Should I buy an Incubator or pay for someone to hatch my quail?

[calcifer]

Hi I am looking to end up with 8-12 female and 1-2 males so I thought I should probably get 20-24eggs? I found a Little Giant still air incubator 9200 on craigslist for $25 and im not sure if I should buy it or just ask a local breeder if he would be willing to hatch them for me at $1.25 per hatched egg. Is it better to hatch them all together or try to breed the best quality quail over time?(I am looking for color and egg production).

A couple of side questions:
how many females could comfortably fit in a 8'x10'x5' aviary with the same 6x8x6 coop? ( not looking for fertility if i change my mind ill make a separate breeding cage so that I can selectively breed them.)

If I buy the incubator are there any tricks to turning the eggs? (I think I read somewhere that you could use a furnace filter to turn them all at once so that you don't loose as much heat)

Lastly do you think that I could give the males away for free with the condition that there not butchered?(tuxedo and Italian gold color mutations)

 

[Tony K T]

If we could only hatch what we wanted.If your looking to get 8-12 females and1-2 males,you better order 50 eggs.If you get 40 to hatch you have a better chance at hitting your numbers.Then sell off your extras.Pen size is good for 80 birds,well here in N.H.,each state has sq ft per bird requirements and here it is 1 sq ft per bird.
I have never heard of the filter for a turner.They are reasonably priced and well worth the money.It ensures you they are being turned multiple times a day.
You could give them away with those intentions,but after their gone it is out of your control.
It is best to buy eggs from multiple(at least 3) breeders(I personally don't believe in buying eggs),mark them so you know what birds are from what breeder and pick females from breeder and mate them with males from another breeder.I say at least 3 breeders because if you use 2 breeders,they are still all related.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[Sill]

You are better off to find nearby breeders and just buy young starter birds. No you will not be able to give away extra males without them being butchered because everyone else has extra males too and they put all those extras into their freezer. There is not much market for extra males except as meat, or the odd backup breeder roo but people tend not to keep too many of those because they just crow incessantly without hens of their own.

Before I got an incubator with an auto turner I just turned them by hand. I got just as good a hatch rate as the auto turner. Remember the hens have to get off the eggs to eat, drink and poop so eggs are designed to be OK with getting chilled for some minutes daily.

 

[BobDBirdDog]

Hi I am looking to end up with 8-12 female and 1-2 males so I thought I should probably get 20-24eggs? I found a Little Giant still air incubator 9200 on craigslist for $25 and im not sure if I should buy it or just ask a local breeder if he would be willing to hatch them for me at $1.25 per hatched egg. Is it better to hatch them all together or try to breed the best quality quail over time?(I am looking for color and egg production).

A couple of side questions:
how many females could comfortably fit in a 8'x10'x5' aviary with the same 6x8x6 coop? ( not looking for fertility if i change my mind ill make a separate breeding cage so that I can selectively breed them.)

If I buy the incubator are there any tricks to turning the eggs? (I think I read somewhere that you could use a furnace filter to turn them all at once so that you don't loose as much heat)

Lastly do you think that I could give the males away for free with the condition that there not butchered?(tuxedo and Italian gold color mutations)

Ditto on what Tony said.

Turning eggs? Have you ever rotated/flipped a football "laces up/ laces down"? Just remove one egg then start turning. After you are finished put the egg back in that you removed "rotated". Its that simple. You can also roll them!
Loss of heat for a few minutes is not that big of an issue, even the momma hen comes off the nest to feed and drink each day. I have a rack system that holds 250 quail eggs and can turn 5 racks by hand (each egg individually) in about 10 minutes. which would be about the same amount of time the hen would be off the nest.....maybe less.

Giving them away to others? you know your neighborhood and friends better than anyone I am sure, so you would be better at making the call of giving them to folks in your area. Even your friends may say they will take good care of them while envisioning "plucked quail under glass" in their minds, not everyone shares an equal objective. In saying that, you could always post them on BYC.

 

[calcifer]

After the eggs hatch how do I tell the difference between the 3 breeders? also I haven't found very many breeders with tuxedo,golden and Tibetan color mutations do you know of anyone looking to sell eggs or chicks?

 

[dc3085]

Jamesmariefarms.com for hatching eggs.

The birds aren't different breeds, just different colors, you'll be able to plainly see which colors are which when they hatch.

 

[Tony K T]

After the eggs hatch how do I tell the difference between the 3 breeders? also I haven't found very many breeders with tuxedo,golden and Tibetan color mutations do you know of anyone looking to sell eggs or chicks?

You will need to hatch them in separate compartments and band them so you can identify each line.Use all 1 color for 1 line and so on.I find it very helpful to write everything down so I know where my birds come from.Just in case you lose one and need to replace,you will no what line to buy or not to buy.
In N.H.,Tony.