Quail Incubating emergency!

[sunshine ducky]

Hi everyone! So I ordered quail eggs two days ago and they shipped out yesterday and are coming this Friday Jan/11/2019. The thing is I’m hatching these eggs in a school and I would like good hatch rates. The thing is I don’t know what time of day the eggs will come on Friday so I might not be able to put them in the incubator on Friday and instead on Monday. This is an issue because I don’t want the eggs to get old and become infertile over the weekend. To add on I’ve never had stored quail eggs before incubation. So here’s my questions should I store them over the weekend and wait till Monday? Or should I ask my teacher if I could come in on Saturday and put the eggs then. Other advice would be much appreciated. Thank you so much for reading as you can tell I’m freaking out lol any advice is appreciated.

 

[fire370]

You don’t want to set them right off the truck. You need to set them air cell up and out of the incubator to acclimate for 24-48 hours so I would plan on setting Monday. You’ll be better off waiting.

 

[WVduckchick]

Would be nice if you could get in and retrieve the package, to "rest" the eggs over the weekend and store them properly prior to setting (cool, but not cold... air cell up...)

A couple days shouldn't hurt too much, if you could find out when the eggs were laid. Fertility drops off over time, especially after 7-10 days. But if they are really fresh, you shouldn't have any problem.

Also, what type of quail? Be sure to check the calendar so that hatch day doesn't happen on a weekend!

Best of luck!!! Quail are fun to hatch.

 

[sunshine ducky]

Hi thanks for all your responses! She said the quail eggs were freshly laid and they are button quail. So it would be around a seventeen day incubation I believe. I did have a quick question, if I stored the eggs should I turn them regularly?

 

[WVduckchick]

Hi thanks for all your responses! She said the quail eggs were freshly laid and they are button quail. So it would be around a seventeen day incubation I believe. I did have a quick question, if I stored the eggs should I turn them regularly?

After being shipped, I would probably not turn them for the first 12-24 hours, to let the air cell stabilize.
Candle the eggs when you get them and check to see if the air cell is locked in where it is supposed to be, or if it is moving around the egg. Shaking while on a delivery truck often causes air cells to become loose, or saddled, or totally detached.
If they look firm where they are, then turning can be done until you are ready to set them. If they are not firm, leave them sitting upright for 12 hours and check them again.