How to Improve Quail Hatchability? Detailed Practical Measures
Quail (scientific name: Coturnix coturnix) has a body length of 18 cm, is small and plump, brown with obvious straw-yellow lanceolate stripes and irregular markings; both males and females have reddish-brown and black horizontal stripes on the upper body. The male has a dark brown chin, with the midline of the throat curving upward on both sides to the ear coverts, closely adjoining the buff collar. The buff supercilium contrasts clearly with the brown crown and eye stripe. The female also has similar markings but with less obvious contrast. It often moves in pairs rather than in flocks. It frequently occurs in plains, wastelands, stream sides, and hilly slopes overgrown with dense weeds or low shrubs, and sometimes also moves near cultivated land. It mainly eats weed seeds, beans, grains, berries, tender leaves, and young shoots; in summer it eats large numbers of insects and larvae, as well as small invertebrates. It is distributed in Europe, Africa, and northern, central, western, and southern Asia. In China it breeds from Shache, Yumin, and other places in western Xinjiang to Lop Nur in the east, and overwinters in southern and southeastern Tibet, sometimes also reaching Zhongdian in northwestern Yunnan.
The hatchability of quail directly affects the utilization rate of hatching eggs, the health of newly hatched chicks, and future production performance. To improve hatchability, the following measures should be taken:
1. Select hatching eggs carefully. The hatching eggs are required to be very fresh and have good shell color, meeting the requirements of not being white-shelled, not soft-shelled, and not pitted. Egg weight is generally 9-12 g or more. The egg shape should be slightly pointed at one end and slightly round at the other, and the ratio of egg diameter to transverse diameter is preferably 1:1.4.
2. Store hatching eggs properly. The hatching egg storage room should have circulating air, be free of mosquitoes and flies and rodents, and harmful gases in the room should be below the prescribed hygiene standards. Hatching eggs should not be shaken, and should be protected from direct cold drafts and direct sunlight. A temperature of about 18 degrees C is suitable. For storage time, 7-8 days in summer, and no more than about 10 days in winter.
3. Disinfect hatching eggs thoroughly. To prevent hatching eggs from being infected by various bacteria and viruses, they should be disinfected once before incubation. Place the hatching eggs in egg trays, with the eggs upright or slightly tilted and the large end facing up, place them on an egg rack cart and push them into the incubator for disinfection. The disinfection method can generally use formaldehyde fumigation, with a dosage of 28 ml of formalin per sq m, and a fumigation time of 20 minutes.
4. Control the temperature appropriately. Temperature is one of the main conditions in the incubation production process, and it is required to remain relatively stable at 37.8-39 degrees C. Because embryo age, breed, and season differ, the range can be adjusted appropriately. In general, the younger the embryo age, the relatively higher the temperature required; as embryo age increases, the incubation temperature can be appropriately lowered. Egg-type breeds require a relatively lower temperature, while dual-purpose breeds require a relatively higher temperature; incubation in early spring requires a slightly higher temperature, and afterward, as the air temperature gradually rises, the incubation temperature can be gradually and appropriately lowered. The temperature in the incubation room should be kept at 20-25 degrees C.
5. Control incubation humidity. Humidity generally refers to the relative humidity in the incubation room. The level of humidity should be adjusted according to the different developmental stages of the embryo and different physiological needs. At the beginning, humidity should be kept at 55%-60%; in the middle stage, in order to drain allantoic fluid and amniotic fluid, the relative humidity should be lowered to 50%-55%; in the later stage, to facilitate the hatching of young quail and prevent down from sticking to the eggshell, the relative humidity should be raised to 65%-70%. The method of increasing or decreasing humidity is mainly to adjust by increasing or decreasing the area of the water tray in the incubator and controlling the amount of water sprinkled in the room.
6. Ventilate in a timely manner. During incubation, as embryo age increases, the ventilation holes on the incubator should be gradually opened wider. In the first 8 days of incubation, ventilate 1-2 times each time; after 8 days, appropriately increase the number of ventilations. When hatching is taking place in the incubator, the ventilation holes should all be opened to facilitate the breathing of the young quail; otherwise, embryos that are breaking the shell or newly hatched young quail will suffocate.
7. Turn the egg trays at fixed times. Turning the incubation position and angle of the hatching eggs is mainly to make the hatching eggs heated evenly, promote embryo activity, and prevent the embryo from adhering to the eggshell. The incubator should automatically turn eggs once every 2 hours, with a turning angle of 60 degrees, and stop turning eggs 2-3 days before hatching.
8. Candling technique should be skilled. During incubation, eggs should generally be candled 2 times to understand embryo development through candling. The first candling can be carried out 4-5 days after incubation. Using a candling lamp to inspect the eggs, fertilized eggs appear red in color, and on careful observation blood vessels can be seen in a spider-like shape with a dark eye in the center; unfertilized eggs have greater light transmission and a color similar to the eggshell color. The second candling should be carried out 10-13 days after incubation. At this time, eggs with stopped embryo development should be removed to avoid spoilage and contamination of the air in the incubator.
9. Ensuring smooth hatching is also key. After hatching eggs are incubated for 16-17 days, they can hatch. If the temperature is relatively even, hatching can generally be completed within 2-3 hours. In a multi-tier incubator, due to different levels and uneven temperature, hatching time should be extended by one day and night. After the young chicks hatch and their down dries, they can be taken out and placed in a preheated brooding box for care. During incubation, for those young quail that have difficulty hatching, manual shell breaking and assisted delivery can be used. If the inner membrane is white and the blood vessels have not yet contracted, do not act yet. Wait until the inner shell membrane is orange-yellow, then tear it open, pull out the chick's head, and place it in the hatching tray to let it hatch automatically.