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

[Pandapop]

I HAVE TWO BABIES. Two baby button quails have hatched! I'm so happy and excited. I REALLY thought I had killed those eggs, but I was wrong.

Now I have a question! I know you're supposed to wait 24 hours from hatch before you can take the babies out, but what if they're already mostly dried? The first/older of the two is mostly dried and moving around the incubator. I'm worried that they'll hurt themselves though, as the plastic mesh the incubator came with has holes wide enough that their little legs fall right through, and they keep tripping.

Would it be a bad idea to take the older one out and place it in the 10g aquarium tank I had set up for a brooder? I have the heat lamp already, as well as rubber shelf liner for the bottom to act as temporary substrate.

EDIT:

And now I'm reading that they shouldn't be in the incubator for more than 24 hours... they'll start to attack the newly hatched babies. Oh gosh.

 

[le_bwah]

You can take the chicks out as soon as they're dry as long as no one else is actively zipping. Zipped eggs are at risk of losing a bunch of moisture at once, which can shrink-wrap the chick in their membrane. I was so worried about shrink-wrapping/toe pecking the last time I incubated, I wound up brining the whole incubator into the bathroom and steaming it up for a minute before I took each "batch" out.

Shelf liner is typically best-used inside the incubator, so those holes you mentioned are covered up. A lot of people use paper towels/newspaper as a substrate the first few days, but some have had no trouble putting chicks straight on their adult substrate (e.g. shavings). As long as your brooder is the correct temp, with a cooler and a warmer side, it should be safe for the chicks.

 

[Pandapop]

Thank you for the reply. I didn't know about the zipping part, I'll be extra careful about that before I open the incubator. I plan to remove the two already in there later this evening... first I need to go out and get another hygrometer for their brooder, my backup apparently doesn't work. Thinking I should also pick up a 20g long to use instead of the 10g... the heat lamp will probably make the 10g too warm on both sides.

 

[Erkenstein]

Humidity shouldn't be an issue inside of the brooder. It's only when they are in the incubator that it is important.

In my experience, they won't attack the hatchlings in the incubator in a serious way, but they knock all the eggs around and need to get started on eating and drinking. They also breathe a lot of the oxygen that the hatching chicks need.

 

[Broodygranny]

I sometimes plug in a humidifier for a few minutes before I take chicks out of the incubator. If the humidity outside of the incubator is high, then I figure it wont dry out on me when I open it.

 

[Pandapop]

I have a problem. I should've checked it sooner, but it looks like the heat lamp and bulb set I received isn't the same as the one I ordered. I purchased a 45 watt set, and they sent me a 250.

The bulb is way too hot. It's threatening to melt the plastic around the shelf I have near the 20g long tank I planned to put the button quail chicks in. My only option now is to go back out (again, just got home) and purchase a smaller heat lamp and lower watt bulb.

I can't have the heat lamp just above their heads. It needs to be above the tank, as there's no space for it otherwise. What wattage bulb should I be getting for this? I read that 25 to 40 is good if it's just above their heads, so maybe a 100?

EDIT:

I'm thinking a 60 or 70 would work... opinions?

 

[Kiki]

A regular old school 60 watt light bulb gets plenty hot enough. I would return the heat lamp asap.

You could look for this reptile thermostat...and plug a clippy lamp into it. You put the thermometer that come with the thermostat in the cage and the light will cycle on and off according to what temp you have it set too.

 

[Kiki]

Do you have a heating pad?

 

[Pandapop]

I don't have a heating pad, no. I sent my boyfriend back to Petco to buy a new heat lamp and bulb, and he came back with something better than I expected. The heat lamp has a dimmer so I can adjust the heat, and the bulb was a 75 watt. I have it set up pointed inside the tank, and the babies seem to be doing pretty well. Crisis averted for now!

 

[Pandapop]

This is basically what it looks like. I use a parakeet waterer with a little glass pebble to keep them from falling in (there's actually two, one on both ends), and there's crushed oyster shell and feed all over the bottom of the tank.

I'm not convinced the temperature is what that little temp gauge is telling me. The temp and humidity gauges were a packaged deal for less than $12 USD so I doubt they're all that accurate. If they were, wouldn't the babies go to the cooler end of the tank?

There's currently three babies (one MIA in the second photo), and the third baby was noticeably smaller than the first two. It also had a harder time keeping itself upright and moving around, and I think it has splayed legs? It's been five hours and I checked up on them again, and it seems to be moving around better than it was, but still having some trouble.