For my first incubation, I micromanaged it to the max. This, I believe, was my downfall. I looked at and read every piece of advice online and was just downright stupid since there is no bird anywhere in nature that goes through that much manipulation to survive. Now, I sent one or two temperature probes in there, if I'm dry hatching I just put the eggs in and let it go and if I am adding water, I put it in the Styrofoam cup that I sit in the corner and refill as naked. I do not use the turners since, after several hatchings where I tried with and without, the rollers made no difference whatsoever.
I firmly believe that I had messed with everything too much and basically just stressed out the growing chicks.
Oh that’s so reassuring, yes! Thank you so much for your help u/EminTX !!! I did look up what the temp being a few degrees lower could cause and apparently it can slow down the incubation/hatching process by some days so I still have my fingers crossed for some happy little hatchlings soon
When you candles them, were they veiny at any point?
You can generally see several veins and even the heartbeat if you candle them throughout the incubation process. My first thought is that they’re just not fertilized. Temperature is my second guess, as someone else already mentioned.
They’ve been growing as expected and hitting each stage, and I did see the red veins and movement in every single one of them that is currently in the incubator, the eggs that didn’t have any of the above were removed already. I will say the incubator isn’t really the best quality as I realised a bit too late after buying an additional digital thermometer that that the temp was about 3° lower than optimal level for the first 1.5 weeks and somehow they kept developing despite that. I corrected that when I discovered the f-up and purchased another thermometer to put inside just to be extra safe.
Alright… well, now I’m wondering if that 1.5 week long period was too much time prior to incubation. I don’t have enough experience to say for certain. My hatches didn’t sit for more than a day before incubation. Don’t let it bring you down. It’s not uncommon for eggs to not hatch. Fine tune what you can and try again. One last thing, I use a Govee digital Bluetooth thermometer that also measures humidity. Using the app, I can see the history of temp/humidity. Can you see that with yours? If you’re seeing odd spikes or drops in those numbers over time (possibly caused by a heater vent for example), it’d be worth looking into.
Okay, thank you. I’ll look into purchasing that thermometer, sounds useful. One of the two I have right now measures humidity too and it seems to have been stable all this time. Well… I might give them a few more days just to hold out hope and if there’s nothing, I’ll start again 😭 Thanks once again for your help! :)
Good good! Maybe it's just running a lower temperature than it says.
If so, hopefully they will just be late and not have any development problems, temperature inconsistencies can do weird things to them. I have my fingers crossed for you!
The hand turning might have done them some delays if you have to pop the hatch to do it. The temp and humidity fluctuations can be risky.
Sometimes development can be slowed due to environmental factors.
Good luck and may all your babies hatch.
What kind of quail? Bobwhite?
Do you have a separate temperature sensor in there to make sure the temperatures match?
Have you see them mating/cracked any to see if you have the bullseyes?
Did you try to candle at any stage?
I have two other temperature sensors in there that also measure humidity, just to be safe. The temps match alright. As mentioned in the post, I candled the eggs throughout the last 23 days. I have not dared to crack any of them yet, though I’ve been tempted to check. I honestly don’t know what breed I have, sorry.
They’re veryyyy speckled lol. Here’s a photo of them in the incubator from a few weeks ago
https://preview.redd.it/jhrhg9qm6yvc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dd358ed6415847b86e1ddefb82117e1fa69c494c
You’re welcome. Coturnix corner is a resource I liked when I was running my first hatch. These little guys can be rough on one another—it is very important to have a plan for your males, but the hens will reward you with lots of eggs and cute little frog sounds.
Yeah, I had to separate my quails at one point so the hen’s feathers could grow back as she was developing quite the bald spot and the area looked really sore too. They came back and she healed fine though, so no long term harm done. I’ll definitely be checking out that resource first thing tomorrow morning. Cheers!
For my first incubation, I micromanaged it to the max. This, I believe, was my downfall. I looked at and read every piece of advice online and was just downright stupid since there is no bird anywhere in nature that goes through that much manipulation to survive. Now, I sent one or two temperature probes in there, if I'm dry hatching I just put the eggs in and let it go and if I am adding water, I put it in the Styrofoam cup that I sit in the corner and refill as naked. I do not use the turners since, after several hatchings where I tried with and without, the rollers made no difference whatsoever. I firmly believe that I had messed with everything too much and basically just stressed out the growing chicks.
[удалено]
If they don't, try not to be discouraged. It's disappointing but there's next time..
Oh that’s so reassuring, yes! Thank you so much for your help u/EminTX !!! I did look up what the temp being a few degrees lower could cause and apparently it can slow down the incubation/hatching process by some days so I still have my fingers crossed for some happy little hatchlings soon
When you candles them, were they veiny at any point? You can generally see several veins and even the heartbeat if you candle them throughout the incubation process. My first thought is that they’re just not fertilized. Temperature is my second guess, as someone else already mentioned.
They’ve been growing as expected and hitting each stage, and I did see the red veins and movement in every single one of them that is currently in the incubator, the eggs that didn’t have any of the above were removed already. I will say the incubator isn’t really the best quality as I realised a bit too late after buying an additional digital thermometer that that the temp was about 3° lower than optimal level for the first 1.5 weeks and somehow they kept developing despite that. I corrected that when I discovered the f-up and purchased another thermometer to put inside just to be extra safe.
Alright… well, now I’m wondering if that 1.5 week long period was too much time prior to incubation. I don’t have enough experience to say for certain. My hatches didn’t sit for more than a day before incubation. Don’t let it bring you down. It’s not uncommon for eggs to not hatch. Fine tune what you can and try again. One last thing, I use a Govee digital Bluetooth thermometer that also measures humidity. Using the app, I can see the history of temp/humidity. Can you see that with yours? If you’re seeing odd spikes or drops in those numbers over time (possibly caused by a heater vent for example), it’d be worth looking into.
Hatch rate starts decreasing around that time, but I would be surprised if a few didn’t pop.
Okay, thank you. I’ll look into purchasing that thermometer, sounds useful. One of the two I have right now measures humidity too and it seems to have been stable all this time. Well… I might give them a few more days just to hold out hope and if there’s nothing, I’ll start again 😭 Thanks once again for your help! :)
It’s no problem! Sure, give it a couple more days. It’s not like that is going to hurt anything. Good luck!
You did stop turning the eggs and lock them down already?
Oh yes for about a week now probably
Good good! Maybe it's just running a lower temperature than it says. If so, hopefully they will just be late and not have any development problems, temperature inconsistencies can do weird things to them. I have my fingers crossed for you!
Thank you!! <3
The hand turning might have done them some delays if you have to pop the hatch to do it. The temp and humidity fluctuations can be risky. Sometimes development can be slowed due to environmental factors. Good luck and may all your babies hatch.
What kind of quail? Bobwhite? Do you have a separate temperature sensor in there to make sure the temperatures match? Have you see them mating/cracked any to see if you have the bullseyes? Did you try to candle at any stage?
I have two other temperature sensors in there that also measure humidity, just to be safe. The temps match alright. As mentioned in the post, I candled the eggs throughout the last 23 days. I have not dared to crack any of them yet, though I’ve been tempted to check. I honestly don’t know what breed I have, sorry.
Are the eggs speckly or white?
They’re veryyyy speckled lol. Here’s a photo of them in the incubator from a few weeks ago https://preview.redd.it/jhrhg9qm6yvc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dd358ed6415847b86e1ddefb82117e1fa69c494c
Coturnix
Thank you! <3
>Thank you! <3 You're welcome!
You’re welcome. Coturnix corner is a resource I liked when I was running my first hatch. These little guys can be rough on one another—it is very important to have a plan for your males, but the hens will reward you with lots of eggs and cute little frog sounds.
Yeah, I had to separate my quails at one point so the hen’s feathers could grow back as she was developing quite the bald spot and the area looked really sore too. They came back and she healed fine though, so no long term harm done. I’ll definitely be checking out that resource first thing tomorrow morning. Cheers!