Trouble with Hatching Californians

[Nichrome]

Dear Friends,

Since quite some time I am trying to hatch Californian quail..but every time unsuccessfully.

It seems like the chick grows well inside the egg but when it's time to get in position to hatch, the chick dies. When I open the egg I find an almost fully developed chick (except for the rear end), unpositioned for hatching and with what seems like a white residue (not the membrane).

I am using a King Suro with humidity pump and automatic turning which is extremely accurate and spot on. 37.5C and 45% for the first 20 days and 37.0C and 70% for the last 3 days without turning.

http://www.incubatorsnz.co.nz/webapps/i/60075/184574/211302

I do not know what else to try! Any help from your end would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Pancholoco]

Mmmmmm, humidity looks good, I use 75 to 80% to hatch and the only problem I see is your temperature Why you low temperature to hatch? Well I use 99.8˚F for all the incubation, but you must keep it at 37.7˚C all the incubation. IMHO
Also I use a Brinsea Oct 20 adv

 

[TwoCrows]

X2

Do not lower the heat at lock down. The same temp must remain constant all the way thru the incubation period. 37.5 is a bit cool for incubation Cali quail. You might want to up the heat to 37.6

During lock down is when the chicks absorb the yolk and if they are getting chilled, this important process may be malfunctioning.

45% is a bit low on the humidity during incubation, so I would up that a bit to 55% and don't go any higher than 70% humidity at lock down.

Make sure your gauges are all reading correctly and use 2 thermometers in the incubator for back up.

 

[TwoCrows]

Oh, and welcome to the quail forums and BYC!

 

[Nichrome]

Re Humidity: I have just ordered digital precision scales from Amazon so I'll be able to control humidity loss accurately. Never imagined it was THAT important!

Yesterday I have done some tests in the bator and the results were pretty WORRYING! As I have told you, my bator is set at 37.5C. I have put in the bator a digital thermometer (like the one used to measure fever) and at egg level it measured 36.8C! Now I ask myself, if the bator is reading 37.5C and the thermometer is reading 36.8C, which is the correct reading???

What should I count on and how should I act in this case? Could it be that although the bator has a fan it is measuring the temp at the top (heat rises upwards) and the eggs are at a cooler temperature?

 

[Nichrome]

ALARM ALARM!!!

See post #93 (pg10) on this thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...tor-official-thread-high-alert-see-post-93/90

Could it be my problem too!?!?

 

[TwoCrows]

I have use R-Coms before and never had any trouble, but that is not to say I did not get lucky. I always use 2 thermometers... the one built into the incubator and a quality one that I purchased from a good poultry brooding supply house. It is never hurts to spend a bit more money on a thermometer that reads properly. It is a one time investment.

 

[Nichrome]

Hmmm...lucky you! This is my first incubator and I (used to) love it. Now, I am a bit sceptic.

Anyway, let us be scientific

I took readings with all the thermometers I could find in the house and below are the results:

​

1​

2​

3​

4​

Digital Thermometer/Hydrometer​

n/a​

97.0​

99.0​

99.0​

Mercury fever thermometer​

97.7​

98.1​

97.9​

99.3​

Alcohol thermometer​

99.0​

98.8​

100.0​

100.0​

Digital fever thermometer​

97.2​

97.4​

98.2​

98.3​

Incubator reading​

99.5​

99.5​

101.3​

101.3​

Between ever reading there is a time lapse of 1 hour. Between reading 2 and 3 I have increased the incubator temperature from 99.5F to 101.3F.

I trust the mercury and the alcohol thermometers best but still the readings are quite different and I do not know hot to react at this point. I do not want to loose my clutch of eggs that have been incubating for five days!

Any suggestions please?

 

[TwoCrows]

I have heard that if you get a glass and put a small amount of water in it with an ice cube and and stick the thermometer in with it all, it should read 32 degrees within 5 mins. I have never done it, but you could try this out to see if any of your thermometers are correct.

From your description of the unhatched chicks, I am thinking that your over all temps are too low. So at this point, I would go with the alcohol thermometer. It is probably the most accurate of all of them, but I am no expert on thermometers.

You may have troubles with this hatch as with earlier hatches, but each time you fail with these incubations, you learn a lot of new things along the way.

 

[Nichrome]

I have taken the temp up to sign 100F. It will be close but not over it at least.