Museum Of Modern Art New York » New York Art Incubator

When incubating Quail eggs, picking the proper location for your incubator is very important. Finding an area that maintains a temperature of somewhere between 70°F to 80°F would be the best. When I say maintains, I don't mean fluctuates between those temperatures. It should pretty well be able to hold a temperature of say 72°F or 75°F for example. If you place your incubator in a room that has drastic temperature drops or hikes. This will also happen in your incubator, which can have huge effects on your hatch rate.

The room should be well ventilated but yet not drafty. Your incubator should be leveled and away from direct sunlight. Remember an incubator is designed to bring the room temperature to the desired incubating temperature. This is why placement of the incubator is so important. You have to provide the right conditions for your incubator to function the way it is supposed to.

Once you have found the perfect spot for your incubator to be able to maintain the proper incubating temperature and ventilation. It is time to work with the humidity. In most cases the desired humidity is 60 %. For some species of quail it is some what less. But in all cases it is usually better to have a little less than 60% than more.

Incubators usually will come with at least one or two trays for water. The amount of moisture in an incubator is determined by the surface of the water being exposed to air. Incubators such as hova-bators, instruct you to fill one of the trays with water until the last 2 to 3 days and then fill the second. What you have to realize is that these instructions are starting points. Where you have placed your incubator is going to determine what is actually going to work for you.

If you have placed the incubator in a room that has high humidity, even filling just one tray could be to much. As I mentioned, to much is never good. You will need a reliable tool to be able to read the humidity. If you are getting to much from one tray, you may have to go with a smaller tray or cover part of the tray with aluminum foil and secure it with tape.

All of these things need to be done before you even purchase eggs. Test and get to know your incubator, so you will be prepared to make proper adjustments without hesitation. This will help increase your hatch rate dramatically. You should also have several reliable thermometers and tools to read humidity.

Note: All of this testing and learning your incubator is done without eggs in it. After the eggs are set, it is very likely that you will have to make some adjustments. If you have gone through all of the testing and read the incubator manual. It should not be any problem for you, at this point to make these adjustments.

Now when your eggs arrive and you have them properly prepared for setting. Your incubator has been running for a minimum of half a day, the settings are where they are supposed to be and you are almost ready to start the incubation process.

Special Note: The next article will be on properly setting the eggs.

I have been raising quail for 22 years and have written an ebook on the subject. "The Beginner's Guide to Raising Quail."

Copyright © Gary Ortlieb

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