Quail Egg Hatching
If you are hatching quail eggs then there are a number of things that you need to do and things to look out for.
I have aquired 7 quail eggs and they look the same as yours
we are in the process of turning them a few times a day on a heat pad
whats the next thing we need to look out for? Jim
Hi Jim,
Thanks very much for visiting my website and leaving such a nice comment.
If your quail eggs are japanese quail then they take 17 days to hatch out. You need to stop egg turning at day 15 and then watch for signs of the eggs starting to pip (crack open with the chicks beak).
If the quail are bobwhite quail then the incubation period is 23-24 days and egg rotation should stop on day 21.
Once egg turning has stopped then you need to be watching out for any cracks in the shell or holes where the chick’s beak has pipped the egg. You may also hear little cheeps as well which is a sure sign that hatching is near to happening.
Good luck with your eggs and let us know how you get on.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends
Hi there
We have an issue but its not with Quail eggs but with chickens.
We have been given too many fertilised eggs for our incubator and were wondering if there is any way of hatching eggs without an incubator?
Thank you
Mandy
Comment by M — July 19, 2008 @ 3:01 pm
Sadly our first attempt failed
we believe the eggs were not fertile
the second attempt is underway and you cans ee the progress on www.welshbirds.co.uk
we have setup a cam
Regards
Jim
Comment by Jim — July 19, 2008 @ 5:34 pm
Hi Jim,
Thanks for your visit and comment.
Sorry to hear that your first attempt at hatching quail wasn’t successful. Good luck with your next set of eggs.
I will keep checking in.
Kind regards
sara @ farmingfriends
Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — July 19, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
hi I would like to hatch my 16 japenese quail eggs from 3 of my 11 month hen quail and my 2 year old cock bird without an incubator any ideas and by the way you gotta cool site
Comment by junior — July 29, 2008 @ 5:59 pm
Hi Junior,
Thanks for your complimentary comment and my site it is appreciated when I get feedback.
You could try getting your three quail hens to sit on them. They can probably sit on 5 or 6 eggs. If you keep the eggs in the hut with them it encourages them to sit.
If that is not an option then finding someone with a broody hen, perhaps a silkie hen or a bantam who can sit on the eggs and would make a good mother.
You could also make your own incubator using a cardboard box, wood or a polystyrene box and a heat lamp and making your own wet bulb for the humidity.
Check out these links:
http://www.cyberquail.com/incubators.html
http://www.cornsnakefanclub.co.uk/incubator.html
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/eggs/res20-incubator.html
Hope this information is useful.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends
Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — July 30, 2008 @ 7:41 am
What an incredibly useful site…I’ve gained lots a valuable information from it….how nice of you to share your experience.
I wonder if I could ask for some advice. I have an incubator and am about to start but have received conflicting advice about whether or not to use water in the incubator for humidity. The incubator handbook and most other places I have looked say yes but another site I visited suggested that using water would cause the chicks to become too large and prevent them from getting enough air into the shell after pipping.
They also suggested that the chicks would be too large to be able to properly move around the shell while hatching.
I would be most grateful if you would advise….also could you perhaps suggest a good book or method for how to keep and sex quail?
Sorry to be a nuisance but I want to ensure that I have as much information as possible before I begin so that I can ensure that my quail will be as happy and healthy as possible
Thank you in advance
Lisa-Dawn
Comment by Lisa-Dawn — August 22, 2008 @ 12:43 pm
Hi Lisa-Dawn,
Thank you so much for your kind words about my site. I enjoy looking after my animals and I enjoy sharing the information.
When i incubated japanese quail eggs I had water in the bottom of my incubator and we managed to get 25 out of 27 fertile eggs hatching out so this was a good hatchability rate. http://www.farmingfriends.com/quail-hatching-statistics/
I think that it is useful to follow the incubator handbook instructions as every incubator is different and I would imagine that the incubator has been put through numerous test hatches before it was put for sale.
One thing to remember with quail is that when hatching quail eggs they need a lower temperature and lower humidity than for chicken eggs.
http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-bobwhite-quail-eggs/
http://www.farmingfriends.com/incubating-coturnix-japanese-quail/
I have two books about keeping quail that I would recommend.
Keeping Quail by Katie Thear
Quail, Past & Present by Michael Roberts
If you have any specific questions about keeping quail then don’t hesitate to ask them.
With regards to sexing quail, the colour of the quailhttp://www.farmingfriends.com/quail-gender-identification/ , their size and their call can all distinguish the male and female. Also the male will produce a foam ball which is white foam attached to his droppings, I believe that this is a sign of fertility and that mating will take place.
I would think carefully about the housing for your quail as quail have a vertical flight movement when frightened and when they fly up they can sometimes hurt their heads http://www.farmingfriends.com/quail-flight/. I have also noticed that a quails legs and feet are susceptible to injury and toe balling, so again think carefully about the litter in the hut/avairy.
I hope that you find this information useful. Good luck with your quail. I would be interested to hear how you get on.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends
Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — August 22, 2008 @ 7:56 pm
HI TO YOU ALL. THIS IS MY FIRST GO AT HATCHING QUAILS EGGS I GOT THEM IN A WOODEN BOX WITH A 60W LIGHT BULB IN.I PUT 30 EGGS IN AND I GOT 24 BIRDS HATCHT OUT. THIS IS A DAM GOOD SITE TO READ. ALL THE BEST TO YOU ALL
Comment by dave — October 9, 2008 @ 2:17 pm
Hi Dave,
Thanks for visiting farmingfriends and leaving a comment. Congratulations on your excellent hatch rate. I hope that you enjoy looking after the quail. Thanks for your compliment about the site, I am glad the information is useful. If you have any questions then don’t hesitate to ask. I recently set up a forum which is free to join and has a section dedicated to quail http://farmingfriends.com/forums/forum.php?id=4 which you may find useful.
Best of luck with your quail and let us know how you get on.
Kind regards
sara @ farmingfriends
Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — October 9, 2008 @ 4:12 pm
hi thar sara. my quail are nearly 2 weeks old now and doing fine. please can you tell me when do i start to take the heat lamp from them.
Comment by Dave — October 22, 2008 @ 2:13 pm
Hi Dave,
Thanks for dropping by and giving me an update. I am glad that your quail are doing well.
Here are approximate brooder temperatures for quail at different ages and when to turn off the heat lamp.
The brooder temperature for newly hatched quail and within the first week needs to be at 95 -100 degrees F (about 35 degrees c).
By week two the temperature in the brooder can be reduced to 90 degrees F (32 degrees C).
Into week three the temperature can be reduced to 85 degrees F (29 degrees C).
In hotter climates or when the temperature outside is warm then the heat lamp may be turned off for a few hours each day by week three.
By week four the heat lamp can be turned off or down to 80 degrees F (27 degrees C) during the day.
The temperature can be reduced by 5 degrees F each week.
By week 6 or by the time the quail are fully feathered, the heat lamp can be turned off.
The outside temperature affects the need for heat. If it is cold outside then the temperatures may need to be maintained or the period of heat may be lengthened and similarly if it is warm then the temperature of the heat lamp can be reduced or turned off.
Hope this information helps. Keep me up to date with your quail.
Kind regards
Sara @ farmingfriends
Comment by Sara @ Farming Friends — October 26, 2008 @ 7:30 pm