Quail hatching...

[KingD]

Hello. I have some cortunix quail in an incubator at day 13. I just want to do everything right from now onwards.
Could someone confirm when to stop turning, when to increase humidity, when to lockdown and such things...
I'm getting some quail starter for the chicks when they all hatch.
I've already got some turkey growers for later on.

Thanks a lot to anyone who helps me!

Any information at all would help SO much!

 

[MGG]

Hello. I have some cortunix quail in an incubator at day 13. I just want to do everything right from now onwards.
Could someone confirm when to stop turning, when to increase humidity, when to lockdown and such things...
I'm getting some quail starter for the chicks when they all hatch.
I've already got some turkey growers for later on.

Thanks a lot to anyone who helps me!

Any information at all would help SO much!

Awesome! Quail are the best. Stop turning on day 14, and candle one last time. Look for shadowing. (a blurry grey thing moving in the air cell) You'll be more likely to see this if you hold the eggs horizontally while candling, candling them vertically causes gravity to pull the chick out of the air cell a bit, if that makes sense. Increase humidity to 65-70% on day 14. As soon as you notice an external pip, up the humidity to 75%. Lockdown is the same thing as upping humidity, the final candling, and stopping turning. That is just the name for it. It is always 3 days before the expected hatch date. Gamebird/turkey starter is fine for them. Once they're older you can either leave them on gamebird or switch to something else. All of my birds eat Purina Flockraiser crumbles, including the quail. For brooding, be sure to use puppy pads or towels for the first week. Puppy pads (I actually use those incontinence bed pads) work awesome. They're easy for the chicks to learn to walk on, are easy for them to learn to recognize food on, and easy to monitor poops. After the first week you can keep using them if you wish, or switch to straw/hay/pelleted bedding, etc. Be sure to have a wire or mesh lid, quail start flying early. Like, a week old. Special quail water fonts are super nice, you don't have to worry about them drowning. Chick fonts are too big, and there's a high risk some will drown. If all you have is a chick font you can put marbles in it so they don't fall in. For food, any crumbles must be crushed again until the chicks are at least a week old. I fill a bag with crumbles and take it outside to crush them with a mallet. Regular sized crumbles are too big for newly hatched quail chicks. Then put a small mound of the "super-crushed crumble powder" on the puppy pad in the brooder. They'll start to eat after a day or two. Then you can start using a dish once they know what the food looks like. That's all I can think of for now. I hope this helps.
Oh! Quail are super slow hatchers. Like, 36 hours from external pip to hatch is not uncommon. Just keep the humidity high! Good luck.

 

[KingD]

Awesome! Quail are the best. Stop turning on day 14, and candle one last time. Look for shadowing, a blurry grey think moving in the air cell. You'll be more likely to see this if you hold the eggs horizontally while candling, candling them vertically causes gravity to pull the chick out of the air cell a bit, if that makes sense. Increase humidity to 65-70% on day 14. As soon as you notice an external pip, up the humidity to 75%. Lockdown is the same thing as upping humidity, the final candling, and stopping turning. That is just the name for it. It is always 3 days before the expected hatch date. Gamebird/turkey starter is fine for them. Once they're older you can either leave them on gamebird or switch to something else. All of my birds eat Purina Flockraiser crumbles, including the quail. For brooding, be sure to use puppy pads or towels for the first week. Puppy pads (I actually use those incontinence bed pads) work awesome. They're easy for the chicks to learn to walk on, are easy for them to learn to recognize food on, and easy to monitor poops. After the first week you can keep using them if you wish, or switch to straw/hay/pelleted bedding, etc. Be sure to have a lid, quail start flying early. Like, a week old. Special quail water fonts are super nice, you don't have to worry about them drowning. Chick fonts are too big, and there's a high risk some will drown. For food, any crumbles must be crushed again until the chicks are at least a week old. I fill a bag with crumbles and take it outside to crush them with a mallet. Regular sized crumbles are too big for newly hatched quail chicks. Then put a small mound of the super-crushed crumble powder on the puppy pad in the brooder. They'll start to eat after a day or two. Then you can start using a dish once they know what the food looks like. That's all I can think of for now. I hope this helps.
Oh! Quail are super slow hatchers. Like, 36 hours from external pip to hatch is not uncommon. Just keep the humidity high! Good luck.

Wow! I'm going to say thank you before I've even read it.
That's amazing. Thank you so much!
I really appreciate it.

 

[MGG]

Wow! I'm going to say thank you before I've even read it.
That's amazing. Thank you so much!
I really appreciate it.

You're welcome! Anything for dear king.

 

[KingD]

I'm a humble king
I sit on a throne and keep the kids under control

 

[Xouie]

Awesome! Quail are the best. Stop turning on day 14, and candle one last time. Look for shadowing. (a blurry grey thing moving in the air cell) You'll be more likely to see this if you hold the eggs horizontally while candling, candling them vertically causes gravity to pull the chick out of the air cell a bit, if that makes sense. Increase humidity to 65-70% on day 14. As soon as you notice an external pip, up the humidity to 75%. Lockdown is the same thing as upping humidity, the final candling, and stopping turning. That is just the name for it. It is always 3 days before the expected hatch date. Gamebird/turkey starter is fine for them. Once they're older you can either leave them on gamebird or switch to something else. All of my birds eat Purina Flockraiser crumbles, including the quail. For brooding, be sure to use puppy pads or towels for the first week. Puppy pads (I actually use those incontinence bed pads) work awesome. They're easy for the chicks to learn to walk on, are easy for them to learn to recognize food on, and easy to monitor poops. After the first week you can keep using them if you wish, or switch to straw/hay/pelleted bedding, etc. Be sure to have a wire or mesh lid, quail start flying early. Like, a week old. Special quail water fonts are super nice, you don't have to worry about them drowning. Chick fonts are too big, and there's a high risk some will drown. If all you have is a chick font you can put marbles in it so they don't fall in. For food, any crumbles must be crushed again until the chicks are at least a week old. I fill a bag with crumbles and take it outside to crush them with a mallet. Regular sized crumbles are too big for newly hatched quail chicks. Then put a small mound of the "super-crushed crumble powder" on the puppy pad in the brooder. They'll start to eat after a day or two. Then you can start using a dish once they know what the food looks like. That's all I can think of for now. I hope this helps.
Oh! Quail are super slow hatchers. Like, 36 hours from external pip to hatch is not uncommon. Just keep the humidity high! Good luck.

Also, they are FAST. They seem to come out of the shell ready to go. Once you open the incubator you may be rushed by tiny balls of mega-cute.

 

[MGG]

Also, they are FAST. They seem to come out of the shell ready to go. Once you open the incubator you may be rushed by tiny balls of mega-cute.

Yes!!! They are super duper fast. And they rush around like little racehorses.