The 4th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long

[CayuseRanch]

Question for you quail hatchers. I am curious as to why people hatch/raise quail? They seem kind of flighty to me to be a pet, not as colorful as chickens, eggs to small to make a good omelet and a whole lot a work for a little bit of meat. Do you release them into the wild? Just curious because I see so many people doing it and thinking am I missing something? Is this a new "breed" I must have? lol

 

[Gardeningmama]

LOL! I was just happy last night that I found 2 strong Cochin embryos, and some signs of life in a few others(thought the whole batch was a loss). The Barnies mostly had some veining, but weak. They are on the cooler side of the incubator, and the stronger embryos are on the warmer side. I think I'm going to swap them today, and then again in a few days. One thing though, in most of the shipped eggs air cells the fluid is still rolling through. I'm gonna have to hatch them standing up, aren't I? Another first for me. This batch is definitely a work in progress, but it'll be worth it in the end.

 

[delisha]

The more times you hatch and candle the more comfortable and confident you become. I leave all eggs unless they smell. I do not set cracked eggs or over porous eggs. It is not worth the headache or possible complications or contamination of good eggs.

Everyone has good questions and concerns!

Make sure you are sanitizing your hands during egg handling. It cuts down on blood rings too. Less handling is best.

 

[Arielle]

Well, today's my day to clean the church, so hopefully no one stole the trashcan this time!!!

Was it still there??

( Waaaay behind, still catching up !)

 

[ozexpat]

Question for you quail hatchers. I am curious as to why people hatch/raise quail? They seem kind of flighty to me to be a pet, not as colorful as chickens, eggs to small to make a good omelet and a whole lot a work for a little bit of meat. Do you release them into the wild? Just curious because I see so many people doing it and thinking am I missing something? Is this a new "breed" I must have? lol

the meat is less per bird but way better per pound of feed,

they mature in a few weeks

the eggs are used as garnishes in many asian dishes

they can be kept in a relatively small cage

they dont crow

cotornix quails wont set, and arent native so releasing them into wild is irresponsible.

 

[Gardeningmama]

Was it still there??

( Waaaay behind, still catching up !)

Yep, Still There!

 

[Arielle]

Good morning, everyone!

Today's tip:

When candling early or candling dark eggs (like many excited participants will be doing) you can use a bright flashlight with a strip of foil wrapped around the beam, with black electrical tape on the outside. This helps keep the greatest amount of light inside, thus flowing through the egg. This also allows the collar to shape to the egg, which prevents that crack of light where most flashlights meet the egg- this crack of light keeps us from seeing as well as we otherwise might because our eyes can't fully dilate.

One more thing- our best vision is actually our peripheral sight, and thus if you look an inch or so to one side when you cant be sure you're seeing movement, you can actually tell whether there's movement a lot better!

Happy hatching, everyone! Off to the muddy mess that my breedery has become!!

Thank you!

 

[Shellz]

I used a toilet paper roll lined on the inside with foil tape, then taped the base to the top of flashlight. Works great on those little L.E.D. 140 lumens flashlights!

 

[Arielle]

Quote:

Count off? I usually need to count 3 times-- good inventory procedures! lol

 

[Gardeningmama]

I want to know how to get quotes inside of quotes. I can't figure it out!