Incubation

Before You Set

Stabilize the incubator before loading eggs — get temperature and humidity dialed in and holding steady for at least 24 hours. Loading eggs into an unstable environment costs you hatch rate.

If you're working with shipped eggs, rest them pointed end down for 12 to 24 hours at room temperature before loading. This allows the air cell to settle after the disruption of shipping. Do not skip this step with shipped eggs.

Temperature & Humidity

For a forced-air incubator, hold 99.5°F throughout incubation. Still-air incubators run slightly higher — 101°F to 102°F — because heat stratifies and the eggs sit below the thermometer. Use the type of incubator you have and calibrate accordingly.

Humidity during incubation (days 1–14) should run 45–55%. The goal is controlled moisture loss from the egg — too much humidity and the egg retains water it needs to shed; too little and it dries out too fast. Tracking egg weight loss is the most reliable way to know whether your humidity is right.

Target 13–15% weight loss by day 14. Weigh a sample of eggs at set and again at lockdown. If loss is under 13%, lower humidity slightly. If over 15%, raise it. A kitchen scale that reads to 0.1g is sufficient.

Candling

Candle around day 10. Coturnix shells are heavily pigmented and speckled — they are among the harder eggs to candle. The built-in candler on many consumer incubators is not powerful enough. Use a strong, focused flashlight in a completely dark room, held directly against the shell.

At day 10, a developing egg will show a dark mass with visible veining radiating outward. You may see movement. A clear egg with no development is infertile. A dark, opaque egg with no veining and a ring of reddish discoloration is likely a quitter — an egg that started developing and stopped.

The lighter, less speckled eggs in a clutch will candle most clearly — use these to calibrate your eye before assessing the darker ones. Do not discard eggs based on an early or ambiguous candle. If you're unsure at day 10, wait until day 14 before pulling anything.

Lockdown

At day 14 to 15, stop turning the eggs, raise humidity to 65–70%, and do not open the incubator until the hatch is complete. This is lockdown.

The humidity increase supports the chick as it internally pips and begins working through the shell. Opening the incubator during this window drops humidity sharply and can cause the membrane to dry and shrink around a chick that's mid-hatch — trapping it. If you must intervene for a chick in distress, work quickly and close the lid immediately.

Coturnix typically hatch on day 17 or 18. Some will pip and zip in under an hour; others take longer. Leave chicks in the incubator until they are fully dry and fluffy before moving to the brooder — wet chicks chill quickly.