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Updated 03-08-08
I have put some chinese painted quail eggs in my incubator
15 to be precise, they were
given to me by someone who bought birds from me how
kind. and i also put a few more
coturnix quail eggs in i'll see how these go, due to
hatch on the 13-08 i will post again around then
I've added some small bars in the incubator because chinese
quail eggs are very small and tend to roll around
My chinese painted quails have started hatching 13-08-08
out of 15 eggs i found that only 6 were fertile and 3 of them
died, 2 died while trying to hatch i don't know why this happens,
i think it may be due to the humidity levels but on the other
hand 3 hatched successfully.
Well I've just also found out that these eggs have been
stored for about 3 weeks so i was lucky to get any at all normally
they can be stored up to 7-10 days before they start going bad
the pictures are a bit reddish due to the bulbs in my
brooder.
My Incubators
my incubators are a 9mm plywood constructed box built
for good insulation with a viewing panel made from perspex on
the lid, It contains one metal grid where i set the eggs on, i
normally turn the eggs by hand about 4 times a day, ( i put the
letters A and B on the eggs so i know which way around I've turned
them). I have 2 water pots which i keep filled with water this
maintains a good humidity level.
On day 14 i stop turning my eggs and i just keep misting
them with a fine water spray bottle about 3-4 times a day (body
temperature water not cold) i believe this increases humidity
levels in the last few days to help with the chicks hatching.
The heat source comes from a standard 60W household bulb
which in turn is circulated around using a 12V fan all installed
in the incubator, This fan has an on and off switch for individual
requirements, When i don't use the fan the temperature can increase
by about 10 degrees so it will need heat adjustment, the bulb
heat can be adjusted by using a rotary adjusting knob similar
to a dimmer switch
and it maintains a very good constant temperature in
a constant temeratured room, I've had fluctuations between 98
and 104 degrees and this has not yet caused me any problems.
It does cost time and money to make these but when you
consider the achievement you get when watching a chick hatch then
there's no comparison, considering you could buy a top brand for
well over £100-£150.
I am working on a semi auto incubator which involves
turning all the eggs at once by hand and ultimately a totally
automatic incubator in which if any one has ideas on this i would
be glad to hear from them .......... 
. 
My Japanese (coturnix) quails have started
hatching.
I'm so chuffed to bits at the moment. I
gathered nine eggs about 17-18 days ago just shortly after my
male quail died and put them into my newly home made incubator.
R.I.P .........Charles prince of quails (
Diana is still alive and now lonely ) ,That's my kids that named
them.
And so far 2 have hatched out looks like another maybe on its
way but ill be a sleep by then.
 The
images look sort of reddish because the heat
bulbs are red it stops the glare in there eyes from bright lights.
I use a fish tank as a brooder its better than a box, insulated
and as a good lid i'll post more pic's of the tank shortly.
i'll keep you posted:
Well unfortunately the third chick didn't hatch properly and
died in the shell, i thought it was nearly out but wasn't meant
to be the problem is ,if you help it out you could have a deformed
chick on your hands so i let nature do it's own business.
anyway here's my brooder tank.>>
I had 2 hatch out of 9 eggs which was a good result, but could
have been better. In the second picture above the chick's are
approaching one week old now and very lively and healthy.
Update on my quail chicks well its been nearly 2 weeks now and
one of them has started to develop adult feathers and it looks
female i think but i'll have to wait to make sure.
The one on the left is developing adult plumage.
New update. unfortunately the little one on the right didn't
make it and died overnight at about 3-4 weeks old but the bigger
one is doing very well and is now outside in my aviary enjoying
life. It is with it's mother now but i don't think it knows that.
I believe now that you really need fresh eggs up to several days
old for the most success.
I was thinking of buying some from ebay but as always this can
be a gamble, Once i get a good stock of my own then eggs shouldn't
be a problem.
03-07-08 My baby quail is doing fine it's now 2 months old and
looks fully grown and it is a male.
back to quails page 1 >>>
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