HATCHING COTURNIX QUAIL EGGS

By: Mark Reed - MarkFromSea

The most important thing to do after deciding to hatch quail eggs and then raise them is to do some research on raising quail.  It is a fascinating and rewarding hobby.  Coturnix quail make especially good outdoor pets, they provide plenty of nutritious high protein eggs for consumption and the birds themselves also make wonderful table fare.  Coturnix quail are easy to raise, they hatch and grow quickly.  A batch of coturnix quail eggs can be put in an incubator and ten weeks later be laying fertile eggs themselves!  Now, let's get on with it!

Receiving the eggs:  Upon receiving your eggs from the postman, open it carefully.  I always find it easier to place the package on a table or the floor while opening the box.  Determine the top of the box and open that end.  Remove packing material and inner cartons or foam containing eggs carefully, try not to be in too much of a rush like I have been.   I've opened a few egg packages like a kid at Christmas and it did cost me a few eggs.  Take the inner cartons with the eggs in them, or the foam egg holder and place it somewhere safe at room temperature, hopefully not much warmer than seventy degrees.  Open the cartons, discard any broken or cracked eggs, let the eggs breathe and let them set there for twelve hours.  Many people have different time periods, anywhere from eight to twenty-four hours, in which to let the eggs settle after shipment.  Most all folks agree that they need to set for awhile before being placed in the incubator.

Temperature level during incubator setup and incubation:  Follow the manufacturer's instructions for the use of your particular incubator.  Have your incubator up and running a day or more before the eggs arrive.  This gives you time to heat the thing up, make temperature adjustments, add water, ect.  I've got a couple GQFmfg Hovabators with fan and egg turners that work well.  GQFmfg Hovabator instructions are basically, preheat incubator to 100 degrees, add water to the appropriate trough, place the eggs in the incubator, place the thermometer on top of the eggs, allow eggs to warm and adjust thermostat as required.   Now, I'll add some missing parts!  During preheat place something that is just as tall as your eggs in the incubator and place your thermometer on top of that.  There is a temperature difference between the floor of the incubator and the top of the eggs.  Something else they don't tell you is that the temperature fluctuates, high and low, heater turns off then heater turns on.  Use 100 degrees "heater turns off"! Occasionally, it'll turn off at a little higher temperature but you're looking for an average or typically the "heater turns off" at 100 degrees.   The incubator temp may drop as low as 98 degrees even with the thermostat kicking the heat on at 99 degrees.  This is ok.  The perfect internal temperature of incubated quail eggs is 99.5 degrees.   We're looking for that time/temp average.  Again, check your incubator manufacturer's instructions.  They may be different.   

Humidity level during incubator setup and incubation:  Follow the manufacturer's instructions for the use of your particular incubator.  That being said, 50-55% humidity is what we're shooting for.  I like to keep it easy to use so I picked up an $8 hygrometer from a pet store, in the reptile section.  It's small, inexpensive, and does what I want it to!  This hygrometer, placed in the incubator, lets me know when to add water to the trough.  I can't see the water level looking thru that plastic cover.  I can see the dial on the hygrometer without even using a flashlight so that reduces the number of times that I must open the lid to my incubator to check my water level. 

Placing the eggs in the incubator:  Place the pointy end down and mark the day on the calendar!  I use an egg turner to store my eggs in, so, when the incubator is ready I just place the turner in the incubator already preloaded with 120 eggs!  If a turner isn't used then carefully place the eggs in your incubator being careful not to overcrowd the eggs.  Let them lay naturally on the floor of the incubator.  After the eggs are in the incubator I place the lid back on the incubator ensuring that the power cord for the turner runs thru the slot on the lid.  I set my egg turner in the incubator with the motor in the front right hand corner to give me that little extra space to add water to the trough at later times.  Hovabator owners will understand, others may not.

Incubating the eggs:  We've got the eggs in the incubator, the temperature is in the 99.5-100 degree range and the humidity is in the 50-55% range, what next?  For those with turners there is a lot less work!  If you you don't have a turner, don't fret.  You must turn your eggs a minnimum of 3 times per day.  More times is better but try to do it an odd number of times each day so that the longer periods of not being turned, while you're sleeping or at work, are alternated every other day.  Try to turn your eggs as quickly as possible to shorten the length of time that the incubator lid is open.  We don't want to cool those eggs down any more than we have to.  Some reccomend marking each side of the egg so you know that the egg has been turned.  Here's a trick I learned with pheasant eggs that worked real well.  Buy an inexpensive "pleated" air filter for a forced air heating or cooling system.  Cut the cardboard off of it and pull it open like an accordian until the valleys are wide enough for your eggs.  Cut that filter down to size so it fits in your incubator, also cut out a slot so you can add water to your trough later.  Set your eggs in the rows giving a little bit of space between each egg.  So now, almost like dominoes you can turn your eggs rapidly with out marking each side and it goes real quick!  The pointy end of the egg stays put, the big end gets moved forward during one turning and the next turning you push it back.  I would write a date on the eggs so I would know when to stop turning.  I was always adding more pheasant eggs!  Yeah!  In addition to turning the eggs I like to look my incubator over a few times a day to ensure the temperature is correct, make as few temperature adjustments as possible.  I ensure my humidity is correct and I verify the egg turner is still operating by noting the position each time I look.  I open the incubator only out of necessity, adding water to the trough.  After 10-12 days you can candle your eggs, I don't bother any more because it subjects your eggs to one more interuption and it's only a few days till I will know the results anyway.  If you insist on candling, if you have 120 eggs, just do a sampling, not all of them, it'll take too long and may cause defects in your chicks if it doesn't lower your hatch rate.

Three days before your expected hatch date:  Stop turning your eggs after a full 14 days of turning them in the incubator!  If they are in a turner, it's time to remove them from the turner and place them on the floor of the incubator.  Add water to the extra trough so the humidity will be higher for the hatching quail.  If the humidity isn't higher the egg shells inner membrane drys out and shrinks, makes it harder for the chicks to move.  You might have a couple hatch right after removing them from the turner, a couple days early for sure.  This is normal, happens to me every time.  Leave those chicks in the incubator for 18-24 hours then remove them from the incubator quickly.  Your main hatch will occur later, 17-18 days total in the incubator. 

Day of the hatch:  On the 17th or 18th day your eggs will begin to hatch.  Mine usually hatch in the evening of the 17th day.  I set my eggs in the evening, that might have something to do with it.  Anyway, once the hatch begins don't open the incubator for 24 hours!  That was so tough for me to do.  I have to fight the urge every time to not take the chicks out of the incubator when I see that they are dry.  The main thing here is that we do not want to lose that temperature or the humidity during the main hatch.  You master that urge and you will have better hatches.  After 24 hours, take our furry little chicks out of the incubator and place them in the already preheated brooder, 95 degrees directly under the light and not much cooler than 85 degrees in the corners furthest away from the heat source.

Hatching Coturnix Quail Eggs conclusion:  We did our research, set up our incubator, bought our eggs(hopefully from MarkFromSea), incubated them and hatched them.  We've done a good job and accomplished bringing to fruition the life that is, Coturnix Quail!  Woo Hoo!  If you appreciate what I wrote, have some suggestions, or would like to purchase my coturnix quail eggs, please email me thru ebay so I can put some eggs up for auction in the quantity that you desire.  Thank You.