i have been looking to see if anyone have said how long dose quails need to be in the incubater after hatching i have 3 so far that hatch today. my first time useing a 1502 sportsman. had 6 so far 1 did not make it. still have 12 eggs in, tomorrow will be day 3.
Leave them until their feathers are dry. We hatched ours in an old fishtank with a light as heat so it kind of turned into their brooder, so I did scatter some food around for them (along with some water filled with marbles so they couldn't fall in). Not sure if you can do that in an incubator (never used one before). I've read they should be fine for up to 48 hours without food after hatching but I don't know for sure. You may see them pecking at the other chicks that are hatching but they aren't hurting them - they are helping them fight their way out of those eggs. If in doubt maybe wait until they are at least almost dry before moving them to a nice warm brooder. Good luck!
I leave mine in until they start stepping on the others that just hatch. Quail are pretty tuff little birds, I do recommend paper towels for the first two days though think I lost a one of mine due to him eating pine shavings though... But he could have just been weak. think I will try pellets for my next hatch. Sand was ok for a while until they stared stepping in poop then it just started to build up on there feet... So not doing that again...
Dulce, Welcome to the Quail Forum on BYC. I leave mine in from 24 - 30 hours without opening the lid. This will allow all eggs to hatch, and not have any loss in humidity. Any eggs that show no signs of hatching are tossed. An egg that can't hatch after 30 hours will have a chick that will have health problems, and it's just easier to toss the egg and not prolong the inevitable task of culling a weak chick. (And I know nobody asked, but my opinion is if you can't cull a weak chick, you're not doing it any favors and it's condition will worsen and effect it's quality of life.) James
