Assistant Back Yard Farmer and his greedy stupid Hen
Monthly Archives: October 2013
Egg Storage Position before Incubation
Small End Up Storage
Eggs are normally stored in the large end up position. In this position, the embryo is located
beneath the air cell. After oviposition, the egg loses water and the air cell increases. It is
hypothesized that the embryo has a higher chance to dehydrate or to stick to the internal
eggshell membrane when the egg is stored in the large end up position rather than in the small
end up position.
Research has shown that when eggs are stored longer than 7 days, the decline in hatchability
can be reduced by 15% when eggs are stored in the small end up position instead of the large
end up position. This is due to a reduction in early and late embryonic mortality. The positive
effect on hatchability depends on several factors such as breeder flock age, storage conditions,
quality of the egg components, and embryo viability.
Extreme Egg Sizes
Yesterday – 23 g Today 3 – g
Quails put Chickens to Shame
A few days ago their was a post of a chicken egg with a 100 g mass. A quail weighing 200 g has laid a 23 g eggs – the equivalent of a 230 g egg for a 2 Kg hen.
Rearing Baby Quails
Yes you can put the quail eggs under the hen – just remember they start flying at two weeks of age when you will have to have them in an enclosure to prevent them from taking off and never return. If you have an incubator, that is good, but I would say the hen is better. They take 17 days to hatch and do require a heat lamp for the first three weeks if they do not have a Mamma. Keep them out of drafts, but with good ventilation, keep them dry and keep them warm. Feed and water available at all times. I think the only person in New Zealand that sells Quail Food on a small scale is myself. Feeding the babies require a Commercial Poultry Starter Mash or preferably a Commercial Quail Starter Mash to which you mix two boiled eggs per 500 g of feed for the first three weeks, thereafter just Quail Starter Mash until six weeks of age when they get a Commercial Quail Laying Mash. They do not require anything else, but you are welcome to give them table scraps and treats (eg. meal worms) if you like
Back Yard Farmer
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