Which quail to raise

[jchiar]

do not waste your money buying eggs on ebay have had very few if any hatch

I've had both good and bad luck buying eggs on Ebay. Just like anywhere, some sellers are not as good as others. Please don't  knock everyone on Ebay just because you've had a few bad experiences.

i spent about $1000 on eggs on ebay last year from all over the country and all types of birds if i had 50 birds hatch it was a lot  meanwhile my own   eggs hatch at about 95%  so i have good reason to be pissed  and eggbid is not much better

[magnumhntr]

Just a question here, as I'm involved in a discussion with some other people about the wide range of hatch success with people buying and hatching mailed eggs. I, and a lot of other people are thinking one of the biggest problems is the xray machines at the post office. Are you located in or around a major city Jchiar? I'm wondering if your mail exchange is running them through the xray machine, and has it up too high, too long, etc. I'm considering trying a few shipments through either UPS or FEDEX to try and see if they're any better. Anyone have any experience with these two carriers?

Jchiar, that is I terrible hatch rate, and I too would be VERY upset. You might try calling your USPS exchange and see if they're running a xray machine, radiation machine, etc. I wasn't trying to hammer you, I just don't want people thinking your terrible success rate is the norm. I definitly think there is something happening at your exchange to cause that bad of a hatch rate.

[dobelover]

I also think its has something to do with how ruff they are handled.  Some post office may be more ruff then others I know mine is they cram packages in my box that shouldn't fit

[Babs_MN]

I think, beyond type of mailing service one should also consider the level of terrorist alert. They seem to X-ray a lot more and more often during times of high alert, particulary for areas near high risk centers.
One lady on the west coast bought eggs last year around 9/11 and when they hatched, the few that did, could only be described as "mutants". 
We have had really good luck with priority mail with delivery confirmation. (knock on wood) Myself I'm not so sure I would trust UPS or FedEx to properly handle fertile eggs, when they can't handle something as basic as insulin without cooking or freezing it.
Babs

Just a question here, as I'm involved in a discussion with some other people about the wide range of hatch success with people buying and hatching mailed eggs. I, and a lot of other people are thinking one of the biggest problems is the xray machines at the post office. I'm wondering if your mail exchange is running them through the xray machine, and has it up too high, too long, etc.

[quailer370]

i dunno about this because my eggs off ebay had a poor hatch rate but that was because of infertile eggs. i think if youre buying on ebay you have to wish for a little luck because either youll get lots of infertiles or lots of rough handling, and maybe both and hopefully neither. it helps if you know the seller's reputation, so to speak. people use ebay because its convenient and also cheaper in some cases. but there are a lot more cases that can be attributed to rough handling even if youre not shipping from an ebay seller. perhaps we could rally and petition fedex and ups to give a class to their employees on how to handle such packages. somehow i dont think theyre that aware of the problems it causes...

-quailer

[jchiar]

a majority of my eggs were infertile  just a bunch of scammers would not take eggs off the internet if they were given to me for free  and you can check my purchases from last year to this year this year . have not even gone on ebay once  been on eggbid a couple of times and bought nothing

[woodenegg]

I'm cautious about claiming infertility because of all that can and does happen in shipping to damage and kill the embryo.  When the eggs are candled or opened and there is no development, it does not mean the eggs were infertile.  The only way to determine that is by microscopic examination of the embryo.  I have my eggs shipped to my office rather than my home since getting them to the house goes through two more post offices and takes at least a day longer and a 50 mile trip in the back of a pickup through the Alaskan winter.  I've found the reduction in handling and time gives me better results.  If they are $$$expensive eggs that I really care about, I will pay the added cost of express mail and always have an increase in hatching.  Most of the time it doesn't make money sense, but for those times it does, it is worth it.  I don't have any options to get eggs except through the mail unless they are laid by my hens so I always just figure on 40-50% hatch.  90% of the eggs I have hatched have been from Ebay and Eggbid.  Sometimes I do a lot better, occasionally I do worse, but I'm not convinced it is infertile eggs, most people I have dealt with seem to be working to get me the best they have.  Our apologies to dobelover, we have digressed way off the subject.

[jk]

when you order eggs through the mail you need to let them set for like 2 days before putting them in the incubator to let the yolk settle because it has been moving around the whole time it was being shipped. That might be your problem.

[Babs_MN]

Oh JK, you don't need to let your eggs set 2 full days.  If they take three in the mail, and you let them sit for 2, your eggs are now 5 days old. If you bought eggs from a small hobby breeder and they took 2 or three days to collect eggs, they are now 7 - 8 days old by the time you set them. Six to 8 hours of rest is really all the more they need.

I hope that helps your hatching endeavors in the future. :)

Babs
Country Egg

[tanaro2]

Being new to this I don't know what is considered a good hatch rate when ordering thorugh the mail.  I ordered 250 Jumbo Brown Coturnix eggs from Lake Cumberland Gamebirds.  I  ordered on a Thursday since the lady told me to get my order in by then so they can ship the following Monday.   Well two weeks later, no eggs.  When I called them they seemed a little unorganized as to why my order hasn't been shipped.  The kicker is I  live 60 miles away from thier hatchery.  I had a friend of mine incubate the eggs since he has a Sportsman, and has been hatching eggs for years.  265 eggs arrived with only 2 cracked.  However, only 167 hatched.  I don't know if that is good, bad, or average for shipped eggs.  Not to mention I live in the same state.  My birds are 16 days old and average about 4.3 ounces.  Some are smaller at about 3.8   I'm really hoping these quail get to the size that was advertised.  They say these birds get to 16 oz or better.  The picture they showed of a normal Pharoah compared to the Jumbo brown were drastic.  The Jumbo's looked 2-3 times the size of a full grown Pharoah.  I just hope this is the case although the Jumbo's didn't cost no more than the normal Pharoahs (XLD's I blelieve there called or something like that)  I plan on taking the biggest birds for breeders.  A quick question while I'm at it......... How many hens should I have and males to produce about 120 eggs in 5 days.  Plus, I think the ratio is 1-3/1-4.  I'm assuming I can put this entire ratio in one large pen, is this correct? I'm assuming this is called colony breeding which is ok for Coturnix from what I've read.

[aKirA]

well a good hatch rate on shipped eggs i would say is around 50%+ Closer you live should fair better though. Or can speculate, some are infertale.

sorry I can't help with the ratio since im on a small scale. but a hen will lay around an egg a day. sometimes two.

the XLD's get around ~16oz.

for consumption, I notice that the Coturnix(or varients) has a stench that Im not tooo fond of. Have to fry to kill the stench.

[tanaro2]

Goo.  Stench does not sound good.  Really didn't plan on eating the Coturnix though.  How fast can a bobwhite be ready for the table?

[aKirA]

maturity for bobs are 16weeks. however you can choose to butcher anytime sooner. I just butchered 4 at week 12 and they were tender. Although, I would say they do get little bit bigger and fatter at and after maturity.

[sp2207]

I have had great hatches from a guy in Florida  Ive have had them hatch in the upper 80's % and have ordered them off E-Bay  4 times .  and i have had only 1 time were i only got 1 egg to hatch  but thats another story. so i wouldn't say that every one is a bad guy out there    but there are a few  Id say look at there score from others   and enjoy
Scot

[magnumhntr]

a majority of my eggs were infertile  just a bunch of scammers would not take eggs off the internet if they were given to me for free  and you can check my purchases from last year to this year this year . have not even gone on ebay once  been on eggbid a couple of times and bought nothing

I will take that challenge ;-) I am offering you 25 bobwhite or 25 tennessee red eggs, free of charge, if you run them in your incubator and give %100 honest feedback. The reason I offer this is because you're right, there are a TON of scammers out there, and I'd like to prove to you that not EVERYONE is a scammer.

So what do you say ?

If you're interested, PM me your address and I'll send them in the next week or so...