Preparing to Hatch Bobwhites

[quailheart]

(If you saw my other thread about this in Incubating and Hatching Eggs I moved it here because I thought it would get more replies) This is my second year hatching Northern Bobwhites. We are hatching my 1 year old quails' eggs (last year we ordered the eggs from Stromberg's) and I just want to make sure we are preparing the eggs right. I know how to incubate them but I'm not sure how to collect the eggs. My quail lay 3-5 eggs a day and I'm planning on incubating around 15. When I collect eggs, how long can they be sitting out before I put them in the incubator? And I'm planning to start incubation by May 9 or 10 because my friends are borrowing my incubator to hatch chickens. Thanks everybody!

 

[mdees88]

From what I've researched myself (not firsthand experience) quail eggs can be collected for up to 7 days before starting to see a loss in fertility.

You would need to collect them everyday so they're not sitting out in the sun and I'm pretty sure most people keep them at room temperature. Also I'm pretty sure it's a best practice to turn them several times per day too.....

Maybe someone with first hand experience can verify....

 

[quailheart]

Ok. Thanks for your help!