Yay it worked ! (First baby jumbo coturnix)

[terriergal]

Can’t remember if I mentioned we have eight surviving and doing well, but… they are old enough to feather sex now and … we have ONE hen and 7 roos back to the drawing board. Hubby got the incubator started the other day and will pick up more eggs tonight.

Also I talked to the guy who was trying to get chickens in town legalized and he said they are almost certainly going to pass it this spring possibly in April. He has four out of five city council members committed to voting for it. However, that also happened last time and then one of them backed out.

 

[terriergal]

Thank you for your kindness and replying. I do have an incubator which I put them just above the regular egg sizes, which just the little gaps on top near the center of the incubator. (See pic below)but since they so small like you said, the turner rotated the eggs randomly since not big like chicken eggs etc. I do have flat toothpick but the thing is when you have to manage to keep the right temperature before put in its mouth, and the syringe maybe keep warm better than then toothpick, the room temperature here only 60F, so by the time from the formula cup and to the finch beak maybe 50% dropped and I worry will suffocate the new hatch… I put the eggs back to parents but they not interest in and just play hopping out and I and put back to incubator again. Now one egg look like “lock down” with more dark in middle and moving and other ones look still red veins, so my humidity still 55-60% not sure if ok for the other eggs which not lock down period yet look like… so if I keep the lock down percentage 65-70% maybe not good for the other developing eggs that has red veins and some embryo development right?
Also when lock down currently only one egg in that stage like I said . If I take the orange mold off and should I leave the bottom there?( I mean the plastic which with holes on it ?) or maybe take both out since I am not sure turner meaning the orange part or both, and I heard you have to put kitchen liner on bottom, is that correct? This incubator has water come out from the bottom and not sure if the liner waterproof without get any moist on the ? Thank you so much in advance. Sorry I am a newbie to incubator hatching asked so many questions and next time I will improve and try do better!

I really have never had much luck with finch eggs in a rotating incubator. Well, really in any incubator — I have in the last few days if they abandoned them during lockdown, sometimes had luck carrying them around in my bra in a pill bottle with holes drilled in the cover, and cushioned by non-lotion, toilet tissue or facial tissue ) 24 hours a day. This provides a lot of humidity and a consistent amount of warmth and I try not to do a lot of activity so they can actually get oriented - of course it’s difficult to sleep like this, but it’s only a few days). They are so fragile. And so susceptible to humidity and temperature changes. I always did better fostering under other finches, but of course a different species harbor, different pathogens, and can then infect the nestlings which are more susceptible (this is often the case if you use Bengalese/society finches to foster Gouldians- although they will do so willingly and will feed the chicks in spite of the different mouth pattern, even in mixed clutches- they often carry i think campylobacter which can be deadly for the gouldian chicks but not as bad for their own chicks).

Depending on why they toss or abandon the eggs, you might have better luck sorting out what is turning them off of taking care of them. Sometimes too much disturbance or the hen does not feel comfortable in the nest. Or not the right nutritional balance for keeping them in the breeding mindset. Light conditions can also make a difference (especially with species like Canaries). Or they are just immature. Sometimes they need to watch other adults go through it in order to figure out what’s going on.

It is pretty amazing how well you can handle them and see those little heartbeats start… but I bet you would have better luck finding answers on the finch forums because there are a lot of people who have learned how to do this kind of thing through trial and error and I haven’t done it for 20 years almost. (I did breed some shafttails / long tailed grass finches about eight years ago, but they all took care of their babies. I still have one of those babies. He is delightful!)

 

[Mill Chick]

Can’t remember if I mentioned we have eight surviving and doing well, but… they are old enough to feather sex now and … we have ONE hen and 7 roos back to the drawing board. Hubby got the incubator started the other day and will pick up more eggs tonight.

Also I talked to the guy who was trying to get chickens in town legalized and he said they are almost certainly going to pass it this spring possibly in April. He has four out of five city council members committed to voting for it. However, that also happened last time and then one of them backed out.

Update please?

 

[terriergal]

Update please?

On what in particular? I am having to start /make another brooder tub because these guys are big enough now that they are overcrowded. Hubby has to make a new lid like the one he made for the original. He’s also working on building those stacking cages that have the automatic egg roller trays. But they aren’t ready yet.

I turned the heat lamp off the other day and they are doing fine maintaining their own heat. (Indoors at room temperature) They are almost ready to go out in their cages as soon as hubby can get those done. But we have so much other stuff going on with spring concerts and Easter church music stuff in the next couple of weeks. Stuff just never ends.

I checked with the guy on our city chicken ordinance and he said the next city Council meeting is April 14 so he’s trying to get some people together to share some opinions at the meeting about why we should allow people a limited number of chickens.

 

[terriergal]

Here’s our single lady

 

[terriergal]

Here’s one of the boys. We also have one boy with a crossed bill so he will probably go in the freezer once he’s big enough. As well, most of the rest of the boys. Poor guys!

 

[Mill Chick]

Here’s one of the boys. We also have one boy with a crossed bill so he will probably go in the freezer once he’s big enough. As well, most of the rest of the boys. Poor guys!

Hopefully you get 7 females instead of males on your next batch!

 

[terriergal]

Hopefully you get 7 females instead of males on your next batch!

Heh, we have 21 in the incubator (I accidentally broke one or we would have 22) so hopefully more girls than that!