Quail eggs. Are they growing or not?

[eleanor673]

This is my first time hatching quail eggs.
They've been in the incubator now for 7 days (button quails) I got told I could float test them after 7 days, which I did today. I'm confused on the results :s I've had some floaters, and some sinkers. I've been trying to find out which are viable but I keep getting conflicting answers there were 4 that floated in the middle of the water, some that floated with just the top of the egg surfacing! Can anyone help me with some good advice !

 

[Silkies~Polishes]

Have you candled them? If not try that, that way for sure you can see if there is anything inside there.

 

[eleanor673]

Yeah I tried candling before I tried a float test. Unfortunately the eggs are way too dark, can't see a thing through it

 

[Silkies~Polishes]

Maybe try a brighter flashlight if you can get one?

 

[GrandmaBird]

better yet just wait it out...that's part of the excitement of these little guys coming to join us, in my book anyway.

 

[SavageChick]

I don't mean to be a stick in the mud, but I have to agree with GrandmaBird. However, I can totally relate to the anticipation of your first hatch, and how difficult it is to wait when you first start out. On my first hatch, I handled the eggs too much (candled too many times, float-tested too many times, opened the incubator, etc...) I ended up with only one chick making it out of the entire batch, and I think I was the one to blame for this. There are expert candlers here on these boards who are able to candle with ease during the chick's later stages of development, so maybe they will chime in to give you more specific advice on how to do this without causing egg demise like I did. There are also several websites that show how to do this, and how to make your own candler like this one.....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-egg-candler-using-common-household-materials

For me, however, now I just candle them on the third day using a bright key light on the blunt end of the egg (just quickly enough to see the veins to know that it is fertile and developing), and then I leave them alone for the remainder of their incubation period. If they don't hatch on their expected hatch date, I might wait two more days (depending on the health of those that have already hatched), look closely for any pips, and do a float test then. Here is a link that includes a video of how to do the float test and what to look for (click on the picture to watch the video)...
http://forum.horsetopia.com/farm-an...king-egg-viability-late-overdue-hatching.html

 

[eleanor673]

Thanks everyone! I've got some more eggs on the way as my aunts sending me some. So I've freed up some room in my incubator, as finally after a lot of tries I found the fertile ones through candling, and threw the duds out