Gun Dog Forum

I would like to start raising my own baby quail and chucker. I am looking for any advice anyone may have. I know already to buy and automatic turner but can someone suggest what the best unit would be. I am only going to hatch at most 50 eggs.

I started with two styrofoam hovabators, still have them. I used one as the incubator/hatcher and one to hold newly hatched chicks before taking out to my brooding area.

Or you can look up GQF and look at what they have. GQF stands for Georgia Quail Farm

So I ended up buying a HovaBator 2362N with an egg Turner 1610. Hopefully that is a good one. Hard to find reviews. I would have purchased the model below this but this one has a fan. Hope it works ::Fingers Crossed::

Just some advice on hatching. Try getting the temperature as accurate as possible. Try a heat sink by using a Ziploc bag partially filled with water then folded in half like a hotdog bun and hold with tape with the best thermometer you can find inserted in the middle of the fold. Leave this for 1 day on the wire screen to get up to temperature. Then adjust off that. It's gonna take a few days to get right.

Then try to find some cheap test eggs and try to time a few hatches. And work to get them coming out exactly on the day specified. Fine tuning will take a few hatches. But it's best to do this early and not when you need it to be successful. Keep the surrounding room temperatures consistent also.

I also started off with the foam fan forced model then went to a still air for the final three days to try and eliminate stuck birds in a dry climate area. Eventually found a deal on a couple of the sportsmans units. But still hatch a few out of the foam ones for my wife's fourth grade class every spring.