why are my eggs not hatching?

[wildone]

it is day nineteen and still no pipping, hatching, movement, nothing. I did the float test yesterday, and only one egg out of eleven was infertile. my temps are at 100 degrees, it is nice and humid, and my eggs are are not hatching!!
why?!

I need help. a lot.

 

[Chickiemom25]

18-21 days for chickens. if your temps is low you may go a day longer. temps high, it could be shorter. Do you have a backup thermometer to be sure of the temp in the incubator? be patient.. I wouldn't count them out till day 23 or 24.

 

[wildone]

oh hehe. they are quail eggs.

 

[koturnix]

Hmm inaccurate thermometer/cold spots in incubator?

I don't think the float test is super accurate. I had tried it with my first batch and out of the 10 remaining eggs that didn't hatch after day 20 had 3 sinkers - I ended up opening them all and the floaters/bobbers had nothing inside, embryo never even developed so I had waited extra days for duds eheheh...

 

[Chickiemom25]

a quick search shows 17-24 days for quail, depending on the breed.. and again, the temp can cause that to vary some.

 

[koturnix]

A recommendation for late eggs is to gently tap shell and listen closely to see if chick inside pecks. Are these eggs from your own hens or shipped? Sometimes shipping may have damaged the eggs with xrays/rough handling.

 

[mdees88]

What kind of quail? (coturnix, bobwhite)

You can NOT trust the thermometer/hygrometer that comes with the incubator. You need to have a tested one that you know is accurate... If you have another thermometer stick it inside the incubator and see what it reads.

I've never float tested. Honestly removing the eggs from the incubator during lockdown is not a best practice. You should candle at day 14 (lockdown for coturnix) and throw away any clears. Then raise the humidity, shut off the turners, and do not open the incubator until the majority have hatched.

Also the day you set them is day 0 not day 1. So if I set them at lunch on Monday, Tuesday is day one. Mine typically pip day 17 and start hatching late day 17 and all day on day 18. I have had a couple stragglers early day 19 but not very often. I personally have not had any issues hatching shipped quail eggs....

 

[wildone]

the eggs are from my own hens, and weren't old when I put them in the incubator. I did count the day after I put them in as day I, because I put them in later in the day. I have two thermometers. one is very reliable, and the other is the one that came with the incubator, and works most of the time.

 

[koturnix]

How old are the hens/roos? I heard that fertility drops a bit after 6m-1 year (from posts I've read, not my personal experience so your mileage may vary). Have previous eggs from these hens/roos hatched before as normal?

 

[wildone]

I actually have never hatched eggs before. my hens are about 6 months old.