A quail egg incubator has similar features as those found in the traditional chicken egg incubator. The only difference is that the temperature and humidity settings may vary. These incubators are available as DIY kits as well as ready-made units. The former is great for small-holder quail hatcheries while the latter is ideal for large scale commercial quail hatcheries. A simple incubator for hatching quail eggs must have a heating element, a light source, temperature measuring instrument, a fan, a water tray, humidity measuring instrument and tray racks. The tray must always be full of water throughout the incubation period. This will ensure that the required humidity and temperatures are maintained.
The incubator must be kept at 60 percent humidity and 98 – 100 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures for the chicks to hatch. Higher temperatures might lead to early hatching but the chicks might come out deformed. On the other hand, lower temperatures will increase the incubation period. It is therefore important to ensure that the incubators are set to the right temperatures.
Factors to Consider When Using a Quail Egg Incubator
- Incubators vary in price and capacity. Conservatory bodies, zoos and commercial hatcheries normally use incubators that can hatch hundreds or even thousands of eggs at a time. However, the incubators used in schools or homes can only hatch about a dozen quail eggs at once. These units vary in prices based on the number of eggs they can hatch at once.
- During the incubation period, eggs must be turned several times a day. While some incubators have automatic turning mechanisms, others do not. People who have ample time in their hands can buy incubators with manual turning. However, people who spend a lot of time away from the incubator should buy units with automatic temperature and humidity regulation, and turning.
- The best place to find a quail egg incubator is online. There are many sites that offer free delivery on these incubators. Since price may vary from place to place it is good to shop around in order to compare prices. Buying a brooder and other accessories is important when buying the incubator.
- The good news is that some sites have everything related to incubating and rearing quails. The incubator should also come complete with tables, charts and instructions on how to use it. This will make it easy for you to incubate the eggs and will give you higher rate of success in the long run.
Quail Incubator Used For Hatching Quail Eggs
If you wish to hatch and breed quail eggs you will need a quail incubator. Incubator is like a safe place for eggs to hatch when in the absence of the mother. Hatching takes place in incubators. There are various incubators available online. Several companies make incubators and there are many models to choose from. These models vary in their features and prices. You can select the ideal incubator for you and one that matches your budget.
Types of Incubators: There are a few incubators that have holes to circulate air within. You must prefer these incubators to those that need an external device like fan for ventilation. Then incubators could be ones that enable automatic turning of eggs or those where you need to manually turn the eggs for equal incubation of eggs. These days you even get fully automatic incubators that control humidity and temperature and alarm you if the parameters you set are bad.