Go into lockdown

[Seal36]

I have just taken the turning ring out of the incubator and filled each pot up to 3/4 full. So I am in lockdown now. Is there anything else I need to do or is it just a waiting game until the hatch. I have a couple of other questions. I have attached a picture of the incubator.

1. I'm not not allowed to open the incubator again until 24 hours after the last one hatched. Is that correct.

2. Is there anything else I have forgotten

Thanks for all your help from Tom

 

[Marigold]

So long as they all hatch reasonably well at the same time, 24 hours from the last one is fine. If there's a long gap between most of them hatching and then another one hatches, they can go longer, just use your common sense and make sure they've dried out properly and have a nice warm brooder to go into.
Give us an update when they start to pip! Good luck!

 

[Seal36]

Thank you for all your help and I have set the brooder up now and the temperature in the middle of the brooder is 34 Celsius. I have now moved the thermometer to the end where the heat lamp is to see how warm it is there. I will keep you updated about the eggs and the brooder.

I have attached a picture of the brooder in action.

1. Is 34 Celsius a ok temperature for the brooder to be at?

I know the temperature will drop at night but hopefully not to much.

Thanks for all the help from Tom

 

[Marigold]

It needs to be about 37.5C, at least at the lamp end, same as the incubator, for the first day or two, so they don't get chilled on transfer, then gradually reducing as they feather up. Try not to remove the lid any more than you have to, as this will let the heat out. Have a good thick layer of bedding on the floor and if the brooder is run for a couple of days this will heat up nicely and help them. I think a drop of 3.5C compared with the incubator is too much. Quail chicks are so tiny that they feel the cold more than bigger ones. This is why its good to get the brooder going well in advance, so you can sort out any potential problems. You could try some insulation round the sides, that radiator stuff is very good if you line the brooder inside with a circle of it, I found.
As they grow and feather up you'll have to work out how to gradually reduce the temperature, especially if the warm weather returns. With a hanging light yo just raise or lower it, but I'm not sure how you are going to do this with a fixed lamp.

 

[Seal36]

I have finished testing and at the end where the lamp is the temperature is 39.8 and the other end is 31.6 so they have a range of about 10 Celsius to chose from. I will make sure not to remove the lid to much as I know this can cause cooling.

1. When the chicks are older could I put the lamp on a timer so it goes on for one hour then switches off for 1 hour goes on for one hour switches off or won't that work.

2. After how long should I start to see movement in the eggs. I put the water in at 5:10 this afternoon.

Thanks for all the help from Tom

 

[Seal36]

I can also unscrew the mounting bracket and have the lamp hanging down for when they start to feather up. I have attached a picture to show what I mean. Do you think this could work from Tom

 

[Marigold]

That's a good range, then they can choose where to go, that will be fine.
As for when the eggs will move or hatch, you'll just have to wait and watch. You are the consultant on the maternity ward!

 

[Seal36]

I woke up at various times during the night to check the temperature and the lowest it got down too at the heated end of the brooder was 38 Celsius. So I think that it should be a good temperature for them when/ if they go in there.

1. Is 38 Celsius warm enough for them at night time.

2. Would the lamp on a timer help the birds later on when they are staring to feather up.

Thanks for all the help from Tom

 

[Marigold]

Yes, no hotter than 38 day or night.
No, let them decide how much warmth they need, just keep checking that its warm enough near the lamp and cooler the other end. Watch the chicks, they will show you what they need.

 

[Seal36]

Yeah it has not got hotter than 38 today so it should be good and the other end is 30 Celsius so they have a good range of temperature.

Also I have not seen the eggs move and there are no visible cracks on the eggs. Is that suppose to happen from Tom

 

[Seal36]

Still no movement in any of the eggs so i have a feeling they are infertile but I will keep the incubator on till Tuesday from Tom

 

[Marigold]

Don't give up yet. I agree we would have hoped for movement by now, but they are only just due to hatch and you've done everything right. As you suggest, give them another couple of days.

 

[Seal36]

Yes I have not given up yet but if they have not hatched by tuesday night i think i will open some of them up.

What reasons could it be that they have not hatched.

thanks for all your help from tom

 

[Marigold]

If they don't hatch I think it will be from causes out of your control, eg not fertile in the first place, (maybe parent birds not fed properly or not in ideal health) or being shaken up in the post, or possibly dirty shells which transmit bacteria through the pores to the chicks inside. I would certainly open any that don't hatch by Tuesday then at least you'll be able to see if any development had taken place. Sorry it's been a disappointing weekend for you.

 

[Marigold]

This may sound crazy, but are you sure these are CPQ eggs, Tom, and not Coturnix?
In that pic of them in the incubator they just look Coturnix size to me. I would have expected CPQs to be smaller.
If they are coturnix they wouldn't be due to hatch until Day 18. Maybe hang on in there.......

 

[Seal36]

I woke up today to find that 3 had hatched. I then saw another 6 hatch before I had to leave to work . 2 hatched just after I left for work at around 8am and then between 10:30 and 2 the last one hatched.

So I now have 12 out if 12 eggs hatched,

Will the quail be good in the incubator until around 6:30 tomorrow night as that's when I will get back from work and thought I could put them in the brooder then.

Thanks for all the help and so glad they all hatched from Tom

 

[Marigold]

HOORAY!!!!
What a wonderful result! 100% is a fantastic success rate. Well done for all your careful preparation. It's really exciting watching them hatch, isn't it? It must have been hard to leave and go to work.
Yes they should be OK until tomorrow evening. At first you should sprinkle some chick crumbs over the floor to encourage them to eat, rather than providing a feeder. Once you've put them into the brooder, then immediately sprinkle crumbs from above so they can see and hear them falling. Also at first you need a very shallow little saucer or dish with pebbles in, with water up to below the top of the pebbles, so they can drink without drowning. Watch them to make sure they've found the water as their first drink is very important. They're more likely to be dehydrated than starving hungry and if any of them doesn't seem to be drinking you may have to dip its beak in the water to stimulate it to drink. But they'll probably be OK.

 

[Seal36]

When I found out all 12 had hatched I was amazed. It was so hard to go to work but I knew I had to and at least I saw half of them hatching.

I will sprinkle some crumbs in with the m tomorrow evening and I have a nice shallow dish for them to drink from.

Thanks for all the help from Tom

 

[Marigold]

Actually Tom, thinking about it, you could transfer them to the brooder when you get up tomorrow, before you go to work. They will all have had 24 hours or nearly that by then, will all be dry, and obviously they are all good strong chicks to have hatched so easily and fast with no stragglers. Get up 10 mins early, move them over and watch them whilst you have your breakfast. If this isn't possible they will be OK if you have to leave them until 6 pm, but that will be nearly another 12 hours when they could be feeding and drinking. As they are such tiny chicks they will have fewer reserves than bigger species such as chicken chicks.
When you transfer them, put the incubator body inside the brooder before you remove the dome. When you lift the dome off they will all scatter, and if still on the table top you may lose some of them!

 

[Seal36]

Would it be better for them to go in in the morning or afternoon as I can get them in there for 5:30pm,

Also if I put them in in the morning I won't be able to observe how they are doing in it and I only turned the brooder back on this morning.

Also how much food should I give to them and when will they start eating out of a feeder.

Thanks for all your help from Tom