incubation of quail eggs by a Silkie

[pgbirdman]

I have a Silkie sitting on 10 Coturnix eggs now, I have been candling them every other night to check for breaks or cracks, none so far.  My question is this: should I take them away from the silkie after they hatch or will she rear them as her own?

[stewaw]

I'll offer my first experience as one example.  I moved some eggs that were about to hatch from the incubator to a sitting banty hen. My thought was that I would allow her to raise them and they would imprint on the yard and stick around.  As soon as they hatched I discovered a MAJOR difference in the way quail chicks are raised as opposed to chickens.  At the time I could just smack my forehead and go "duh...".  When chickens hatch and are faced with danger, they run to the hen for protection/comfort. When quail chicks are faced with danger they scatter (as soon as I saw it the phrase "scatter like a covey of quail" came to mind followed by the smack to the forehead). With quail, this is a survival instinct. If a predator attacks fewer of their number will be caught this way.  The confusion came from the mother hen who COULD NOT understand this behavior. She went nuts trying to protect/cover all of these chicks.  I quickly decided to pull all of the chicks except two that seemed to stick by her rather than run and let her try to raise them.  Worked out well and they stayed around the house for several months and then disappeared.

Good luck,
David

[pgbirdman]

Thank you for your reply Stewaw, I candled again and 3 have stopped growing, so I'm down to 7 now.  I guess I'll just "play it by ear" and see what happens when they hatch.  Do you think maybe being in a pen with no other birds/predators might help...chicks due on the 29th of this month.

[stewaw]

I've always taken the approach of nothing ventured, nothing gained.  I don't know if I would try it with very expensive eggs, but for something to tinker with go for it! I tend to question many of the "experts" and end up trying things that the literature says won't work.  Most time I find out the authors were correct but with every failure I don't dwell on what didn't work and focus on what did. About the closest thing to a certainty in wildlife is that there aren't any. Give it a shot and watch,learn,modify,try it again with what you have learned.

Good luck and enjoy this hobby!!
David

[pgbirdman]

Well... my eggs have not hatched yet and they were due to hatch today.  Martha (the Silkie) is sitting relentlessly.  I was wondering if anyone knows what makes the hen stop turning the eggs in last few days?  Is it the amount of time sat?  Or does the hen somehow "feel" a differance in the eggs?  I guess my point is that I was thinking maybe she is still turning them since chicken eggs take 21 days and should have stopped as Coturnix only take 17-18 days??  Any thoughts??  Still waiting for my chicks to hatch!!

[stewaw]

While it is certainly preferred to stop turning eggs a few days before hatching is due, that is not an absolute.  To demonstrate I offer the folowing examples; How many folks on this board have had eggs begin hatching in the turner?  Also, once the hatch begins if you've ever sat "glued" to that little plastic window watching, have you noticed how much that first chick bangs the remaining eggs around in the incubator?  Some of those first born will act like mini-bulldozers and scatter the eggs all over the incubator.  In both instances the eggs were moved right up until and during hatching and it didn't seem to matter to the remaining hatchlings. They continued to do what nature programmed them to do (perhaps because they haven't had time to read the manual on the part about don't move the egg prior to hatching.  If they were scheduled to hatch and were fully developed your temp might have been just a bit low and they are late. My prediction- You probably will wake up to a bunch of chicks and a clucking silkie.

Enjoy this hobby and watch your checkbook....You'll be building more pens in no time.
David

[pgbirdman]

Thanks for your thoughts David, it makes sense to me.  Between you and another website (feathersite.com) I have figured out my mistake.  You mentioned low temp.  The article on feathersite.com said if you want to use a bantam to incubate quail eggs you must only put the same species of eggs under the hen.  Different sized eggs can cause temperature fluctuations underneath the hen.   BINGO!!  I put 4 Americauna eggs under her when I set the eggs.  My thinking was that if she knew the Quail eggs were different, maybe the Americauna eggs would "keep her interested".  Like you said David, its all trying and learning.  I should never have put those Americana eggs under her, the large difference in egg size has caused the Quail eggs to always be slightly cooler than the bantam eggs.  So my chicks are developing at a slower rate.  This was confirmed for me last night when I candled to see what was going on.  I have two peeping in their shells and pecking.  So their just late!!  I ran out this AM expecting to see a chick and there is no change.  Still in the shell peeping and has not even "pipped" yet.  From what I've read here in the forum, theses little guys take their sweet time.  So I will be patient and wait...

~Chris~

[birdguychris]

I too have a bantam hen that is setting. She is due to hatch out ten pheasant eggs in a week. I am wondering if I take the eggs and hatch them out myself, how soon will she try to hatch another clutch. Also a word of advise to pgbirdman- I see you mention candling them alot. Though it won't hurt one or two times, more than once is unnessesary, especially with a hen. I don't even candle the eggs under my hens because she can't hatch any extras if I find some infertile. And also, candling so late in incubation could be bad. you said they were pipping or close to it while you were candling them! Keep them under the hen and leave them alone the last few days, so they stay humid under the hen and can hatch easier.

[duck nutt]

i had a guy tell em when he was a kid(many many moons ago) he'd use his hens to hatch out his pheasants...he said the pheasants would follow the hens around the yard and act like chickens...said he didn't even have to keep them in a pen..

[stewaw]

I allowed a banty hen to set six Red Golden pheasant eggs this season. All six hatched out but since these are a little costly (ordered eggs from four different sources in 2003 and would up with only one female and two males).....I decided to hedge my bet a little and took three of them and placed them in the brooder and let her keep three.  I have them in a small (8x10 ft) pen away from everything else.  I've noticed that the chicks scatter when I enter much like my experience with the quail but for the most part, they seem to respond well to her clucks and come to her when she has found something to eat.  They do seem quite independent as would be expected for a ground nesting bird and will be feeding some distance away from her as opposed to chickens who at five days old seem to stick pretty close to mom.  As I said, these chicks were COSTLY and I don't think I'll turn any out into the yard just yet.

David

[pgbirdman]

Hey All!!
It finally happened, this morning I went out to the coop and 4 Quail had hatched.  So there are three eggs left to hatch.  They were supposed to hatch last Friday (17 days) so they are 6 days overdue.  My goodness are they ever small!!  I quikly removed the "tuna" cans with food and water and I am using plastic bottle caps now.  Thanks to all for your comments and help with this one!  Its so silly...I feel like a new Dad...I want to show off my babies!!  I am also giving them "Canary gravel" is this needed??  Some say its a must and others say don't???  Oh, I did have to take them away from the mother, for now as they scatter and she gets off the remaining eggs to get them, so until the other eggs hatch I'm keeping them inside under a lamp.

[stewaw]

Congrats on the hatch!  There isn't any need to feed them gravel.  The purpose for gravel is to assist in breaking up grains/seeds to aid in digestion.  Just feed them crumbles of whatever brand you are planning to use.  Stick with the higher protien content (mine is 28%). If you notice the crumbles are too large overall and your chicks seem to be having trouble swallowing them, many folks on the board have had good success grinding the food particles smaller.  The crumbles I use are a local blend and range from near powder to almost pellet size.

Congrats again,
David

[pgbirdman]

Well... the Americauna eggs have all hatched  and the hen has  given up on the others, I've broken them to find under developed rotting chicks.  So 4 Quail hatched and one died (was very small).  So we have 3 Quail babies and thats all she wrote!!   :lol:

[pgbirdman]

I'm going to try this again, in the future.  However I will put ONLY quail eggs under Martha (the Silkie).  I think that would give a better hatch rate than I had this time

[birdinwithblue]

a buddy of mine put 5 quail eggs with the silkie eggs and they all hatched . than they all died . the quail hatched befor the chickens . i'd say they got smashed .  :roll: