Growin' Quail

10/10/2026

I was finally able to hatch 8 of my own eggs from my two most consistent and best hens, their eggs are always 17-18g. I hatch 4 eggs from both hens, I am 8/8 and just placed the chicks in the brooder. All look healthy and well. I need 2-3 hens for laying eggs from this group.

This is my little 'terror' who hatched on D17. He started bullying and pecking the feet of new hatchlings. He was alone for awhile!

08/15/2026

God's works!🥰

08/15/2026

I love my new incubator. It hasn't missed a step and has led to a successful hatching. I'm 5/9 after 16 hours on day 18 using my own eggs for the first time. The Quail Guy has been my mentor and guide along this journey to help me be self sustaining and able to produce my own protein. I can already do vegetables and fruit.

I had a hard time seeing inside the eggs on day 6 and they didn't look quite like the pics online to me, maybe it's my eyes. I had 4 eggs from same hen that were easy to compare, I was able to see the yolk floating in 3 of them, but one had a darker mass on one side. I assumed it was fertilized and look for the shadow mass. I couldn't see veins. I'm hoping the last 4 hatch, but I know it isn't due to a faulty incubator this time. They are from the same hen and may be late bloomers.😀I love raising quail!

08/09/2026

🥰

Find them here:
👉https://selfsufficient-backyard.com/fpost/

08/08/2026

The Quail Guy provided the first eggs I hatched. His chicks can feather sexed at 2-3 weeks. Out the 4 roos I hatched, one had a different look without the plain rust colored chest. He' more reddish brown and doesn't have a white strip on his head, it's brown. His head looks a little more rounded. I think he's a handsome fellow. I needed to replace my mating roo who was to tough with the hens and pick on one excessively causing her to stop laying. He's in the freezer. The Quail Guy told me that this roo shows up about 1 in a 100. His was the last to crow and the one the other males chased around. He isn't a fighter so I decided to keep him and was happy when 4 hens accepted him. I was hoping I could keep all together, but I have to keep two mean females separated as layers. I've never had it this quiet before other than the occasional mating. I think a 4:1 ratio will work out because all are gentle birds. I love my new roo!🥰

08/08/2026

I purchased another incubator that seems to working really well for the first 11 days. I have 9/12 eggs from my own flock, 3 were obviously not fertilized. It's hard to candle the darker eggs, but I think 9 are viable. I've checked the egg turning this time and it works really well, so far. This one can hatch up to 59 quail, I'll leave that to the experts like the Quail Guy who can manage a lot of birds. I keep 6 laying hens and a really cool roo as my permanent residents. Anyway, I'm a few days from lockdown and well see if it can maintain the high humidity levels needed.

08/08/2026

So it's been awhile since I've posted about my quail project hatching 12 eggs for the first time. 5/12 hatched with 4 roos and 1 hen. I told the breeder who sold me the eggs that the problem rested with me and I made several errors. The first was buying a cheap incubator thinking it would work for hatching 8-10 eggs. I was trying to save a little money which was a huge mistake.

I decided to try again using my own eggs and discovered that my egg turning fracture was not working. It's Chinese made but had a good warranty. They replaced the incubator free of charge, but this one also stopped working. I wasted 18 eggs with this really bad incubator off amazon👇The one good feature was the humidity controller which worked really well., other than that it's crap.

Another stupid mistake I made was using the manufacturer program for quail which keeps the humidity too high for the first 13 days at 60-65%. When I researched this I understood some of my chicks drowned in their shells.😥I felt bad for rushing to incubate before researching.

07/25/2026

😀

Find it here:
👉https://selfsufficient-backyard.com/fpost/

06/19/2026

☺️

Tiny bird, big benefits 🐦🥚✨
Quails are small, efficient, quiet, and surprisingly productive! From quick egg production to needing minimal space, these little birds can be a great addition to a backyard setup. 🌱

Discover the power of small-scale farming! 🌿