Another incubation question

[plantoneonme]

Fred I am going to thank you in advance since you have such a wealth of knowledge on the subject ;)

Can eggs be placed in the incubator at different times? The reason I ask is that I really want to try to produce some of our own meat this year and am still considering quail...mostly due to space requirements. I was looking at getting a rooster and couple hens for the purpose of raising meat birds. I would like to place the eggs into an incubator as the hens lay in order to get the most meat.

I guess this is where another question comes in...do hens continue to lay eggs if they are sitting on ones waiting to hatch? I think they do not so that is why I ask the above question.

I also hear quail do not sit on their eggs well and want better yields.

Any input is greatly appreciated. Kim

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Thanks for your questions Kim, yes, you can indeed add and remove eggs during incubation and run a cascading system.

Here are the considerations;

IF you are using an incubator with a automatic turner, eggs must stop being turned at the 18th day of incubation. This is a limiting factor.

IF you are turning them by hand, then when some eggs begin to hatch while others are only half way through incubation, you will have cleanliness issues.

Solution... run two incubators, one for incubation and the other as a hatch unit. You would add eggs to your incubation unit any time you have the eggs ready and want to start them. Eggs already well into incubation will be fine under the same temperatures and the slight temperature fluctuation while adding/removing won't be a problem. On the 18th day, simply remove eggs that are to stop turning and put them into your hatching unit. This is where they will pip, hatch and make their mess. You will also run this hatching unit with higher humidity and more ventilation.

Periodically you will want to shut down your primary incubation unit for cleaning. A temporary transfer of those eggs to the hatching unit will be fine while you clean the incubator. And, since you won't always have eggs in the hatcher, you should clean that after every hatch cycle.

Sounds complicated, but it isn't. Also, watch your calendar and put in your eggs on days when you know you will be available at the other end... for example, start them on a Friday if you have Friday's off.

So, the answer to your question... yes, you may continually add or remove eggs from your incubator.

As for quail... true, they are terrible broody birds and it is difficult to fine one that will sit on her own eggs.

Chickens, also true, the hen that is broody, does not lay eggs normally. Her body goes into economy mode and she holds onto her resources so she can generate enough heat to incubate her own eggs.

A bantam Cochin, or silky would be a good choice as a foster parent for quail egg incubation. Large standard birds are often too heavy and squish the tiny quail when they hatch. Bantams do nicely... I never knew a Silky that wouldn't brood anything you gave her.. they are weird like that! (">

I hope these are good answers for you... best of luck!

Fred

www.FredsFineFowl.com

[plantoneonme]

Thank you Fred this may be the way to go. A couple more questions if I may? If I were to get a silky will she be ok to live with the quail? Will she sit on eggs that are different ages also? Kim

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

The Silky and qual should not be raised together... the poor silky will be a wreck I'm afraid.

And when it comes to using a brood hen for hatching eggs, it's best to let her start and finish the batch she's on and then the broody cycle would be broken and she can go about teaching her chicks.

It would be too much for a hen to continue to brood one batch after another, as she would become thin and frail in the end... prone to illness and other problems due to her weakened state.

There is an emotional change which they experience and this is brought on by first, the desire to brood, then the sounds from the chicks cause her to care for the young and no longer "set"... they are very well coded to do things in a specific order for a set amount of time.

Chickens and quail have different dietary needs also, so again, rearing them together wouldn't be a good idea in the long run. Chickens are social and should be with their own kind?

Thanks for your question...

Fred

www.FredsFineFowl.com

[plantoneonme]

Thanks again for the reply Fred. I thought that the two would not be good companions but when you said they would be good brooders for quail....well I had hope. I would still like a couple chickens but can only start off with one animal and meat is more important at this stage. Someday I hope to have room for at least a couple chickens. Kim