What day do your coturnix quail hatch?

[MomFoldingLaundry]

this is my 4th hatch, and I swear, every time I incubate eggs, they hatch later than I think they will. I always assume they are all gonners, give them another 12 hours, and THEN they hatch.

Do you guys get your hatch mainly on day 18? 19? 17?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Usually I don't toss until day 21

 

[FloorCandy]

Mine hatch mostly day 18, a few day 19, and some stragglers on 20. Often day 20 chicks need help and often don’t make it anyway.

 

[thelittlegraybarn]

Last hatch a week ago had one on the 14th, two on the 15th, and three on the 18th. Shut it down on the 20th.

 

[Sammi_0411]

Mine hatch around day 19 in incubator xx

 

[BackyardTeepee]

Usually 18-19. I shut down on 22. I always crack open every egg because the idea of burying someone alive kills me. Haven't found one alive yet.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

This time, day 17 on the dot. All within 3 hours of each other. Thermostat on the Little Giant incubator was set to 99.8 degrees, and a calibrated thermometer confirmed even temperature between 99 and 100 degrees throughout. I am a big fan of fans -- adding a fan and circulating the air inside was a literal life-saver.

I also open every egg because if I can't see where the chick failed, I can't improve the process. It's yucky but necessary. This time, there were no chicks forming in the three that did not hatch.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

BTW, Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[Misfits Farm 92]

I once had a button quail hatch SIX DAYS after her hatch date! She did struggle to grow when she was little and is still slightly smaller than the others but she's alive! I usually give two to three days after the last quail chick hatches before I autopsy the rest of the eggs.

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

I’ve been too much of a baby to autopsy my eggs so far, but my hatch rate seems to be getting better, so I think I’m on the right track.

what seems to work is using a dehumidifier until lockdown, insulating my incubator with a towel or in a styrofoam box, and turning the heat up like a half a degree during the second part of incubation, then down to a half a degree below 99.5 for lockdown.

ive got little ones hatching today, day 18. Four of the 10 eggs have hatched so far within about a 5 hour window, which is an improvement even from my last hatch! (I got 9/10 last time, but they were staggered over 36 hours.)

This time, I put an X on the three eggs I suspect are infertile, so I can see whether I can judge fertility accurately by weight/feel.

Merry Christmas!