Quail eggs day 20

[Alexacfreeman]

So I did an experiment with quail eggs from the market. I candled and know for sure one is fertile. I did the float test today because it’s day 20 and the one fertile egg hasn’t hatched and it was moving. Is it normal for quail eggs to take this long and I learned from my chicken hatching experience and I am not intervening but I would like to know when I should if at all intervene and how late is normal? I want to help if the baby needs it but if it’s not ready I don’t want to help. Any experienced people that have any advice would be greatly appreciated. No pips but there is movement.

 

[JaeG]

If your temperature has been running a little low then that can cause them to hatch late. Candle it if you can to see whether it has internally pipped, or hold it up to your ear and see if you can hear a tapping/clicking sound. It's not the chick tapping on the shell, it's actually it starting to breathe for itself.

I wouldn't intervene unless the chick becomes less active. That would indicate it is running out of oxygen if it has internally pipped. Chicks pip internally then around 24 hours later (on average) they pip externally. Then they will sit and absorb the remains of their yolk and the blood that's been running through the veins of the membrane before unzipping and hatching completely. That phase can take 24 hours, sometimes up to 36 hours to complete. The unzipping only takes up to an hour of that time, and the absorbing stage is a very crucial stage, so it's best not to intervene if at all possible, because of the risks of jumping in too soon and doing more harm than good.

In the articles section there are great articles on the subject of assisted hatching so have a read through those before doing anything.

Your chick may also be slow because it has no other chicks to talk to and bond with which encourages them to hatch. If at all possible find it some friends as otherwise you will have a very needy, lonely, noisy chick on your hands that will need a lot of attention. A soft toy to cuddle with or a little cloth to snuggle under in the brooder can help as can a mirror, but it is programmed to bond with its parents and hatch mates and you will have to be those for it if you can't find it some friends.

 

[Sammi_0411]

Im on day 20 quails just started to zip was getting worried lol xx

 

[Alexacfreeman]

If your temperature has been running a little low then that can cause them to hatch late. Candle it if you can to see whether it has internally pipped, or hold it up to your ear and see if you can hear a tapping/clicking sound. It's not the chick tapping on the shell, it's actually it starting to breathe for itself.

I wouldn't intervene unless the chick becomes less active. That would indicate it is running out of oxygen if it has internally pipped. Chicks pip internally then around 24 hours later (on average) they pip externally. Then they will sit and absorb the remains of their yolk and the blood that's been running through the veins of the membrane before unzipping and hatching completely. That phase can take 24 hours, sometimes up to 36 hours to complete. The unzipping only takes up to an hour of that time, and the absorbing stage is a very crucial stage, so it's best not to intervene if at all possible, because of the risks of jumping in too soon and doing more harm than good.

In the articles section there are great articles on the subject of assisted hatching so have a read through those before doing anything.

Your chick may also be slow because it has no other chicks to talk to and bond with which encourages them to hatch. If at all possible find it some friends as otherwise you will have a very needy, lonely, noisy chick on your hands that will need a lot of attention. A soft toy to cuddle with or a little cloth to snuggle under in the brooder can help as can a mirror, but it is programmed to bond with its parents and hatch mates and you will have to be those for it if you can't find it some friends.

As soon as it starts to hatch I was planning on getting another little friend for it. I also have chicks but I don’t think you can combined them. The air cell seems to be not circle anymore but more of like the head of the quail is pushing up on one side of the air cell. I took some pictures it’s hard to describe.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Never float test eggs this far into development. You can drown them in the egg doing that.

 

[Alexacfreeman]

Never float test eggs this far into development. You can drown them in the egg doing that.

Ok. I did make sure there was no external pip first. I know now for next time.

 

[Alexacfreeman]

This is my illustration of how the air sac looks. Definitely not a beak internally pipped. Looks like the neck pushing on the air sac.

 

[Alexacfreeman]

Anybody??

 

[JaeG]

This is my illustration of how the air sac looks. Definitely not a beak internally pipped. Looks like the neck pushing on the air sac.

They start to 'shadow' before pipping internally so that's good that it's making progress. You'll see a definite beak and hear it once it does pip internally.

This is the hard part of incubation - it's so close that you want to see that cute little chick, but everything seems to take forever.

It's good you can get it a friend. Chicken chicks would be a bit big unless they were tiny bantams that have only just hatched.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[Alexacfreeman]

They start to 'shadow' before pipping internally so that's good that it's making progress. You'll see a definite beak and hear it once it does pip internally.

This is the hard part of incubation - it's so close that you want to see that cute little chick, but everything seems to take forever.

It's good you can get it a friend. Chicken chicks would be a bit big unless they were tiny bantams that have only just hatched.

Let us know how it goes.

Ok sounds good I will leave it be to do it’s thing.