Quail eggs no longer moving

[Jazzbabe]

Hi there,
My neighbour gave me some quail eggs and I thought I'd have a go at hatching them. I am using an R Com King Suro and have followed the instructions for quail as far as possible. The pump stopped working so I have put a damp flannel in to get humidity up. They are at day 18 and nothing is happening. I stopped the turning cradle at day 14 and then turned by hand until the day before yesterday which was day 16. On day 14 I'm sure I saw some of the eggs rolling a bit but they aren't doing so now. The humidity was at 45% and I've got it up to 65-70% now. Could they be dead or just bluffing? I don't know what type of quail they are but I'm guessing they are the most common commercial ones. I was going to wait till day 21 just in case. I have had success with hatching bantams in the past so I'm not a total novice on the incubation front, I've just never had a go at quail before
Thank you in advance
Sarah.

 

[Floydie]

Do you have any external pips? If not try candling them, hold the eggs upto your ear and tap them see if you get any tapping or chirping back.

 

[Jazzbabe]

Hi Floydie, nope no pips, I've been a bit loathe to pick them up as I know they are fragile. I usually pick up the bantam eggs and listen but they are a bit more robust. I thought I heard cheeping but then the incubator is on a windowsill so I could have been hearing the outside birds. The window is north facing so the sun isn't making a difference to the temperature. Not that there is much sun at the moment! I usually have the incubator on that sill so I don't think external influences are an issue. Some have said not to open the lid so I've been trying to only open it to top up water.

 

[mdees88]

Youre not supposed to turn the eggs after day 14. They need time to orientate themselves for the pip & zip.

Do the eggs look like these?

 

[Jazzbabe]

Yes they are just like that. More with the dark brown splodges and one with a tan shell which is pretty much all one colour. I read that they should be turned by hand so may have done damage. I am so used to good old hardy bantams!

 

[JaeG]

The egg will wriggle when the chick turns inside the egg to get in the correct position for hatching. After that they will be still as the chick works on the final preparations.

Quail eggs are tougher than you think - the shell might be thinner than a chicken egg, but the membrane makes up for it. I'd definitely candle them to see what's going on but try and keep them in the same position as they are lying in the incubator. A live egg will look full right up to the base of the air cell. If the chick has died there will be a watery layer between the air cell and the dark shadow of the chick with no veins visible. A dead egg also looks very black inside, whereas a live one has a hint of redness to it. Your cellphone flashlight is good for candling such little eggs. Hopefully they are just taking their time.

I've been about to lock down on day 15 only to find some have internally pipped and they hatched out just fine, so handling them late in the game isn't going to kill them. External pips can be difficult to spot on these eggs and often I can feel them but not see them. If the humidity isn't too low in the room the incubator is in then I wouldn't worry too much - a moment out of the incubator isn't going to shrink wrap them or anything.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Momto6kiddos]

I second JaeG. Candle them. When I hatch quail and I'm unsure, I candle and give a whistle. They almost always move in the egg in response, which you can see while candling. Also, quail are indeed hardy chicks and can take a lot of "abuse" while in the egg. Just don't flip them around and disorient them. Pick them up carefully and candle on the fat end. Oh, and their initial pips are super small when you're used to candling chicken eggs. My hatch 2 1/2 weeks ago, I took one out on day 17, just because I have impule control issues and wanted to candle, and saw nothing. I candled the egg and nearly dropped it when I saw, through candling, that it had actually already externally pipped! I put it back in the bator and couldn't see the pip at all anymore.

So, bottom line...candle...and post pictures because I don't have anything to incubate right now and I have to live vicariously though others!!

 

[Jazzbabe]

I think they are all duds. It was a long shot as to whether they would hatch but I think with the journey they had, my incubator not working as it should and my inexperience with quails it was inevitable. I will have to get some decent eggs and have another go or cheat and get a few birds and then try to hatch some. I do have a bantam that goes broody at the drop of a hat so maybe I'll stick some under her when she does it this year. I'm used to hatching bantam or hens eggs and have managed ducks too but I'd never tried quails. Thanks for all the advice, you've been brilliant. I'll know what to do next time!

 

[JaeG]

You might have to put the quail eggs in a bowl just big enough for the bantam to sit in (hide it under the bedding so she doesn't notice) and add a few chicken eggs or fake chicken eggs too because often they don't recognise the quail eggs as eggs. I have used a bantam before but the babies definitely need to be brooded by you. Quail are a lot more helpless than chicken chicks, needing to eat sooner (within the first 24 hours), needing to cuddle more, and a hen just doesn't understand and goes about her business as if she has 'normal' chicks.

 

[Jazzbabe]

I didn't realise they were such a pain in the behind! My broody probably would leave them to it a bit too much. She is an awesome broody with her own chicks to the point she will kill any other chicks around her! She turns into psycho mum. I think I may just wait and get some birds! Thanks for you advice though, it has saved a lot of heart ache.