How to Hatch Button Quail in a Still Air Incubator

Incubating button quail eggs can be very rewarding, if you know what you are doing. Incubating your own eggs is sometimes cheaper then buying hatchlings. Plus you get the experience of actually hatching your own babies. I recently hatched my own button quail, and I'd like to share with you the knowledge I learned along the way. If you follow these easy steps, you will be well on your way to hatching your own little quail.

The first thing you will need is an incubator. I invested in a cheap forty dollar still air incubator that I pick up at my local feed supply store. You might want to invest a little more money, and buy an egg turner to go with it, or one that already has an egg turner. An automatic egg turner will save you time, buy turning the eggs for you. I incubated seventy eggs my first time, and turned them all by hand three times a day.

Once you have an incubator you need to set it up to make sure it runs properly. This is a good time to get the temp. adjusted where you need it. I incubated my button quail at 99.9 - 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I used the mercury thermometer that came with it, but in the future I would like to invest in a digital thermometer which is more accurate. Once you get the temp. set where you need it, do not try to adjust the it during the incubation period. You also need to get a gauge that measures moisture. You can find these at any pet supply store, usually in the reptile department. Poor a small amount of water into the bottom of your incubator bringing your humidly up to fifty percent. Being that their button quail have tiny feet, you also need to pick up a roll of non slip rubber drawer liner. Cut the liner to size, and lay it on top of the wire bottom in your incubator. If the wire bottom isn't even, you can use rocks in the corner to hold it flat, this will keep your eggs from rolling.

Now that your incubator is set up, you need some eggs to go in it. You can find fertile hatching button quail eggs at hatcheries, or on online auction sites such as www.ebay.com. You should look for eggs that are closer to your location. The further they have to travel, the more likely the eggs are to get damaged.

When your eggs arrive, carefully open the box, and allow them to set at room temp. for an hour. This will allow them to slowly warm up or cool down, depending on the weather outside. Once the hour has pasted place your eggs in your incubator. Make sure the eggs do not touch the sides of the walls, or each other. You need to rotate your eggs at least 3 times a day. Do do this simply pick the egg up carefully, and turn it over, then put it back down. I rotated my eggs in the morning around 8 am, in the afternoon around 3 pm, and again around 10 pm.

On day fourteen of rotating your eggs you may stop. Now your little quail are getting in the hatching position. Some button quail hatch at 16 days however, it takes longer in an incubator. On day sixteen increase the humidly to sixty percent. You should start hearing little peeps and chirps around day twenty. From day nineteen to day twenty five you can expect to have hatchlings. Most of your eggs will hatch within the first eight hours of the first hatching. I noticed that the hatching's that hatch the following day was less healthy, and subsequently died within the first week.

Leave the baby hatching in the incubator until they are fully dried. They are fine, and can stay in there up to twelve hours. If you open the incubator while they are wet they might get chilled, and die as a result. Sometimes it takes a while for them to break out of the shell, so don't aid them unless you absolutely have to.

Once the babies are dry you can move them to their brooder. Be sure that you line your brooder with cloth such as micro fiber, or you use the same rubber draw/ shelf liner as you did in your incubator. Newspaper and other slick surfaces will cause injury.

Button quail are so adorable, that you'll want to hatch more. It's really not that hard to hatch fertile eggs, however keep in mind that you will have some loss. Some of your eggs will not hatch, and some of your hatchlings will die. If you want six button quail, then you should start with a dozen eggs. Happy Hatching.