but that's another story), and my mom was going to egg sit. I'm hoping all the chicks will be out and dried by tomorrow morning and my mom can simply just "chick sit" instead. Do you think there's a chance they could still be in hatching mode by tomorrow morning?

I'm really worried and don't know what to expect. This is my first clutch of hatching eggs and I'm hoping I didn't kill them before they got a chance to hatch! Any advice or reassurance from anyone would be much appreciated.

-Crystal
 
I was hoping for some help from experienced egg incubators....

I have 6 button quails that seem to be hatching right now. They are a few days early (directions I read online said it takes 17-21 days for them to hatch in an incubator even though it should take 14 days to hatch under a hen). It's day 14 today and all the eggs are cracked and have been since I check on them this morning at 9:30 am. It's now almost 3 and I can't tell if there is any progress. I wouldn't even say they are cracked enough to call it a "pip" yet. Some of the cracks were on the bottoms of the egg, so I turned them over (I already had the incubator open). I handled all of the other eggs as well (looking at the shell carefully to see if they were cracked too). I didn't hurt them by doing that I hope? And you're supposed to stop turning them a few days ahead of hatching, but I turned them last night thinking I had one more day of turning. The humidity is up and the temp is right. Should it take this long? I know many of you have never hatched button quails, but I'm assuming they're similar to chicken eggs.

To throw another problem in...my husband and I have to go away this weekend (would rather stay, but that's another story), and my mom was going to egg sit. I'm hoping all the chicks will be out and dried by tomorrow morning and my mom can simply just "chick sit" instead. Do you think there's a chance they could still be in hatching mode by tomorrow morning?

I'm really worried and don't know what to expect. This is my first clutch of hatching eggs and I'm hoping I didn't kill them before they got a chance to hatch! Any advice or reassurance from anyone would be much appreciated.

-Crystal

I have always had them hatch at 14 days. Hopefully they will be done, if not they should be fine in the incubator for at least 24 hours. They are crazy little and will fly within the first week so make sure you cover the brooder.
 
The babies went out again today, and did not hate it as much as before. There was no distress peeping, the pecked for the crumbles I had put down, but were not too excited about that. The highlight was spending time in the little cardboard box. It was out of the wind, sun, and prying eyes of those old ladies. Stewpot had to have a look at them and jumped up onto the top, I wonder if she remembers that she and Claire looked like that not even a year ago. I have put a picture of the two teenagers who are supposed to be Buff Orpingtons, but I wonder.
 
Would anyone be interested in 2 meat birds? I'm taking six chicks off a friends hands that had them dropped off at her house before Easter.

I'm assuming, from what she described is that someone thought it would be cute to buy 6 chicks from tsc but then decided they were too much for them and dumped them at her farm. She called me begging to take them off her hands, she has had them living in an aquarium in her sewing room and has had enough. She said two are white and appear to be cornish rocks. She also said the other four are light and dark brown, which I'm thinking are "red" pullets.

Since I don't do meat birds I need to find someone to take them before its too late. I would be willing to meet you half way or drop them off at your house depending on where you are. My next choice is Craigslist.

She is dropping them off here tomorrow so I will have more details then.
 
Ok thanks for the info. Do you think it's ok that I handled the eggs and turned them? I know it's supposed to be the "lockdown period." :-| They still haven't progressed or changed that I could see but I'm keeping my eye on them...

-Crystal
 
sorry i haven't posted in about a month, been busy. got a bunch more pigeons, chickens and what not......... great to be back! I may get banned for saying this, but happy 4/20! Some of us washed up hippies are "hip" on the lingo....
Quick question: anybody here raise Shamos and/ or KO Shamos?
 

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