OMG! Hatching Day!

[AndreaGS]

Today is day 16 of incubation for my jumbo coturnix quail. I chatted with my stepson when he got home from school, and he told me that there were no chicks yet - no sign of anything.

On my way home (I ride my bicycle to and from work), I got a call on my cellphone. I was really annoyed, because I had to stop the bicycle, reach into my bag to get my purse, pull the phone out of the purse... one of the chicks hatched! At first I thought he was pulling my leg, because it's April Fool's and he loves to play jokes, but he told me he SWORE it was true.

I got home, and there's a little chicky in the 'bator! Whaddo I do with this little feller? Obviously I've got to wait until he dries, but I don't see any pips or anything on the other eggs. Obviously too, they can hatch really quickly, because an hour or so had passed between the first phone call and the second.

How long can they be in there? I've got to run in less than an hour to my writer's group (don't want to go anymore!). I can hear the poor guy chirping all the way from my office.

Thanks so much for everyone's help! I'm so excited that they're hatching!

 

[NancyDz]

Congrats! Yea they pip and hatch quick! I had one hatch at 6am and then by 8:30 there were a few more.. once they hear someone out and chirping I think it inspires them.


I'd leave him in there until you have a couple dry otherwise his peeping will get even louder by himself in the brooder.


Nancy

 

[citalk2much]

He sure is cute

 

[AndreaGS]

Eeep! I see another egg rocking back and forth! The little guy gets really excited when the other egg moves. Hilarious!

 

[AndreaGS]

Ok, little dude is still in there by himself. I can see cracks in a few of the other eggs, but am wondering how long it's ok to leave him in there. At what point should I put him in the brooder? It's been about 5 hours. Thanks!

 

[Bacchus]

You can leave him in there for up to two days and he'll be fine. When I hatched my Texas A&M, it was at least 8 hours between the first hatch and the second hatch. Whatever you do, don't open the bator! You will jeopardize the lives of the other chicks if you open the bator too early. From my experience, I only opened the bator after all the ones that pipped hatched. Even then, I did it really quickly to remove the once that already hatched. Once the humidity drops from you opening the bator, the rest of the eggs that hatch afterwards will have a much more difficult time coming out because the membrane on the inside dries out. Good luck to ya!

 

[AndreaGS]

Well, this is what I woke up to this morning:

I helped a little guy out who had his leg stuck in his shell for a while. Humidity only dropped a tiny bit and was getting a bit high. I'll keep an eye out for a high humidity when I shift them over to the brooder. I think I see one or two more pipped. It's hard to tell what with the chicks running all over everything.

I think there are a couple more now

 

[AndreaGS]

We moved all the hatched ones from the 'bator to the brooder before leaving for work. Humidity was up to 79, so I figured that would be a good time to do it. Humidity dropped for 1-2 minutes and went back up to 75.

They were already running around and drinking before I left, so here's hoping they are ok when I get back!

Sorry for the play-by-play - this is the first time I've hatched anything since I was in 4th grade, so this is all very exciting for me!

I'll post newly fluffed chick photos when I get home. They are so cute!

Thanks so much for the advice, Bacchus!

ETA: They were much larger than I expected, given the egg size. It's a tight fit in there, isn't it?

 

[Appaloosa Hill Farm]

Hey, don't apologize for the play-by-play, I'm stalking this thread just FOR it!

Love the pics, keep updating us!!!

 

[monarc23]

congrats on the chickis! ya did great!