Hatched ten quail a couple weeks ago, and they were pretty quick. This time there are sixty eggs in there, and they seem to be hatching in shifts. Every time one starts to zip, several others get started, and within 15 minutes, there are 15-20 more quail in the bator. My husband and I both laughed when we opened it up to take the first batch out. It reminded us both of opening a roach nest or a a maggot nest--there were so many of them and they were so wet and squirmy and all over each other.
We took them out because we've had bad experiences with hatched birds sealing up other eggs that are trying to hatch. We moved them to a recovery brooder and now they are all fluffed out and sleeping in the regular brooder. They are unbelievably adorable.
Anyway, I just can't believe how fast they zip--once they get started, they zoom--10 minutes and they're OUT. Amazing. Especially compared to ducks who take 48 hours from pip to zip, and 2-3 hours from starting to zip until hatching. Quail are so much fun! A shame they're not as sweet as ducks when they grow up...
We took them out because we've had bad experiences with hatched birds sealing up other eggs that are trying to hatch. We moved them to a recovery brooder and now they are all fluffed out and sleeping in the regular brooder. They are unbelievably adorable.
Anyway, I just can't believe how fast they zip--once they get started, they zoom--10 minutes and they're OUT. Amazing. Especially compared to ducks who take 48 hours from pip to zip, and 2-3 hours from starting to zip until hatching. Quail are so much fun! A shame they're not as sweet as ducks when they grow up...
