To jumbo or not to jumbo? What are the upsides and downsides of going jumbo with Cuturnix?

[Oregonbeek]

I'm about to the point where I'm ready to order my quail eggs but after shopping around for eggs, I realize now that there is a huge segment of Cuturnix quail that are "jumbo".

What are people's thoughts on going with jumbo cuturnix vs. standard cuturnix?

How big can you go before the eggs no longer fit in a standard hova bator quail egg turning rack?

Does a big cuturnix lay the same as a normal cuturnix? Is their feed conversion ratio the same?

It seems like it might be kind of nice have larger birds for eating, but if the feed conversion ratio is worse or their egg laying rates are worse, or their eggs won't fit in my egg turning incubator then maybe I should go with standard?

 

[underground chickenman]

I have not had a problem with jumbo eggs in a Hovabator Genesis 1588 with the quail rack turner, except for the odd few that were so big they rubbed against the adjacent rack. Even then, I was able to put them on the outside racks or sit them in the cups in such away to avoid a problem. Others may have had a different experience, but so far so good for me.

UGCM

 

[Oregonbeek]

I have not had a problem with jumbo eggs in a Hovabator Genesis 1588 with the quail rack turner, except for the odd few that were so big they rubbed against the adjacent rack. Even then, I was able to put them on the outside racks or sit them in the cups in such away to avoid a problem. Others may have had a different experience, but so far so good for me.

UGCM

That's good to hear. That is the same incubator I have.

How big are your "jumbos" anyway? About how many ounces? Apparently there are different sizes of jumbos?


Also I had someone else tell me that while their jumbo eggs fit in their incubators, they didn't fit in standard quail egg cartons. I'm not sure how big of a deal that would be.

 

[underground chickenman]

I don't know. I don't weigh any of them. I eat the smaller ones and breed the bigger ones. I just go buy look and feel. I am going to try the American Pharaoh in a few weeks. I hear their eggs are quite a bit longer than the others and that you can only do a half load in the Genesis, so I am going to put in 60.

 

[laseterlass]

I have American pharoah in the bator now. They are huge eggs! I should have weighed them before I put them in.