Incubating eggs

[R Buns]

@TamiPac I have a Farm innovators model 4200 which you said you have on another thread.So many questions. So excited to finally use this! I'll try on some Bresse eggs as a trial. If I can get it working I'll start raising quail.
I'd love to know how you set it up for incubating. I've pulled it out and the turner works great. Do you let it run for a day or two closed up before adding the eggs? I'm guessing I'd better have a second thermometer and add a humidity gauge?
I've hesitated to use it because there isn't directions and I want to do right by the chicks.
Thanks for this help!

 

[TamiPac]

@TamiPac I have a Farm innovators model 4200 which you said you have on another thread.So many questions. So excited to finally use this! I'll try on some Bresse eggs as a trial. If I can get it working I'll start raising quail.
I'd love to know how you set it up for incubating. I've pulled it out and the turner works great. Do you let it run for a day or two closed up before adding the eggs? I'm guessing I'd better have a second thermometer and add a humidity gauge?
I've hesitated to use it because there isn't directions and I want to do right by the chicks.
Thanks for this help!

For the initial run I would absolutely run it for a couple of days with the thermometer to make sure you know where the temp on the incubator sits. Like I said, mine runs 1 degree cooler than the screen indicates so I upped the temp by 1 degree.
As for humidity.......
I was having issues keeping the humidity steady and ran myself into the ground trying. I did a weeks worth of research and heard so many talking about a "dry hatch". I don't add any water when I start the batch. I just leave it until lockdown and then I fill both little troughs with very warm water and just let it go. I watch the meter on the machine and it usually stays right around 75-77. I just don't stress over it. When the chicks start hatching I take off one of the red plugs on top for a little more airflow for the babies. I found removing both red plugs made the humidity go too low. I don't have to add more water before the hatch is done. I have some quail eggs going on lockdown today. I also add a piece of the rubberish shelf liner with holes in it to cover the plastic mesh because it's too slick for little feet to get any traction and I was having issues with splay leg. I soak the shelf liner in soapy water to clean it in between hatches.

I know it was mentioned that condensation can be detrimental if it drips on the eggs but I haven't had any problems with it. If you are worried you can keep the eggs at the other end away from the condensation. I find the condensation is more likely towards the bottom of the screen on mine.

I have done both chicken and quail in this and it's been wonderful. I also have a 360 but it sits in the closet unused. I did not have good luck with it.

Keep it out of sunlight and any direct breeze and you should be fine. If it get too cold you can always wrap a towel around it to stabalize temps. I usually throw the shelf liner over the top while the eggs are incubating just to keep it on the dark side.

I don't use the day timer on it because I put the dates in my calendar and get notifications.

I have been running mine for a couple of years and haven't had to make any temp changes since the initial set up.

I do not run it ahead of a hatch after the initial run I did. I put the eggs in and turn it on.

 

[R Buns]

This is so incredibly helpful! I am going to set mine up and put some eggs in it asap. I think my concern has been keeping the humidity correct the entire incubation time. Now I am not nearly as worried. In one post you've given me more information on this unit than I've ever been able to get in probably 10 years of it sitting in the box. I have an older version of yours it looks like. Mine doesn't have the instructions on it or anything digital. Can't wait to get this thing going finally! Will be keeping an eye out for quail rails too. Thank you so much!

 

[TamiPac]

This is so incredibly helpful! I am going to set mine up and put some eggs in it asap. I think my concern has been keeping the humidity correct the entire incubation time. Now I am not nearly as worried. In one post you've given me more information on this unit than I've ever been able to get in probably 10 years of it sitting in the box. I have an older version of yours it looks like. Mine doesn't have the instructions on it or anything digital. Can't wait to get this thing going finally! Will be keeping an eye out for quail rails too. Thank you so much!

https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovat...7d-803a-38f2ed786b9c&pd_rd_i=B007E5H4VC&psc=1

 

[TamiPac]

This is so incredibly helpful! I am going to set mine up and put some eggs in it asap. I think my concern has been keeping the humidity correct the entire incubation time. Now I am not nearly as worried. In one post you've given me more information on this unit than I've ever been able to get in probably 10 years of it sitting in the box. I have an older version of yours it looks like. Mine doesn't have the instructions on it or anything digital. Can't wait to get this thing going finally! Will be keeping an eye out for quail rails too. Thank you so much!

You've got this! It's incredibly simple. I like the farm innovators because the styrofoam helpa a lot keeping the temps constant. Unfortunately it also stains fast but it really doesn't matter. I spray mine down with a bleach dilution and scrub it out between hatches. I pretty much run it all spring and summer to have enough frozen ground quail in the freezer for dog food over the winter. The 360 I have was awful! It wouldn't keep a constant temp unless I wrapped it in a towel all the time. I lost a lot of eggs because of that.

The last piece of advice I should offer is this, keep the chicks in the garage not your house. Quail dander is 10X worse than chickens and I have gotten sick every time I had to keep them inside the house because of the cold in the winter. That's why I do all my hatching in the spring and summer so I can keep them in the garage after they hatch.

 

[R Buns]

https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Innovat...7d-803a-38f2ed786b9c&pd_rd_i=B007E5H4VC&psc=1

I saw this one earlier today but wasn't sure it would fit mine. Thanks!! Will be getting it ordered

 

[R Buns]

You've got this! It's incredibly simple. I like the farm innovators because the styrofoam helpa a lot keeping the temps constant. Unfortunately it also stains fast but it really doesn't matter. I spray mine down with a bleach dilution and scrub it out between hatches. I pretty much run it all spring and summer to have enough frozen ground quail in the freezer for dog food over the winter. The 360 I have was awful! It wouldn't keep a constant temp unless I wrapped it in a towel all the time. I lost a lot of eggs because of that.

The last piece of advice I should offer is this, keep the chicks in the garage not your house. Quail dander is 10X worse than chickens and I have gotten sick every time I had to keep them inside the house because of the cold in the winter. That's why I do all my hatching in the spring and summer so I can keep them in the garage after they hatch.

That was why I jumped on it when it was on clearance. They were closing the store so it wasn't because it was bad or anything. Although when I got it there didn't seem to be a lot of fancier options out there. You are my hero! That's exactly what were are wanting to do except some will be fed whole. The 360 was what I've been eyeing for quite a while because people on a chicken forum swear by it but the recent reviews aren't good so I've held off. Apparently because you were going to save the day and help me use the incubator I already own.
OH!!!! Very good tidbit of information right there! Then I would most likely get sick from it also. That makes a lot of sense. I'll have to address that. Find a new place in one of the barns to hatch/raise them. My hero yet again! I usually do all our chickens in the spring and summer to last also. Maybe I'll get it set up and run some chicken eggs to try it out then wait till next spring to start hatching quail. Maybe by then I'll have it figured out anyways.
Gosh thank you so much for all this help/information. Hope someday I can repay the help.

 

[TamiPac]

That was why I jumped on it when it was on clearance. They were closing the store so it wasn't because it was bad or anything. Although when I got it there didn't seem to be a lot of fancier options out there. You are my hero! That's exactly what were are wanting to do except some will be fed whole. The 360 was what I've been eyeing for quite a while because people on a chicken forum swear by it but the recent reviews aren't good so I've held off. Apparently because you were going to save the day and help me use the incubator I already own.
OH!!!! Very good tidbit of information right there! Then I would most likely get sick from it also. That makes a lot of sense. I'll have to address that. Find a new place in one of the barns to hatch/raise them. My hero yet again! I usually do all our chickens in the spring and summer to last also. Maybe I'll get it set up and run some chicken eggs to try it out then wait till next spring to start hatching quail. Maybe by then I'll have it figured out anyways.
Gosh thank you so much for all this help/information. Hope someday I can repay the help.

I hatch inside the house and brood in the garage. My brooder set up is not ideal to maintain heat. It's a rubbermaid tote that we have added 1/4" x 1/4" wire to the bottom of and put puppy pads underneath to catch the poo. For the first week I put down blue shop towels on the wire until their feet are big enough for the wire.

I am trying to figure out exactly what I want to build for a more permanent brooder with solid sides of wood to help maintain heat but I worry that in the summer in SE Texas I might cook them in a more solid structure.

I cut off the wings and take out the lower intestines and grind the whole bird head and all. I also grind their eggs whole and add it to the dog food. My dog food is 5 lbs ground rabbit (front paws and ankles w/bones and organs) 5 lbs whole ground quail, roughly 60 ground quail egg w/shells, 15 lbs 70/30 ground beef, 2c ground flax seed and 3 cans organic pumpkin. I would love to use the ears and head from the rabbits but they jam up my grinder. Also, I dispatch with a pellet pistol and am worried about the pellet getting fed to the dogs. I also find if I add the quail wings the dogs don't care for the food. Possibly too many feathers. But, my dogs are small so maybe a larger dog wouldn't mind. I put my quail eggs in a bowl of water in the sink to make sure they're all good then put them through my Blendtec and freeze them in a ziplock to have over the winter for the food. My dogs all follow me every day to collect the quail eggs hoping there is a cracked one they will get thrown.

I really hope you're not irritated with me sharing all this. I did because I wish someone had shared with me when I got started instead of having to figure everything out with no starting point. We're all going to figure out what's best for our individual case but a starting point or idea would have been nice to have.

 

[dlynn]

I too have lot

That was why I jumped on it when it was on clearance. They were closing the store so it wasn't because it was bad or anything. Although when I got it there didn't seem to be a lot of fancier options out there. You are my hero! That's exactly what were are wanting to do except some will be fed whole. The 360 was what I've been eyeing for quite a while because people on a chicken forum swear by it but the recent reviews aren't good so I've held off. Apparently because you were going to save the day and help me use the incubator I already own.
OH!!!! Very good tidbit of information right there! Then I would most likely get sick from it also. That makes a lot of sense. I'll have to address that. Find a new place in one of the barns to hatch/raise them. My hero yet again! I usually do all our chickens in the spring and summer to last also. Maybe I'll get it set up and run some chicken eggs to try it out then wait till next spring to start hatching quail. Maybe by then I'll have it figured out anyways.
Gosh thank you so much for all this help/information. Hope someday I can repay the help.

That was why I jumped on it when it was on clearance. They were closing the store so it wasn't because it was bad or anything. Although when I got it there didn't seem to be a lot of fancier options out there. You are my hero! That's exactly what were are wanting to do except some will be fed whole. The 360 was what I've been eyeing for quite a while because people on a chicken forum swear by it but the recent reviews aren't good so I've held off. Apparently because you were going to save the day and help me use the incubator I already own.
OH!!!! Very good tidbit of information right there! Then I would most likely get sick from it also. That makes a lot of sense. I'll have to address that. Find a new place in one of the barns to hatch/raise them. My hero yet again! I usually do all our chickens in the spring and summer to last also. Maybe I'll get it set up and run some chicken eggs to try it out then wait till next spring to start hatching quail. Maybe by then I'll have it figured out anyways.
Gosh thank you so much for all this help/information. Hope someday I can repay the help.

I too have lots of allergies. I find the new hatches aren't bad. We use a fish tank for the first week. ( Hubby insists on putting them on the kitchen table) Then they go in a brooder built hanging on the aviary wall. A plate heater, keeps them warm enough even in north woods winter and the Xtra heat benefits the aviary. They and the covey can see each other. When 1/2 size of adults they get integrated. I harvest some older adults then. The newbies are small enough to not be seen as competition and have been accepted.this was suggested by a chicken keeper and has worked well

 

[Sagebrush]

I honestly hadn't thought of using an old fish tank for the first couple weeks. Great to know as I have 2 sitting in my shed that I can use.

 

[R Buns]

I hatch inside the house and brood in the garage. My brooder set up is not ideal to maintain heat. It's a rubbermaid tote that we have added 1/4" x 1/4" wire to the bottom of and put puppy pads underneath to catch the poo. For the first week I put down blue shop towels on the wire until their feet are big enough for the wire.

I am trying to figure out exactly what I want to build for a more permanent brooder with solid sides of wood to help maintain heat but I worry that in the summer in SE Texas I might cook them in a more solid structure.

I cut off the wings and take out the lower intestines and grind the whole bird head and all. I also grind their eggs whole and add it to the dog food. My dog food is 5 lbs ground rabbit (front paws and ankles w/bones and organs) 5 lbs whole ground quail, roughly 60 ground quail egg w/shells, 15 lbs 70/30 ground beef, 2c ground flax seed and 3 cans organic pumpkin. I would love to use the ears and head from the rabbits but they jam up my grinder. Also, I dispatch with a pellet pistol and am worried about the pellet getting fed to the dogs. I also find if I add the quail wings the dogs don't care for the food. Possibly too many feathers. But, my dogs are small so maybe a larger dog wouldn't mind. I put my quail eggs in a bowl of water in the sink to make sure they're all good then put them through my Blendtec and freeze them in a ziplock to have over the winter for the food. My dogs all follow me every day to collect the quail eggs hoping there is a cracked one they will get thrown.

I really hope you're not irritated with me sharing all this. I did because I wish someone had shared with me when I got started instead of having to figure everything out with no starting point. We're all going to figure out what's best for our individual case but a starting point or idea would have been nice to have.

I've been looking a bit at all this stuff for getting set up for quail. Love knowing how people do it. Good idea on the puppy pads and shop towels.
Makes sense in the heat. I'm not very familiar with your heat but I'm assuming you have humidity to deal with also? We have heat but not really the humidity. But our plan isn't to be here much longer so we'll probably get set up here and then have to redo it all.
That's fantastic to hear how you use them. I'll be grinding or chopping them for our toothless cat but otherwise the dogs and cats will get them whole. They are accustomed to getting day old chicks (cats) and whole plucked quail from the store. Interesting on the quail wings. I've seen them for sale freeze dried for pets. Also seen the eggs freeze dried but I'll be using them fresh like you're doing. My dogs follow me to the coop also. I'm notorious for dropping eggs accidentally. They know it and "help" with cleanup.
How do you dispatch the quail? I've seem small cervical dislocators sold for them before.

 

[R Buns]

I too have lot
I too have lots of allergies. I find the new hatches aren't bad. We use a fish tank for the first week. ( Hubby insists on putting them on the kitchen table) Then they go in a brooder built hanging on the aviary wall. A plate heater, keeps them warm enough even in north woods winter and the Xtra heat benefits the aviary. They and the covey can see each other. When 1/2 size of adults they get integrated. I harvest some older adults then. The newbies are small enough to not be seen as competition and have been accepted.this was suggested by a chicken keeper and has worked wellView attachment 42869View attachment 42870

It just so happens I have a large fish tank sitting in the barn. What a great idea.
Oh that setup with the ramp and tree etc is absolutely adorable. I love that.
That's how we integrate young chickens in our coop also. Works great. Good to know it works for them also when the time comes. Thanks!

 

[Alaska Satin]

I've been looking a bit at all this stuff for getting set up for quail. Love knowing how people do it. Good idea on the puppy pads and shop towels.
Makes sense in the heat. I'm not very familiar with your heat but I'm assuming you have humidity to deal with also? We have heat but not really the humidity. But our plan isn't to be here much longer so we'll probably get set up here and then have to redo it all.
That's fantastic to hear how you use them. I'll be grinding or chopping them for our toothless cat but otherwise the dogs and cats will get them whole. They are accustomed to getting day old chicks (cats) and whole plucked quail from the store. Interesting on the quail wings. I've seen them for sale freeze dried for pets. Also seen the eggs freeze dried but I'll be using them fresh like you're doing. My dogs follow me to the coop also. I'm notorious for dropping eggs accidentally. They know it and "help" with cleanup.
How do you dispatch the quail? I've seem small cervical dislocators sold for them before.

We use a long aquarium for a brooder as well. We've found it helps the chicks get accustomed to seeing people moving around so they're quite calm (the tank is in our family room) and it keeps the dust contained. We cover it with a reptile screen cover (the chicks pop starting when they're quite small!), suspend a heat lamp over it, and usually wrap one end of the tank with aluminum foil for the first few days to retain the warmth of the heat lamp; it can be pretty chilly in our family room in the spring. We leave one end of the tank un-foiled, so the chicks can move toward or away from the warmth. Once they all hang out at the un-foiled end all the time, we take off the foil.

One habit we've found very helpful is to sieve the gamebird or chick starter crumbles. We feed the newly hatched chicks the fines, and save the larger crumbles for when they're bigger. It's cut way down on the amount of wasted feed. If you feed the crumbles straight from the bag, the tiny chicks kick out the crumbles, while the older chicks flick out or ignore the fines.

Our favorite way to eat the eggs is pickled. I hardboil them by putting cold eggs in cold water, bringing to a boil, then turning off the heat and covering them to let them finish cooking. After about 10 minutes I pour out the hot water and run cold over the eggs to cool them. Peeling them is easier if you roll them against the side of the pan while it still contains cold water to break up the shell, then grab both shell and membrane at the big end and pinch it off, opening the egg (make sure you get the membrane as well as the shell). Putting the opened egg under running water lets the water get between the membrane and the egg, which makes the egg much easier to peel. You probably already know how tough that membrane is - the key is to grab it along with the shell, and peel both at once. Once you get good at it you can actually peel it round and round in one long strip, like an apple. Then I just drop the peeled eggs in jars of pickling brine. There are numerous recipes, but honestly our favorite is just re-using the brine from our big jars of pickled jalapeno slices! Since the eggs are so small, I am sure the brine penetrates them, but just in case I always keep them in the refrigerator (but they never last long enough to worry about spoilage!).

As far as dispatch, we've found the simplest way is just to use sharp kitchen shears to take off the head. We hold the bird in one hand over a bucket and snip. It's instant and foolproof.

Quail are great!

 

[TamiPac]

I've been looking a bit at all this stuff for getting set up for quail. Love knowing how people do it. Good idea on the puppy pads and shop towels.
Makes sense in the heat. I'm not very familiar with your heat but I'm assuming you have humidity to deal with also? We have heat but not really the humidity. But our plan isn't to be here much longer so we'll probably get set up here and then have to redo it all.
That's fantastic to hear how you use them. I'll be grinding or chopping them for our toothless cat but otherwise the dogs and cats will get them whole. They are accustomed to getting day old chicks (cats) and whole plucked quail from the store. Interesting on the quail wings. I've seen them for sale freeze dried for pets. Also seen the eggs freeze dried but I'll be using them fresh like you're doing. My dogs follow me to the coop also. I'm notorious for dropping eggs accidentally. They know it and "help" with cleanup.
How do you dispatch the quail? I've seem small cervical dislocators sold for them before.

I cut the heads off. It's super quick and I'm sure they're dispatched,
We do have super high humidity but inside during the hatches they're in the living room that is air conditioned and I also run a dehumidifier several hours a day. I don't know how people survived here in the past.

 

[TamiPac]

We use a long aquarium for a brooder as well. We've found it helps the chicks get accustomed to seeing people moving around so they're quite calm (the tank is in our family room) and it keeps the dust contained. We cover it with a reptile screen cover (the chicks pop starting when they're quite small!), suspend a heat lamp over it, and usually wrap one end of the tank with aluminum foil for the first few days to retain the warmth of the heat lamp; it can be pretty chilly in our family room in the spring. We leave one end of the tank un-foiled, so the chicks can move toward or away from the warmth. Once they all hang out at the un-foiled end all the time, we take off the foil.

One habit we've found very helpful is to sieve the gamebird or chick starter crumbles. We feed the newly hatched chicks the fines, and save the larger crumbles for when they're bigger. It's cut way down on the amount of wasted feed. If you feed the crumbles straight from the bag, the tiny chicks kick out the crumbles, while the older chicks flick out or ignore the fines.

Our favorite way to eat the eggs is pickled. I hardboil them by putting cold eggs in cold water, bringing to a boil, then turning off the heat and covering them to let them finish cooking. After about 10 minutes I pour out the hot water and run cold over the eggs to cool them. Peeling them is easier if you roll them against the side of the pan while it still contains cold water to break up the shell, then grab both shell and membrane at the big end and pinch it off, opening the egg (make sure you get the membrane as well as the shell). Putting the opened egg under running water lets the water get between the membrane and the egg, which makes the egg much easier to peel. You probably already know how tough that membrane is - the key is to grab it along with the shell, and peel both at once. Once you get good at it you can actually peel it round and round in one long strip, like an apple. Then I just drop the peeled eggs in jars of pickling brine. There are numerous recipes, but honestly our favorite is just re-using the brine from our big jars of pickled jalapeno slices! Since the eggs are so small, I am sure the brine penetrates them, but just in case I always keep them in the refrigerator (but they never last long enough to worry about spoilage!).

As far as dispatch, we've found the simplest way is just to use sharp kitchen shears to take off the head. We hold the bird in one hand over a bucket and snip. It's instant and foolproof.

Quail are great!

I pickle the eggs as well. I also make salted eggs for my asian hubby and they're so much easier to salt than chicken eggs. My kids bought me an electric quail egg peeler and I love it! It's so easy to do large batches.
I also bought a used aquarium for the quail chicks but unfortunately I still got sick with them in the house so it sits in the garage but I agree that the chicks being able to see you coming and getting used to you does keep them calm. The tote I use is clear so they see us all the time, covered with a wire top for airflow.

 

[R Buns]

I pickle the eggs as well. I also make salted eggs for my asian hubby and they're so much easier to salt than chicken eggs. My kids bought me an electric quail egg peeler and I love it! It's so easy to do large batches.
I also bought a used aquarium for the quail chicks but unfortunately I still got sick with them in the house so it sits in the garage but I agree that the chicks being able to see you coming and getting used to you does keep them calm. The tote I use is clear so they see us all the time, covered with a wire top for airflow.

I saw a YouTube homesteader got one and it looks awesome. I forgot about it till you just mentioned it. That's so cool.

 

[R Buns]

Upgraded brooder is set up and going. Getting a place set for the incubator to live. Getting ready to give it a go! Won 30 hatching eggs (quail) so I want to get a batch or two in before getting those shipped. Hopefully get through a bit of the learning curve. Thank you for all the tips! I'll try and keep this post updated on how it's going and if I have any troubles.
Merry Christmas @TamiPac

 

[TamiPac]

Upgraded brooder is set up and going. Getting a place set for the incubator to live. Getting ready to give it a go! Won 30 hatching eggs (quail) so I want to get a batch or two in before getting those shipped. Hopefully get through a bit of the learning curve. Thank you for all the tips! I'll try and keep this post updated on how it's going and if I have any troubles.
Merry Christmas @TamiPac

Merry Christmas to you too my friend and a Blessed New Year.
I'm excited for you to start. Please do keep us updated.