Most incubators these days will allow you to hatch different breeds and my corti 25, which has proved very useful hatching chickens, states that it will incubate 50 quail eggs at a time.
The incubation period for quail is shorter that hens as 18 days, so to make sure I don't miss candling and turning off the auto turning mechanism I have made a calendar note.
Some suggest the humidity and temperature is slightly different to incubation hen eggs, but the reference books I am using require similar levels to chicken eggs. I'm currently running at 37.5 degrees c and 54% humidity well within the ranges suggested.
You can candle quail eggs at 7 days as you do with all other egg types but the markings on the eggs can make this difficult, so I use my brinsea candler rather than a torch that has worked on some of my hens eggs.
This is my first time hatching quail eggs, hopefully not the last, but having been through the process several times before with hens I am feeling relatively relaxed about the whole process.
I have had a couple of enquiries locally for quail in particular males which is a little unusual but something that will be beneficial as no doubt there will be a significant number of males hatched.
My own quail eggs have been hatching out at 60-70% of all eggs set by local hatchers. Ok but not the best hatch rate. I did have 9 females to 2 males and this ratio may have been a little high with some suggesting 1 male to 3 female. With the loss of a couple of females recently it has improved the ratio and I hope the will have a positive effect on the hatch /fertility rate.
I have recently written a piece for Homer Farmer on keeping quail, published in their September 2013 edition. Whole books tackle the subject so I'm not suggesting this will tell you everything, in fact it is just a snippet of information. But just as if you are going to keep chickens most important is to ensure you can provide the right type of continuous care and attention and to understand the commitment you are taking on, in addition talk to your neighbours about keeping them, especially if you keep the males.
Thanks for reading.
You can candle quail eggs at 7 days as you do with all other egg types but the markings on the eggs can make this difficult, so I use my brinsea candler rather than a torch that has worked on some of my hens eggs.
This is my first time hatching quail eggs, hopefully not the last, but having been through the process several times before with hens I am feeling relatively relaxed about the whole process.
I have had a couple of enquiries locally for quail in particular males which is a little unusual but something that will be beneficial as no doubt there will be a significant number of males hatched.
I have recently written a piece for Homer Farmer on keeping quail, published in their September 2013 edition. Whole books tackle the subject so I'm not suggesting this will tell you everything, in fact it is just a snippet of information. But just as if you are going to keep chickens most important is to ensure you can provide the right type of continuous care and attention and to understand the commitment you are taking on, in addition talk to your neighbours about keeping them, especially if you keep the males.Thanks for reading.
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