Success!!

[RUNuts]

I only had 5. One died yesterday, these two hatched this morning and there are two more that jumped around in a float test. Hopefully they hatch.View attachment 1890530

I usually hold the eggs and can feel them move. High powered flashlight will cause them to move even if you can't see them moving, you can feel them. 500+ lumens. I used a 600 lumen for chickens, but the darker quail eggs got me and I paid for a 1000 lumen beam of brilliance. I wanted to see!

Here's hoping for the last 2 floaters!

 

[jenni6553]

Float test is putting the egg in a cup of warm water to test it. If it sinks it is not good, if it bobs around there is a live baby in there. I was advised to do that before lock down to see which ones were good.
These little guys want out I think. They are all over chirping like crazy and hopping up to the sides of the incubator. I just don't know when I should move them to the brooder box.

 

[ValerieJ]

Float test is putting the egg in a cup of warm water to test it. If it sinks it is not good, if it bobs around there is a live baby in there. I was advised to do that before lock down to see which ones were good.
These little guys want out I think. They are all over chirping like crazy and hopping up to the sides of the incubator. I just don't know when I should move them to the brooder box.

I have never heard that before. I'd be nervous about what that might do to the shell, or to the temperature of the chick.

I'm incubating one little chick atm, and have read that when their feathers are dry you can move them out of the incubator and into the brooder.

 

[maadroj]

Cuties!

You can move them to the brooder when they're dry, as long as none of the other eggs have pipped yet. Despite their age and size, beware that they can easily escape from your fingers when you try to move them. I suggest using both hands, one gently over the head to prevent the chick slipping forward.

You can place a small wad of warm, wet paper towel in the incubator to ameliorate any loss of humidity while the lid is open, if needed. Make sure that the brooder is already warm before moving them.

Good luck!

 

[DK newbie]

I have never heard that before. I'd be nervous about what that might do to the shell, or to the temperature of the chick.

The float test is at best uncertain (eggs that sink CAN have viable, live chicks inside, eggs that float but don't move can as well) and at worst it can cause the death of the chick. When you put the egg in water you remove some of the natural antibacterial properties of the shell, making them more susceptible to disease (though the risk is worse earlier in the incubation period) and if you do this after the chick has internally pipped it is said you can drown it. Candling the egg is much safer for the chick and the risk of false negatives (eggs you wrongly determine as no good) is much smaller.

 

[jenni6553]

The little ones are doing amazing and are so so cute.

 

[Kale the Quail]

they don't need food or water for 72 hrs and i noticed you have the same incubator as us

 

[ValerieJ]

they don't need food or water for 72 hrs and i noticed you have the same incubator as us

My baby chick has hatched and wants out in the worst way. She can hear the chicks I bought to keep her company, but they are in a brooder near her, not in the incubator with her. She and one of the babies in the brooder are calling to each other. It's so obvious. The little one in the brooder has a sound just for her. She is not dry yet, and I know she has to be dry, and that she can be left in for a couple days, but do you know when is the earliest I can move her to the brooder. I know it has to be after the feathers are dry, but can it be right after?

 

[Kale the Quail]

how many chicks do you have now ?

 

[danalovesdogs]

Not sure if it’s the same for your little guys as it is for coturnix, but I had a similar situation happen to me where a late hatcher wanted out of the incubator and into the brooder in the worst way. He was very happy being moved as soon as he was dry, which was less than 24 hours.