Please I need help quickly. Quail eggs won't fit into my quail rails!

[Oregonbeek]

I just got my 100 coturnix quail eggs from James Marie Farms. I wanted standard sized quail, which they said they provide, and marked on the package that they sent me, and now when I'm trying to fit them into the incubator there is NO way that they are the right size for the quail racks. I have no idea what to do. I feel like the entire batch is a waste.


Maybe a quarter of them fit into the rails properly and most of them are too fat or too tall. And if they don't fit properly they scrape on the quail rail beside them and will probably have the tops ripped off of them if I let them stay in the incubator.

I have no idea what to do. This feels like a disaster.

 

[Oregonbeek]

I'm tempted to take 2 of the rails out so I would run the outside two rails and the middle rails, and then throw out the 40 biggest eggs and see if that works. I'm not even sure if there are 60 eggs worth incubating though. When the rail tips some of them fall out of the holes.

Are ALL standard sized coturnix too bit for normal quail rails or what am I missing?

 

[crsect]

I had a few there were too large for the rails and while they sit funny they rocked back and forth slowly and made it all the way to lock down with out and problems. At this rate sounds like either you turn them by hand or you have everything to loose with or everything to gain. So give it a go and watch the turner for a while if it looks like it will for sure be an issue turn by hand. I think you will be ok so rock on.

 

[Oregonbeek]

Well that wasn't fun.

I put the 60 smallest eggs into the incubator and threw the largest 40 away. The eggs were surprisingly not very uniform. Some were fat, some skinny, some tall and some short. Is this normal?

I bought a $200 incubator so I wouldn't have to turn the eggs by hand.

It wouldn't let me attach a photo so I threw a photo up on a hosting site so you can see what I'm talking about. Some are literally twice as large as others.

 

[Oregonbeek]

Can I assume that the smaller eggs that I'm incubating will lead to smaller birds that will lay normal sized eggs so I won't have this problem in the future?

 

[James Marie]

Give me a call ...I be glad to answer any questions you have...I tried calling and emailing but wasn't able to reach you to answer the email you sent me...

 

[bingrancher]

Try notching the racks, I had 100 eggs from james marie and they were huge too but after I notched the racks it worked fine

 

[bingrancher]

 

[Oregonbeek]

Well since I wrote the original post I pulled out 3 of the egg racks and sorted through the eggs to find the 60 smallest eggs which I am now incubating. There was no way that they would have all fit, and the 40 largest would have been crushed by the other egg racks or just tipped out of the racks as they turned from side to side. I just had to throw away the largest 40 eggs because there was nothing I could have done with them.

While disappointed with my order, I'm not upset with James Marie Farms because as a business owner myself, I understand that mistakes do happen with any business and they were quick with an offer to make things right.

I guess now my question is if there is what will become of my remaining quail. Because their eggs fit into my incubator, does that mean that they will lay eggs that will fit into my incubator? Or what's the best way to create normal sized birds that will fit into normal sized quail racks and quail egg cartons?

Thank you!

 

[aviator46]

Most people I know that raise coturnix breed for big birds and big eggs. What you got from James Marie are some of the best eggs around. They have developed some of largest birds around and save you years of breeding to get to where you will be by hatching their eggs. I hatch in a roll-x and use every other slot in the quail egg rack. It is shocking to see the size of their eggs but very pleasing to see the size of the birds you get. Best of luck with your hatch!