arrg!

[squirrelhunter]

AH! so I went out to winterize my birds today ( bobwhite quail). and I was picking up a nesting box, when I found a half dozen eggs. I figured they were a few weeks old or something, since these were the first eggs I'd seen since august. well, I picked them up, and they were warm.
I brought them in the house, not really suspecting anything, when I noticed an egg was pipped. I opened it up, not suspecting that there would be a live chick inside, but sure enough out popped one that was probably gonna hatch later today. Then I noticed some of teh other eggs were the same way, so I frantically dug my incubator out of storage and set them. this is strange because I was trying to get the dumb birds to set on their eggs all summer long, and then they finally do it in the fall and don't tell me about it!

[Fivehollers]

darn birds, just like kids 

[Dawn]

What type of nesting box do you use?    I used several different ones this season, but my Bobwhite still didn't set on their own eggs.  They started to a few times, but then abandoned them after a few days.  I think the pigeons were bothering them.

Were  your Bobwhite all by themselves...or with other birds?

Dawn

[stewaw]

After several years of trying I FINALLY got a bobwhite hen to completely set a nest.  I've had several starts and then abandon.  This time she seemed pretty determined so I removed all the other birds from that pen except her and a male.  She hatched one chick from four eggs so I'd say her success wasn't much better than mine.  Given your situation, rather than fire up the bator I think I would have just carefully put the eggs back and let whatever hen had incubated them come back and finish the job. Obviously she was able to incubate a cycle with all the distractions of other birds and your manipulations (feeding/watering)....good hen to mark and carry over.

David