Quail newbie looking for feedback

[birdymama]

So, it is day 8 of my button quail incubation, and now I can't see a darn thing in them. Aside from two or three eggs that I can see the air sac in, the rest are impossible to see in now. It was difficult to see in most of them to begin with, but should I be concerned that now almost all are so dark that no light can get through their shells? I figure I'm either doing a great job and everything is going right, or a few of them have checked out and are dead.

BTW, spray bottle with incubator heated water has work like a charm to bring up my humidity!

I usually candle in a very dark room at night with a torch. Wait for your eyes to adjust also. Sometimes it's easier if you turn the egg and try a different spot. Or try a brighter torch.

This is a bit early for them to be that dark though..Are they just dark masses? If so check for slight movement. I wouldn't do a float test this early. It's definatly an option if they start to pass the hatch date though.

 

[RunningRabbit]

The entire egg is now impossible to see through in a couple. The rest, save for the two or three that I can see the air sac in, are sketchy. Sometimes I *think* I see something when the light hits them just right, or my eyes are playing tricks on me. I really just cannot tell anymore. The light I use to candle them with is one of the brightest I could find. Bright enough to permanently blind a person if they were to look into it long enough.

They don't smell though, so I'm hoping all that growing is just making it super hard to see in them. Or they died. Worst case scenario...

 

[GrandmaBird]

I was told that it is hard to candle button eggs and that the brightness and being out of the incubator can do more harm then good so just be patient they will come!

 

[RunningRabbit]

Is it bad for quail eggs to get water dumped on them?

My husband had a moment of stupid and decided that rough housing with the cat right next to my incubator that I had JUST filled the water pans in, was a super fantastic awesome idea.

I promptly gave him a civilized talking to (meaning I channeled my inner hen and chewed him out, then proceeded to banish him to the couch for the night, after spouting off some very colorful words), then dried my eggs off and put them back in the incubator. I seriously doubt the quail enjoyed having the sudden assault of really hot water on their shells. It wasn't a tsunami of hot water, but still enough to require the paper towels to be changed and five of them to be dried off. Two cot eggs and three buttons eggs got the impromptu bath.

One of the things that really irks me, is that I had FINALLY got the humidity perfect, with a combination of misting and four small shallow pans.

So, are they going to be okay? I read some where that a sudden temp spike or drop via water assault could kill the boogers.

 

[birdymama]

It's hard to say. Depends on how hot the water was. Sometimes things have a way of surviving. I would keep a little diary, number them and candle them to check for any signs of movement.

 

[RunningRabbit]

So, if an egg has a chick in it, does the egg *feel* different? I know that as incubation and development progress, the egg will lose weight and actually becomes lighter, but does that developing chick make the egg feel more solid?

I tried reading up on it, but the only info that came up was essentially that the egg decreases in weight and if it feels heavier, then the embryo is dead. There is a definite difference in the way my button quail eggs feel in comparison to my cot eggs. And even more of a difference between developed eggs nearing their hatch date, and a non incubated egg. It makes it seem like the egg weighs more, even though technically, the weight decreases and it should weigh less.

So then, that would mean that an egg that is developing, should *feel* heavier, in the sense that its contents are solid, vs the lighter feeling of the liquid in the egg before a chick solidly develops. I'm guessing this is because the contents are no longer evenly distributed within egg? I just felt like I should ask this, so maybe if someone like me wanted to know, they'd get a better answer than "Toss it, it's dead". Since I now know that my eggs are certainly not dead after all the mishaps they've been through, and they do feel heavier (but physically they're not), then I can safely assume that I have some chicks getting ready to hatch in a few days.

That being said, my humidity is crap again. Even with the extra water pans and misting with warm water, the humidity doesn't ever go past 44%. Hatch day is fast approaching (two days left before I stop turning them). I certainly don't want the chicks to get shrink wrapped (provided they don't croak before then). The only way I can think of to help them out, is taking a trip to the bathroom and running the shower hot to build up humidity. Would that actually work? Or do I run the risk of drowning them, since I can't regulate the humidity in the bathroom.

Come January, I'll have a very nice incubator and won't ever have to deal with this homemade incubator headache again!

 

[GrandmaBird]

I can not answer your weight questions, I know they get lighter as the liquid dries up inside the egg shell but I didn't really mess with mine when incubating only to give them a quick turning 3 times a day.


And are you sure the humidity probe is working right? have you taken it into the bathroom and tried to see if it registers any different? I really would not stress over this but watch when they begin to hatch and dampen the eggs if needed either with a light spritz or dip your finger in a bit of warm water then onto the eggs. good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Ferdinand]

I keep saying it and people keep refusing the help. Misting with hot or warm water will only produce a spike of humidity. Its much the same as hot water will freeze quicker than cold water when put into a freezer, the heat transfer is quicker. Keep a water spray in the incubator and use that to top up the trays and to spray with. It will keep an even humidity for a far longer period than spraying with hot water. Also if you are having problems with humidity try to keep the lid open for as small a time as possible. I open the gap as little as possible to get my hand in to turn the eggs. If you are having problems still then try a damp cloth under the eggs rather than the trays, it gives a greater surface area for moisture to cling to and will keep humidity at a better level.

 

[RunningRabbit]

So I have one more day left before lockdown. Is it okay to float test the eggs now? I don't want to mess with them on the final day of turning, to at least give them a better opportunity to get into hatching position. I just don't want to leave bad eggs in the bator during lockdown. I don't think they'll explode, but I would rather they not be in there.

Ferdinand, how moist should the towel be? And will that cause mold to grow on the shells of my cot eggs? I have four days left before my cot eggs go into lock down, and just want to make sure it isn't going to chill them or cause anything to grow on them.

 

[Ferdinand]

I have my eggs in trays to keep them off the towel. Moisture depends on the incubator size. In truth its something you need to play with before you add eggs to the incubator.