How long can quail eggs survive without power?

One or two hours usually cost only time: the hatch comes a little later. With longer cuts it depends on the stage. In the last days keep the incubator closed and wrapped; in the first two thirds of incubation it is better to let the eggs cool right down than to leave them lukewarm. There will be losses in either case.

What is worse, too warm or too cold?

Too warm. Above about 40.5 °C the embryos die if the heat lasts; cooling usually only slows development. An incubation that runs too warm throughout hatches early, one that runs too cold hatches late.

Can you hatch quail eggs in an incubator for chicken eggs?

Yes. Temperature and humidity are the same; you need turning inserts for quail eggs or turning by hand, and covered water channels before the hatch.

Can you hatch quail from supermarket eggs?

Rarely. Eating eggs are usually not fertilised, or too old and stored too cold. Individual cases are known, but such eggs are no good for incubation.

Why do the chicks hatch too early or too late?

Too early usually because of too much warmth or too dry air, too late because of too little warmth or too humid air. Check the thermometer first, at the place where the eggs lie.

Keeping quail: practical guides

Incubation, feeding, laying performance, housing and winter — practical guides to keeping quail, with figures given as working ranges instead of invented precision.

When incubation goes wrong — power cuts, overheating, cold, humidity

What quail eggs can and cannot survive: a power cut, incubating too warm or too cold, wrong humidity, failed turning, an incubator for chicken eggs, supermarket eggs and a broody hen.

Incubation rarely goes entirely to plan: the power goes off, the thermostat sticks, the humidity is wrong. The embryos survive much of this if you react correctly, and some of it they do not. This page covers the most common mishaps and what to do in each case. How a normal incubation runs is explained in the article «How to incubate quail eggs».

The power goes off

Cold harms embryos less than heat. A power cut of one or two hours usually costs only time: development slows down, and the hatch comes a little later. Quail eggs are small and cool down faster than chicken eggs; the longer the cut lasts, the more depends on what you do in the first hour.

Keep the lid closed. Every opening lets heat out. Wrap the incubator in blankets, leave the ventilation holes free, and heat the room if you can.
In the last days before the hatch the embryos produce heat themselves. A closed, wrapped incubator is then the best solution. Do not cover it airtight: older embryos need a lot of oxygen.
In the first two thirds of incubation and in a power cut lasting many hours, incubator manufacturers advise letting the eggs cool right down, to 5–20 °C, rather than leaving them lukewarm. In the cold, development stops; lukewarm, it carries on, but out of step. There will be losses either way, and they grow the further the incubation has progressed.
Afterwards continue incubating as before. Expect a later hatch, by roughly the length of the cut, and candle after three or four days: eggs in which nothing is growing any more come out.

If power cuts are common where you live, connect the incubator to an uninterruptible power supply of the kind sold for computers; small incubators need little power.

Too warm

Heat is more dangerous than cold, especially in the first week of incubation. If the temperature stays above about 40.5 °C for a longer time, the embryos die; short peaks are survived mainly by older ones. An incubation that runs a little too warm throughout hatches too early.

Check the thermometer first. Even one degree of error over the whole incubation harms development; the built-in display is a claim until a second, checked thermometer at egg height confirms it.

Too cold

If the incubator runs a little too cold throughout, the chicks hatch late. The most common causes are a cold room, a draught where the incubator stands, and a thermometer in the wrong place: measure at egg height, not at the wall and not under the lid.

The humidity is wrong

Air that is too dry makes the eggs lose too much water. The hatch tends to come early, and during the hatch the shell membrane can turn leathery and trap the chick. Air that is too humid delays the hatch. Measure with a checked hygrometer or with two thermometers; how to do that is explained in the article «How to incubate quail eggs».

Turning fails

If the turning motor stops, turn by hand, three to five times a day, preferably an odd number of times so that the egg does not lie on the same side every night. Two to three days before the hatch, turning stops anyway.

An incubator for chicken eggs

It hatches quail eggs too: temperature and humidity are in the same range. The trays are the difficulty. In turning trays for chicken eggs, quail eggs roll about or fall through; use inserts for quail eggs, or lay the eggs in a flat tray and turn them by hand. Before the hatch, cover open water channels and lay paper or fine mesh underneath: quail chicks drown even in shallow water.

Eggs from the supermarket

Eating eggs from the supermarket are usually not fertilised, and if they are, they have often been stored too long or too cold. A chick does sometimes hatch from them — newspapers reported cases from England in 2014 and from the Netherlands in 2016 — but it remains the exception. For incubation, buy hatching eggs from a breeder.

A broody hen

Quail kept in captivity hardly ever sit on eggs themselves. A small, broody bantam hen can hatch quail eggs, but keepers report crushed eggs and trampled chicks. An incubator is safer.

Frequently asked questions

How long can quail eggs survive without power?: One or two hours usually cost only time: the hatch comes a little later. With longer cuts it depends on the stage. In the last days keep the incubator closed and wrapped; in the first two thirds of incubation it is better to let the eggs cool right down than to leave them lukewarm. There will be losses in either case.
What is worse, too warm or too cold?: Too warm. Above about 40.5 °C the embryos die if the heat lasts; cooling usually only slows development. An incubation that runs too warm throughout hatches early, one that runs too cold hatches late.
Can you hatch quail eggs in an incubator for chicken eggs?: Yes. Temperature and humidity are the same; you need turning inserts for quail eggs or turning by hand, and covered water channels before the hatch.
Can you hatch quail from supermarket eggs?: Rarely. Eating eggs are usually not fertilised, or too old and stored too cold. Individual cases are known, but such eggs are no good for incubation.
Why do the chicks hatch too early or too late?: Too early usually because of too much warmth or too dry air, too late because of too little warmth or too humid air. Check the thermometer first, at the place where the eggs lie.