some quail eggs further along than others?

[Kangaroh]

So I recently had quail eggs shipped and I popped them in the incubator. It's been 7 days and I wnted to check on things and candled them. I now have a Dilema. three eggs are alot further along than the other eggs, like vastly. I dunno if they'd been sat on by a female before being collected or what. I think two might have died in shipping however the third looked like it was moving?

I now don't know when to lock down. I also only have one incubator and get get a second right now. I'm really not sure what to do since I wasn't expecting something like this and I couldn't find anyone that's had this same experience. These are my first eggs to start of my quails.

Any tips would be greatly apriecated.

 

[BelovedBirds]

So I recently had quail eggs shipped and I popped them in the incubator. It's been 7 days and I wnted to check on things and candled them. I now have a Dilema. three eggs are alot further along than the other eggs, like vastly. I dunno if they'd been sat on by a female before being collected or what. I think two might have died in shipping however the third looked like it was moving?

I now don't know when to lock down. I also only have one incubator and get get a second right now. I'm really not sure what to do since I wasn't expecting something like this and I couldn't find anyone that's had this same experience. These are my first eggs to start of my quails.

Any tips would be greatly apriecated.

What type of quail are they? Coturnix are perhaps the more common species, and hatch in about 18 days (thought it can range from 17-20 days). Coturnix should go into lockdown on day 15.
A couple pictures to compare would definitely help us see, if you could
is it the size difference of the embryo, the air cells, the amount of veining which concerns you? It is possible that your incubator has warm spots, which could cause some eggs to develop faster.

 

[BelovedBirds]

So I recently had quail eggs shipped and I popped them in the incubator. It's been 7 days and I wnted to check on things and candled them. I now have a Dilema. three eggs are alot further along than the other eggs, like vastly. I dunno if they'd been sat on by a female before being collected or what. I think two might have died in shipping however the third looked like it was moving?

I now don't know when to lock down. I also only have one incubator and get get a second right now. I'm really not sure what to do since I wasn't expecting something like this and I couldn't find anyone that's had this same experience. These are my first eggs to start of my quails.

Any tips would be greatly apriecated.

you say that two might have died in shipping, do you mean that there were deceased embryos in the eggs upon arrival? Or just that they havent developed since being in the incubator?

 

[BelovedBirds]

So I recently had quail eggs shipped and I popped them in the incubator. It's been 7 days and I wnted to check on things and candled them. I now have a Dilema. three eggs are alot further along than the other eggs, like vastly. I dunno if they'd been sat on by a female before being collected or what. I think two might have died in shipping however the third looked like it was moving?

I now don't know when to lock down. I also only have one incubator and get get a second right now. I'm really not sure what to do since I wasn't expecting something like this and I couldn't find anyone that's had this same experience. These are my first eggs to start of my quails.

Any tips would be greatly apriecated.

oh and

 

[Kangaroh]

What type of quail are they? Coturnix are perhaps the more common species, and hatch in about 18 days (thought it can range from 17-20 days). Coturnix should go into lockdown on day 15.
A couple pictures to compare would definitely help us see, if you could
is it the size difference of the embryo, the air cells, the amount of veining which concerns you? It is possible that your incubator has warm spots, which could cause some eggs to develop faster.

They're coturnix. I thought I'd done all my research on them and knew when to lockdown but this has complicated things.

you say that two might have died in shipping, do you mean that there were deceased embryos in the eggs upon arrival? Or just that they havent developed since being in the incubator?

Upon candling three of the eggs have developed embryos way beyond the other eggs. The eggs themselves are mostly dark and while I couldn't see any movement in two one looked to fidget for a second. Initially I thought it was a case of the shell being too thick but upon doing it with a much stronger candleer torch they're definitely fertile with developed fetuses in. All I can think off is they'd been partially incubated before being picked for shipping. All of the other eggs are developing normally though.

 

[Kangaroh]

What type of quail are they? Coturnix are perhaps the more common species, and hatch in about 18 days (thought it can range from 17-20 days). Coturnix should go into lockdown on day 15.
A couple pictures to compare would definitely help us see, if you could
is it the size difference of the embryo, the air cells, the amount of veining which concerns you? It is possible that your incubator has warm spots, which could cause some eggs to develop faster.

sorry for taking so long to get back with the photos. Some stuff happened in my family that kinda took me away from all this a bit. But I have two photos here. The first is what I'd expect at this age, a dot with lots of veining. (sorry about the quality my phone can't always focus in the dark.)

This is one of the dark ones, all three look like this. The angle is slightly different because it won't light up from the bottom anymore.

There's definitely veining in there and i dunno if I imaginbe it but when I candle I sometimes see movement? I'm starting to wonder if the breeder accidentally grabbed eggs from a different breed that develops faster with these three?

 

[BelovedBirds]

sorry for taking so long to get back with the photos. Some stuff happened in my family that kinda took me away from all this a bit. But I have two photos here. The first is what I'd expect at this age, a dot with lots of veining. (sorry about the quality my phone can't always focus in the dark.)

View attachment 3036231


This is one of the dark ones, all three look like this. The angle is slightly different because it won't light up from the bottom anymore.
View attachment 3036232

There's definitely veining in there and i dunno if I imaginbe it but when I candle I sometimes see movement? I'm starting to wonder if the breeder accidentally grabbed eggs from a different breed that develops faster with these three?

It's difficult with quail eggs isn't it!! Photos are never very clear. I think I can see what you're looking at, though. Although I do believe it looks more developed than it is due to a thicker shell. If you're sure the embryo is larger and has movement- My best guess would be that the incubator has warmer spots, in which these eggs may be developing faster. When it comes to lockdown this is my advice. If you have another incubator, you could keep an eye on the more developed embryo, and as soon as it internally pips, move it to a lockdown incubator, if the others arent ready for lockdown. Or, once the more progressed embryo has filled up the shell and starts shadowing, you could stop turning it, turn the "younger" eggs by hand, and only raise humidity once the first egg pips, or once lockdown is actually due.
The eggs both look the same, externally, to me, if they're the same size, I would say they're the same breed.

 

[Kangaroh]

It's difficult with quail eggs isn't it!! Photos are never very clear. I think I can see what you're looking at, though. Although I do believe it looks more developed than it is due to a thicker shell. If you're sure the embryo is larger and has movement- My best guess would be that the incubator has warmer spots, in which these eggs may be developing faster. When it comes to lockdown this is my advice. If you have another incubator, you could keep an eye on the more developed embryo, and as soon as it internally pips, move it to a lockdown incubator, if the others arent ready for lockdown. Or, once the more progressed embryo has filled up the shell and starts shadowing, you could stop turning it, turn the "younger" eggs by hand, and only raise humidity once the first egg pips, or once lockdown is actually due.
The eggs both look the same, externally, to me, if they're the same size, I would say they're the same breed.

I don't have another incubator but I have alot of equipment to make a diy one since I have had exotic pets. So I have like heaters ect and plenty of boxes. As soon as one pips I'll move them into the makeshift incubator.

It's my first time hatching birds so i was a little alarmed when they started developing quicker. Thank you for your advice though! If they haven't hatched by next wednesday I'll candle them again see how filled up they look and move them over anyway.

 

[BelovedBirds]

I don't have another incubator but I have alot of equipment to make a diy one since I have had exotic pets. So I have like heaters ect and plenty of boxes. As soon as one pips I'll move them into the makeshift incubator.

It's my first time hatching birds so i was a little alarmed when they started developing quicker. Thank you for your advice though! If they haven't hatched by next wednesday I'll candle them again see how filled up they look and move them over anyway.

They may well be able to go into lockdown together in the current incubator, it could just look deceptive right now- and also keep in mind that it doesn't matter too much to put them in lockdown a couple days early.
So if you end up on day 13, with some shadowing (pushing the membrane, trying to internal pip) you could put them into an early lockdown together. But it's good to have a back up! And that's purely why I made those suggestions, just in case it happens way too early! It's good you have resources to hand just in case you do need them, though. Don't forget you'd also need a thermostat/thermometer and hygrometer.
To me, looking at the photos again, I don't see a huge difference, so personally I would let everything ride as normal unles I got an early internal pip. Then I would put them all into lockdown. But it is hard to judge an image, quail eggs arent too easy to see in!
Do keep me updated!!