Day 19 quail eggs. STILL NOT HATCHED!!

[Yorkshire Coop]

This is my first time with quails and my hen has 7 so far but how much will she have.... Is it normal for them to have there eggs all over the cage floor.

Hi &

Do you mean she has 7 eggs and they are all over the floor?

 

[Maree Hayley]

Yeap and some have been wet from the rain

 

[JaeG]

This is my first time with quails and my hen has 7 so far but how much will she have.... Is it normal for them to have there eggs all over the cage floor.

Japanese/Coturnix quail will generally just drop their eggs wherever they happen to be, and sometimes Buttons are the same.

 

[Majak5]

Ja

You don’t say which quail you are hatching. Different ones have different incubation periods. Could that be the difference?
Hatching times:
Coturnix Quail: 16-18 days
Button Quail: 16 days
Bobwhite Quail: 22-23 days
Gambel's Quail: 22 days
Mountain Quail: 24-25 days
California Quail: 22-23 days
Blue Scale Quail: 23 days
Montezuma Quail: 24-25 days

Hope you have some action soon with your eggs

Japanese coturnix

 

[Majak5]

Quail can take longer so don't panic. You can candle them to see if they've pipped internally but try not to turn the egg - keep it in the position it's lying in so you don't confuse the chick and make them move into the wrong position for hatching. If they have internally pipped you'll see a little shadow in the air cell. You might hear them tapping if you hold the fat end of the egg to your ear. A dead embryo will sink towards the narrow end of the of the egg and there will be a yellowish, watery layer between it and the air cell. But I wouldn't worry until you've got to day 21 and still have no pipping. It's torture, I know!

got a pip this morning, so very happy, can’t wait till it hatches.

 

[happyhens1972]

Yeap and some have been wet from the rain

If you mean how many will she have before she sits on them, then I'm afraid you're likely to be disappointed. It is unlikely she'll sit at all as quail are not known for being good mothers...especially Coturnix. If you want to hatch some, you'll need an incubator.

If you mean how many eggs will she lay in general...around 300 a year xx

 

[JaeG]

View attachment 1278852 got a pip this morning, so very happy, can’t wait till it hatches.

Exciting!

 

[Majak5]

View attachment 1278852 got a pip this morning, so very happy, can’t wait till it hatches.

Has made no progress, only a tiny hole so it can breath but nothing else, I’m starting to get worried

 

[JaeG]

Has made no progress, only a tiny hole so it can breath but nothing else, I’m starting to get worried

I've jumped in too quickly to help before only to find the membrane still has live blood vessels in it and the chick isn't ready. And once you start helping them you generally have to keep helping them (once they are ready). I've often had quail take 36 hours from the first external pip before they are ready to actually hatch.

They externally pip because the air cell only holds so much. They are still absorbing the remains of the yolk as well as the blood that has been going through the membrane, so they still have a lot of work to do before they start unzipping. The unzipping part should be pretty quick - maybe an hour.

You wait at least 24 hours from the external pip before even thinking about helping a chick. If you do decide to step in you need to take off just the shell little by little until you can see whether the membrane still has blood in it or not (you may have to wet it carefully to be able to see clearly). If you see blood you need to stop and wait some more.

 

[Majak5]

I've jumped in too quickly to help before only to find the membrane still has live blood vessels in it and the chick isn't ready. And once you start helping them you generally have to keep helping them (once they are ready). I've often had quail take 36 hours from the first external pip before they are ready to actually hatch.

They externally pip because the air cell only holds so much. They are still absorbing the remains of the yolk as well as the blood that has been going through the membrane, so they still have a lot of work to do before they start unzipping. The unzipping part should be pretty quick - maybe an hour.

You wait at least 24 hours from the external pip before even thinking about helping a chick. If you do decide to step in you need to take off just the shell little by little until you can see whether the membrane still has blood in it or not (you may have to wet it carefully to be able to see clearly). If you see blood you need to stop and wait some more.

He started zipping at 6am, fully hatched at 6:40am. Named him pip coz my nan loved that name for a little bird. It’s 8:15am and his eyes still haven’t opened, is that normal?