What is best position at "lockdown" for hatching quail eggs?

[callahanrickey]

I have been trying to hatch Coturnix Quail eggs, and have not had good results. First, when I put them in the incubator they STINK to high heaven!!!! Almost a ROTTEN smell. A friend watched a video of my last hatch (3) and saw the other eggs laying on the bottom of the incubator (where I put them at lockdown) --- he tells me "that's the problem...you have to leave them upright in the turner and unplug the turner ---- if you don't, the drown in their own fluid". I have never heard that before. What is BEST????

 

[Oreo quail]

That has not been my experience. My bator is clean when i start and there is no stink. Perhaps a used bator can have some biogrime from a prior hatch that gets activated with rewarming. I had a more than 50 % hatch lying them on the side day 15

 

[callahanrickey]

Actually, the incubator was very clean......I think the eggs may have been too old now. I just wondered if anyone had ever heard of what the guys was telling me about keeping them upright.

 

[eHuman]

Never place a stinky egg in your bator and remove any along the way that you identify. My last hatch used an incubator warehouse egg turner that keeps the eggs on their sides. This is the only style of egg turner that I could recommend to leave in during lockdown unplugged of course. That being said I personally would never leave a turner during lockdown it makes for a tougher cleaning post hatch.

 

[eHuman]

Btw I had 44 of 54 make it through lockdown (laying on their sides through the whole hatch). 81.5% hatch and half of the eggs had to travel from a local source.

 

[MessyLove]

How can you tell there is a chick in the egg after candling for fertilization

 

[callahanrickey]

That's a great hatch rate..........I get these eggs from a local farmer, and to be honest, they ALL seem to stink in the container I get them in ---- how do I determine which to throw out?

 

[pkhunter]

I have been trying to hatch Coturnix Quail eggs, and have not had good results. First, when I put them in the incubator they STINK to high heaven!!!! Almost a ROTTEN smell. A friend watched a video of my last hatch (3) and saw the other eggs laying on the bottom of the incubator (where I put them at lockdown) --- he tells me "that's the problem...you have to leave them upright in the turner and unplug the turner ---- if you don't, the drown in their own fluid". I have never heard that before. What is BEST????

First, If you are buying eggs that stink they are probably old and rotten. Eggs should be no more than 7 days old 10 at the most and they need to be stored in a cool place. I keep mine in a small wine cooler set at 60 degrees. Next, your friend doesn't know what he is talking about. Sounds like you have an incubator with turning racks so place eggs small end down temp 99.5 and humidity at 45 to 55% for 14 days. At the end of 14 days take the racks out and lay the eggs on their side (lockdown) raise humidity to 65 to 70%. My last hatch with this system was 61 of 70 eggs about 87%. There are lots of incubators where the eggs are on their side the whole time and they have good hatches also just turn off the turner the last 3 days.

You need to find someone else to buy your eggs from. Try craigslist or ebay Good luck on your next hatch, then you can start hatching your own eggs.

Note: 99.5 is for forced air incubator about 101 if its still air.

One other thing tell you friend that Quail and Chicken don't stand their eggs up to hatch them LOL

 

[lomine]

Eggs being stored for hatching should be keep in a cool (not cold) place, stored with the large end up, and turned a few times a day. Viability starts declining after 10 days. Any egg that smells bad or has a crack should not be incubated. Ask your source how they handle the eggs they are giving you for hatching. Sounds like you are getting bad eggs. Might need to find a new source.

If the egg turner is the cup style that keeps the eggs on end, I definitely wouldn't leave eggs in them for lockdown. Even a full grown quail would have a hard time walking on one of those. I imagine a lot of injuries resulting from a newly hatched chick trying to get around on an egg turner. I take all my eggs out of my turner and just put them on their sides for lockdown. So far my hatch rate is 83%. (I think that's pretty good considering I've got one Italian male and some of the females are also Italian so their offspring have a 25% chance of having a lethal gene combination.)

I candle for fertility on day 5. If it's infertile (glowing) I take it out. If it is questionable I put it near the turner motor so I know which it was. I don't candle again until day 14. By then all you can really see is the air sac. Sometimes a chick will move and you can see it but otherwise it's hard to tell if the chick is alive/developed. At least for me it is. If an egg quit early is the process it will have a blood ring and will be cloudy. Those eggs are removed and the rest go into lockdown.

 

[MessyLove]

It seems full and i cant see anything clear anymore did i cook it. Some are different looking inside maybe past the red dot