That Quail Place Forum

Raising Gamebirds => Brooding and Raising => Topic started by: princessnic on February 05, 2010, 02:23:27 PM

Title: Texas A&M Quail Hatching
Post by: princessnic on February 05, 2010, 02:23:27 PM
Can someone help.  We are trying to raise Texas A&M quail.  Does anyone know how long after you place the egg in the incubator before they hatch?  And do you leave the egg in the incubator the entire time - or take out after a certain period and place under heat lamp?  We have had approx. 25 eggs since we have had our quail.  8 of them last year didn't hatch but they had embryos in when we opened.  Please tell me what we are doing wrong.  Thanks
Title: Re: Texas A&M Quail Hatching
Post by: TENNESSERED on February 05, 2010, 10:42:29 PM
Texas A & M chicks hatch out 17 to 19 days after they are set.  I would not recomend using a heat lamp to hatch them out instead of an incubator, because you will lower the humidity just at the time when you want to actually increase it.  I wished you would have said what type of incubator you are using.  If it is a simple still-air incubator (no fan), then the temperature should be about 101 degrees F. at the top of the eggs.  Humidity should be about 54% to 58% from day 1 through day 14.  If you are hand turning the eggs do so at least 3 times a day up through day 14.  the last 3 to 4 days stop turning and leave eggs in the incubator.  Some reduce the temperature by about a degree.  Also, increase the humidity so that chicks don't get stuck in the shell while hatching.  In small incubators you can do this by placing a couple of jar lids with water in the bottom of the incubator.
   If you are using a more expensive incubator with a fan installed then lower the temperature to 99.5 to 100 degrees F.   Keep the humidity the same as in the still-air incubator.  If your incubator has an egg turner installed it it, stop using it after day 14.  I've hatched out A & M's for many years and usually my hatch out rate is around 80% to 85%.  From talking to others this seems to be pretty normal.  Just keep trying you'll get the hang of it.

Good luck!
Title: Re: Texas A&M Quail Hatching
Post by: princessnic on February 06, 2010, 04:39:02 PM
I have an antique incubator that holds 3000 eggs.  We keep the temp at about 99.6 degrees F and the humidity at approx 65% (the guy we purchased the incubator from gave us the information for the temp and humidity - but not sure if that was for quail or pheasant).  I also have someone else hatching out of a still air incubator - but he has had no luck either.  How many eggs does the female leg that are not fertile?  The other person ended up cracking open 2 that should have hatched by now - and they both had yokes.  When you hold a flashlight up to the egg - you can't see anything.  Does that work for quail eggs like peacock eggs and pheasant eggs (he read that somewhere)?
Title: Re: Texas A&M Quail Hatching
Post by: TENNESSERED on February 06, 2010, 11:12:37 PM
Hi princessnic,
    As far as your incubator goes some olders ones are great, others don't come close to what more modern ones will do.  The information you got from the person was in part correct 99.6 degrees F.  is good if the incubator is a forced-air incubator (one with a fan in it to circulate the air).  The humidity setting he told you to use is too high for either quail or pheasant eggs.  I would lower that to around 52% to 54% during incubation and raise it to 60% or a little more during the hatch, the last three to four days of the setting.
    As far as fertility of the eggs goes, a number of factors can effect that.
     1.  The ratio of males/females  I use 1 male to 3 females
     2.  The time of year and were you keep your quail
     3.   The amount of light is very important and also to a lesser degree the temperature the quail are kept     
           at.
 I only keep small flocks of Texas A & M's now, and they are in an outdoor pen with no artifical lighting.  So, they quit laying around the first of November.  Last summer when I would set a group of 100 eggs in the incubator, better than 95% would be fertile.  If your eggs are infertile, then you may need more males, or you may have to wait for warmer weather and more sunlight.  Most quail need to have 13 or more hours a day of light to keep laying.
    It is easy to candle their eggs.  What you need is a very powerful small flashlight.  I use a small l.e.d. light.  after about day 7 I pull out the trays from the incubator hold the pencil led light to the top of the egg.  If the egg is infertile, the egg will glow slightly green (in a dark room).  If the egg is developing, it will be pretty dark, with maybe some blood vessels showing.
Keep trying you'll get right with a little practice. Then you'll have little yellow chicks running all over the place!
Title: Re: Texas A&M Quail Hatching
Post by: C. Hinckley on June 09, 2013, 05:31:28 PM
I have an antique incubator that holds 3000 eggs.  We keep the temp at about 99.6 degrees F and the humidity at approx 65% (the guy we purchased the incubator from gave us the information for the temp and humidity - but not sure if that was for quail or pheasant).  I also have someone else hatching out of a still air incubator - but he has had no luck either.  How many eggs does the female leg that are not fertile?  The other person ended up cracking open 2 that should have hatched by now - and they both had yokes.  When you hold a flashlight (http://www.robustbuy.com/led-lighting-gadgets-led-flashlights-c-505_1027_730.html) up to the egg - you can't see anything.  Does that work for quail eggs like peacock eggs and pheasant eggs (he read that somewhere)?

Well i don't know but think it can be that. I don't think flashlight has to do anything with the topic.
Title: Re: Texas A&M Quail Hatching
Post by: Little Bear Game Farm on June 10, 2013, 01:31:25 PM
I think the Princess may have given up by now, been a few years  :grin:

 s016 to the forum!