Quail newbie looking for feedback

[RunningRabbit]

I will get some of that from walmart. I read that the little boogers can dislocate their hips if they slip and I do not want that to happen!

I gave in and candled my eggs. I'm almost positive I have quite a few fertile eggs, as I saw some veining and what kinda looks like the dark splotch that eventual turns into an embryo. I counted at least 3 that were not fertile. Oh well. I'll keep incubating all of them and see if maybe something changes for the ones that looked empty.

Can a cracked egg still develop a chick? I have a cracked egg, but it has veining and the same dark pre embryo splotch as the fertile ones. Can that one be saved or is it a lost cause?

 

[GrandmaBird]

Not sure on the cracked egg but I figure if it is not leaking it just might make it??? maybe someone else can answer that one. I just hatched ones my female laid. I had 7 out of 10 hatch and they are only good for 7 days according to the "experts". Guess they were right. Post photos when they hatch...a hint to hatching is on day 16 listen closely...you maybe able to hear them peeping to each other! Good luck

 

[RunningRabbit]

Wow! Total difference from yesterday with my button eggs. I actually saw beating hearts in three of them! Those little hearts were not there yesterday! I feel so elated that I was even able to see them so clearly. Hah, I drug my husband into the bathroom to see them and show 'em off. My Cot eggs finally came today. 5 were cracked and dented, the rest I'm hoping are viable, since the mailman stuffed my package into my mailbox with everything else.

Good news is, I candled the Cot eggs weren't broken and the brown spots on the eggs are spaced out enough to give me an excellent view of any development in them. Day four I'll candle them to see if there's any noticeable development. Man, this is actually so exciting!

 

[GrandmaBird]

do be careful candling the button eggs as they cool off really quickly and can die if they get too cool or if the heat goes up and down a lot. just FYI...good luck

 

[RunningRabbit]

Well, there is definitely 8 fertile eggs. All with veining and hearts beating. From here on out, it's hands off the button eggs. I did make sure to mark the fertile eggs differently than the ones I couldn't see anything in. I'll candle them before I stop turning them, just to see if they're developed and didn't die off.

So since I'm now incubating my Cot eggs with them, when the button eggs go into the final hatching stages, does anyone know a way to keep my humidity up when I have to open the bator to turn my Cot eggs? The humidity stays consistently around the 60% mark, even when I open the bator to turn them all, but don't hatching eggs need a higher humidity threshold? I don't want the wee boogers to run into problems because I need to open the bator to turn my Cot eggs.

Would loading up on hot and wet paper towels in the final stages of my button incubation help? I already have a water dish with sponges in it for humidity, and recently added a hot, wet towel to keep the humidity up as well.

 

[GrandmaBird]

55-60% is fine for the buttons hatching any higher and you risk them drowning in the shells, do not worry. My humidity here in Colorado was never more than 55% and mine did fine. keep us posted! I am having trouble with my female pecking on the males back now and trying to figure out what the heck her problem is...silly birds!

 

[Ferdinand]

My first ever set of Quail is just hatching (Chinese painted) They have hatched 3 days early, temp was constant 100F and humidity kept between 40% and 50%. Upped the humidity yesterday to 60% and stopped turning. I just went up to check humidity and there are three little blighters running around in there.

Of the 18 eggs i believe 14 were carrying chicks.

 

[jak2002003]

What are you going to do with all the chicks when they grow up? They will start fighting and need to be put in pairs. That will be a lot of cages! I found out the hard way that they will kill each other. I had them all grow up together, and they lived for 5 months fine with no fighting in a large aviary with finches. Then one day one male ripped off the feathers and skin of ALL the other quails heads and some died. He did it overnight.

Then the ones that were left started pecking each others heads and making it worse, so I had so separate them all.

 

[RunningRabbit]

For my chicks, if I manage to hatch any at all, I'll keep a breeding pair or two, then sell the rest at the local farmers market come spring. Goes for both the buttons and cots. I definitely do want to keep a few female cots for nonfertile egg production at home, but not so much as breeding them. Hopefully though, some cot eggs will hatch into tuxedos. As that is the only cot color I do want to breed. According to the guy I got the eggs from, there should be more than a few of those in the bunch. I know it's not a sure thing, but I'm hoping to get at least two.

I already have cages set up for them. Now it is just a waiting game!

 

[Ferdinand]

I have never seen or heard of anything as drastic as that. Everything i have read suggests they are kept in groups of 4 or 5 hens and one male bird. I have plenty of room to facilitate that.