This is going to turn out badly, isn't it? [Egg hatching]

[007Sean]

My turner came in! I installed it, and I'll be nearby so hopefully I'll hear it work? Other than plugging it in, there's no other indication that it's running/working.

My candler came in as well, and I figured I may as well candle the eggs before placing them into the trays. You said I shouldn't be able to see anything at this stage, which was mostly true. But there were at least 4 eggs with absolutely nothing in them, just like your glowing green-blue egg (second image), and two that 100% have membranes in them -- I saw the blood/nerves. The rest of them I could see the air sac. Most had a little dark blob that kind of moved around as I turned them, but no idea what that is. A few had REALLY small air sacs, so I'm assuming those are bad eggs.

I didn't toss any out. I kept them all and I'll see what happens in a few more days...

One egg did kind of "explode" though. This is the second time it's happened. I'm guessing they had cracks in them, and the heat + humidity pushed the insides out... looked like sap gathering on the outside of the shell, and smelled HORRIBLE.

To answer the question about the gauge, yes I bought a new one. It displays temperature and humidity on a digital screen.

I periodically check the gauge throughout the day and make any small changes if the temp gets too high or too low.

A few had REALLY small air sacs, so I'm assuming those are bad eggs.[/QUOTE]

No, their air cell should be small at this time. It will grow as the embryo uses up It's yolk and thus looses moisture content. That's why it's important to maintain the humidity in the bator within a known range.

 

[Pandapop]

So an update on my eggs and incubator...

I've managed (with the boyfriends help, thankfully) to keep the incubator at a 38-52% humidity range, and roughly 99-100°F (with a few times going as high as 102°F and low as 98°F). A lot of small adjustments to the lid of the incubator throughout the day has been necessary, as it absolutely refuses to just stay at one even temperature...

But despite all that, I have 8 eggs that for sure have life in them. I saw the membranes/nerves, and it's possible that 10 are viable. The others are mostly too dark to see much of anything, and then there were the few that had virtually nothing inside or just an air sac.

I plan to keep all of them in the incubator a few more days before I candle them again.

Honestly, if I can keep those 8-10, that'd be perfect. I don't have the room for dozens of adult button quail long-term. Any extras I don't plan on keeping will be rehomed in pairs or same-sex... my boyfriend's mother is interested in a couple for her classroom. Same-sex groups work fine, right?

 

[Fishkeeper]

Two females work fine together, two males will fight. A m/f pair will also work, and if the owner doesn't want babies all they have to do is remove the eggs.

 

[DK newbie]

Actually I dare say I have more success keeping two males together than two females.. If the males can be kept together at all (are not constantly chasing each other - which they usually aren't if they were raised together and there are no females around) they usually get along with few problems. There might be a little chasing and mating but nothing serious. The females on the other hand - they get along great, until one day they don't. I think it's hormonal.
Right now I keep a mother and her daughter together - they are probably 3 and 2 years old and haven't lived together since the daughter was a couple of months old.
Introduction was easy, everything was good for months, they even raised a chick together (the egg was from another pair) - then last week the daughter started chasing and pecking the mother.
I managed to break it up by giving them a foot bath (they needed it because they had poop on their toes), which means I put them together in a very small container with water at the bottom for a couple of hours, and then I cleaned their cage while they were enjoying their bonding session (or not). I haven't seen any chasing nor noticed anymore pulled feathers around the cage - but I'm not expecting it to be a permanent solution.

I've kept females together on other occations as well, and most of the time it works well, but as I keep buttons to breed them I rarely keep those female only groups for long - I suspect the problems might just not have arised yet when I separate the groups.

So I'd say 'same sex groups in general work fine, but females in particular might suddenly need to be separated'.

 

[Pandapop]

Oh, boy... so having multiple females together in, say, a large/wide 40g breeder tank would be a no-go? I had planned on either putting some in the 40g or splitting the tank into two sections with some aquarium-safe silicone and a diy mesh wall, so I'd have two separate areas.

I have two other tanks/cages I plan to use, too. I definitely want at least two different breeding pairs, but was really hoping I could have a larger female community setup.

 

[Kiki]

Oh, boy... so having multiple females together in, say, a large/wide 40g breeder tank would be a no-go? I had planned on either putting some in the 40g or splitting the tank into two sections with some aquarium-safe silicone and a diy mesh wall, so I'd have two separate areas.

I have two other tanks/cages I plan to use, too. I definitely want at least two different breeding pairs, but was really hoping I could have a larger female community setup.

Measure the floor of this tank.
How many square feet is it?

 

[Pandapop]

18in x 36in, so about 4.5ft?

There's more floor space than there is height. It was previously used back when I bred fancy mice, I had a colony of female mice in there.

 

[DK newbie]

The cage I keep mother and daughter in is about 8 square feet. A female group might be just fine in 4 square feet - but prepare for a situation where they are not.

 

[Pandapop]

I'll keep that in mind, thank you! I was thinking about maybe 4 of them in there (maximum, maybe just 3), with plenty of places to hide, and things to play with to keep them distracted (hopefully). If push comes to shove, I do have other places I could put them.

 

[Pandapop]

Okay, double post, but something very strange is going on.

I'm only on days 7 & 6, and while looking into the incubator just now, I see two eggs do these little "hops." It's like they jolt just a teeny-tiny bit. The turner wasn't moving though..? There's no way the chicks inside (if there are any) are old enough to really start moving, so what..?

Oh god I hope they don't explode.