Using a homemade incubator? humidity and turning question?

Question

I have some plans for a homemade incubator that im fairly confident will work. It's for quails.

I was just wondering, how many times a day should the eggs be turned? i have plans for a water tray, but does anyone think i will need to mist the eggs with water?

also, i didn't plan on having the eggs in any specific position.

is it vital to have the quail eggs small side down?

when i turn them, is it just turn them over to their other side?

i was planning on putting them in a day after being layed.

then taking out the water tray the day they were due to hatch or should i just leave them in the incubator? because i have designed it to double as a brooder

sorry for all the questions but i want to be as knowledgable as possible before i go through with this.

i hope someone can answer as many of these as they can :)

thank you so much :):)

p.s Will a 60 watt bulb work?

i will have backup bulbs of diff. watts and i do have a thermometer.

Answer 1

You really shouldn't mist the eggs with water.  A water tray should be sufficient at providing humidity.  If you mist the eggs, you risk the chance of bacteria entering through the pores in the shell, causing the embryo to die.

Ideally, they are turned every 20-30 minutes throughout the day.  It's not an easy task.

You can limit it to about 5-6 times in the day.

You should leave the water in at least 3 days past the date of hatching, because during this time they will still be absorbing the remains of their yolk sac and they need the extra moisture in the air.

The easiest way to do it is to gentle roll the eggs under the palm of your hand like you're rolling marbles around.

It's not imperative they are small side down - it's better for development if the eggs are rotated on all sides frequently.

You'll want the incubator to be at a steady 102 degrees Farenheight with about 60-70% humidity.  If you can get that with a 60 watt bulb, great - if not.. use a different one.  Just make sure you have the temperature and humidity steady before you add the eggs.