Incubating your Quail eggs

My incubator

Please leave your eggs to stand at room temperature for about 12 hours to let them rest after transit. You need to set your incubator at 37.5°C. Ensure you fill up your water reservoirs in your incubator and they will need to be checked every 2/3 days to make sure they don’t run dry at any time.

Set your eggs pointed end down. You will need to turn your eggs three times a day if you don’t have auto turning incubator. Pipping will happen around the 15th or 16th day of incubation then stop turning your eggs. Humidity should be 45% up to pipping, then up to 75% right through to hatching out on day 18.

Very important advice

Please don’t let anyone open the incubator to look at the chicks or handle them for a full 24 hours after they start to hatch as they need the humidity constant all the times. If humidity drops for any reason after pipping they won’t be able to hatch and will suffocate and die inside the egg shell. The chicks don’t need nourishment until 24 hours after they hatch as the yoke is still inside them.

How to Sex Your Quail

It won't be too long after your little chicks have hatched when you will be wondering what sex they are going to be.

You won't be able to check them out until they have reached about six weeks old. This is when the colour of the chest feathers will change colour; orange for the male and speckled for the female. Also the males start to get very vocal. At this age they will stick their heads up high and let out a very distinguished noise (crow).

At eight weeks old, the sure way to check out the sex of any of your young quails that you are not sure about is to pick them up and turn them over with the bottom facing you and gently squeeze each side of the bottom at the same time. Wear some rubber gloves for this task if you feel a bit squeamish. If when you squeeze and some white frothy liquid comes out, it is a male. A female on the other hand, will be as clear and clean as she should be.