What to do! Pip & zip way too early!!

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Today is only day 10 for my button quail but one egg is hatching! I've still got the auto turner rack in there - first time using it - and it's tilted to the side. If the egg hatches, the baby might fall underneath but if I open the bator to reset the turner, will I kill it? I've got 43 eggs total and don't want to jeopardize the hatch, but don't want to harm this one baby either. HELP!

 

[arlee453]

Open it as quickly as you can and reset the turner.

Then after the button comes out, get it out to the brooder and turn the turner back on. It would be more dangerous for the hatching one to fall out of the turner than for the others not to be turned for a period of time.

Good luck!

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

ok - will do that right now. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me so I was afraid to do anything, but a second one just pipped! Eggs came from my SIL in SC so they must have started incubating in the mail!!! Back downstairs I go...

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

The rack is stuck - I thought if I turned it off I could just push it level but I can't. I have the brooder all set up and the temp is up to 98. Should I remove the egg and put it in the brooder to hatch or will that totally mess it up? I just put a small damp sponge in the brooder (which is a 5 gal aquarium) to try to get the humidity up just in case that's what I should do.

Edited:

I think there are 3 eggs pipping now. Hum in the brooder is only at 35%; bator is 44%. I turned the turner back on hoping that it will level out by the time these eggs get any further.

Help?

 

[fallenweeble]

sounds like it may be time to buy a second back-up bator!

i don't know how to advise you, but it sounds like those eggs are hatching NOW.

keep a close eye and grab those babies out as soon as they hatch so they don't get caught up in the turner or fall under it etc.

keep us posted

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Who would have thought they'd start at day 10?? Well, obviously they started earlier and didn't tell me...

Still no further progress but I think there are 4 pips now; one is zipped about a quarter way around the egg. The turner is starting to level out and as soon as it does, I'll turn it off. Running down there every 10 min or so just to check and I'll pull the babies out right away. Brooder all set and ready.

Thanks for the help!

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

OK - in a major quandry and don't know what to do. No further progress - one egg has zipped around part of a side and three others have pipped and they have been this way for hours. I left the turner on until it levelled out and then turned it off. I'm afraid I might have killed it/them when I opened the lid really quick earlier to try to manually push the turner level but I still hear scratching.

Because I wasn't expecting anything to happen so soon, my humidity is only at 47%.

Now, here's my dilemma: I have to leave and will be gone for probably 7-8 hours.

Do I leave everything as/is?
Do I open it up, take the rack out, and lay all the eggs on the mesh?
Do I take the one egg out and put it in the aquarium/brooder? Temp is 98, humidity is 35%.

Please help -