"Quail Thread-Hatching, Mutations, and everything quail related!!!"

[pacosmom]

Ok, I have a question. I have 32 bobwhite eggs in my incubator, it is day 24 and nothing is happening. This is my first attempt at this. I got the eggs from adult quail my neighbor raises. At what point do I give up on these and start over. Oh, and can you tell me where I can get a meter to monitor heat and humidity? That is the only thing I can think of that I might not have done right is monitor and control the humidity correctly. Thanks

 

[TwoCrows]

What exactly was your temp during incubation and humidity before and after lock down? If you were unable to read any temp or humidity during the incubation process, this is no doubt the problem with the no hatch.

 

[Quailsong]

Ok, I have a question. I have 32 bobwhite eggs in my incubator, it is day 24 and nothing is happening. This is my first attempt at this. I got the eggs from adult quail my neighbor raises. At what point do I give up on these and start over. Oh, and can you tell me where I can get a meter to monitor heat and humidity? That is the only thing I can think of that I might not have done right is monitor and control the humidity correctly. Thanks

I agree with TwoCrows here. Not having a device to check humidity & temperature is like popping a frozen pizza in the microwave, pressing buttons blindly & hoping for the best. You're either going to come out with a charred disk or frozen pizza. Or in this case, early 'quitters'.

You can find temperature & humidity readers at local garden centers, hardware stores w/ garden sections, pet stores (though generally more pricy), aquarium & terrarium stores online as well. Some gauges are very accurate, but most if not all lose accuracy over time (from months to years, depending on wear & brand). Always good to have back-ups & to make sure they're accurate before starting incubation - that is, make sure your incubator has stable readings 1-2 days before you add the eggs.

Please keep in mind you will likely need the thermometer gauge when the chicks have hatched as well. Too hot & they could pant, fall on their sides, get heat stroke & croak. Too cold & well, they may not be able to huddle close enough.

 

[SilkieRose]

Hi all!! Just wanted to show some pics of my Coturnix quail I'm still confused about their coloring... help, please.

They are all Jumbo, but are they Wild Colored or Pharaoh? English White or Texas A&M & Golden or Golden Manchurian? Thanks!!!

 

[Peregrine]

I am guessing it is the layer pellets. An egg is basically a LOT of protein and amino acids. Chicken layer feed will not offer them enough protein to lay often. And as you just found, small eggs. On the other hand, high protein will cause them to lay daily.

On top of this, the calcium in the layer feed will destroy the kidneys of the male. So you really need to get them off of that stuff. If you can not find quail feed in your area, get some starter feed of any kind. For any poultry. The highest protein you can find. Also, feed them hard boiled eggs, meal worms and animal proteins. If you can order "Farmers Helper" chick kibble on line, it is very high in protein. It is a supplement only that is added to the feed. Even soybean meal added to the feed will up the protein.

We only have a few quail, not enough to buy special feed for, so we've been giving them our chicken layer crumble. If we switch to chick feed, what do we need to supplement their feed with to make sure they keep laying every day?

 

[IcyOldHen]

I picked up this 12 day old quail yesterday.

Is it a tibetan, rosetta, bristish range, or something else? Or all they all basically different names for the same color?

What size does this variety typically get? Under or over 10 ounces? Is this variety typically a jumbo or smaller size quail?

At 12 days old it is 47 grams. Of the 7 quail I picked up yesterday (the rest are white) it's 2nd to the largest, larger being 48 grams, where as most were 40 - 44 grams. I'm going to compare it's current weight with weights from my last hatch.

It's been on 22% protein. I'm switching it to 30% feed.

Thanks!

 

[freeflyin]

I like seeing active threads and reading what is going on with everyone!

 

[WaterfowlWierdo]

Hello, I have 13 bobwhites and my mother is letting me expand a lot (I'm only 14) I was wondering if this is profitable? I plan on having several species suck as snowflake, valley, mountain, gambel's, bobwhite, and blue scaled. I would ship eggs or adult birds to whoever wanted. I want an honest opinion of if it is worth trying? I may also be able to get my hands on some mearn's (montezuma) and figured those would be profitable

 

[rellikmalinois]

Hello everyone,
I have become an overnight crazy quail lady! I bought 8 few day old chicks from a breeder last week and a few days later she messaged me saying she was retiring and offered me her stock. I now have 31 adults, 8 1week old chicks, and 8 3 day old chicks!

reading and learning as much as possible and setting up my incubator to try and get started hatching!

 

[Sycamore27]

Very cool! Congratulations on jumping in on the deep end! Searching around here is great for answering most questions you may run into, and there are always those ready to answer the rest!

Cheers,
Jessie