Short answer: Quail eggs hatch in 17 to 18 days, three or four days ahead of chicken eggs and ten or eleven days ahead of light duck eggs. In a forced-air machine, hold the eggs at 37.5 °C with 45 to 50 percent humidity until lockdown on day 14, then raise the humidity to 65 to 70 percent and stop turning. A 12-gram egg should read about 10.5 grams at lockdown, and that weight tells you more than the hygrometer.
Key takeaways
- Quail eggs hatch in 17 to 18 days, so the calendar is short and the margin for error is small.
- Run a forced-air machine at 37.5 °C, and hold humidity at 45 to 50 percent until lockdown on day 14.
- At lockdown, stop turning and raise humidity to 65 to 70 percent for the hatch.
- Weigh a 12-gram egg at setting and at lockdown. It should read about 10.5 grams on day 14.
- Keep quail eggs off the chicken timetable, in their own tray, and out of the chicken machine if you can.
The scale on setting day: why 0.1 gram matters
Put a quail egg on a kitchen scale on setting day and it should read about 12 grams. By lockdown on day 14 it should read close to 10.5 grams, and not much closer to 11. If it reads 11, the humidity has been too high and the chick has been held back in its shell. If it reads 10, the humidity has been too low and the chick may have dried in the shell. You will not learn either fact from the chicks alone, because by the time they hatch the damage is done.
That is why a quail set needs a scale that reads to 0.1 gram at least. A scale that reads to a whole gram cannot separate a good egg from a poor one, and a quail egg is too small for a rough reading to mean anything. Weigh the sample on the same scale at both times, zero it before each weighing, and write the numbers on the sheet next to the day.
Why quail hatch in seventeen days, and what that does to your calendar
A quail egg takes 17 to 18 days from setting to hatch. That is three or four days less than a chicken egg and ten or eleven days less than a light duck egg. The difference sounds small until you are running all three in the same machine, and then the calendar becomes the most dangerous thing in the room. Each batch has its own lockdown day, and a quail lockdown on day 14 falls four days before a chicken lockdown on day 18.
Write the quail dates on the machine, in ink, before the eggs go in. Put the day 7 candling, the day 14 lockdown and the expected hatch window on the same line. Set a phone reminder for each one, because the quail chart moves quickly and a missed lockdown is hard to undo. A quail set that is turned for an extra three days will not hatch on time, and the chicks it does produce will be weaker than the ones from a clean set.
The short hatch also means the brooding starts quickly. The quail chicks will be out of the machine and needing feed, heat and water within a day or two. Have the brooder ready before lockdown, not after the first chick pips. Our quail chicks page and the quail farming guide cover the brooding side in more detail.
Storing quail eggs before the set, and how long they keep
Keep waiting quail eggs in a room near 15 to 18 °C, narrow end down, in a tray that stays still. A kitchen in a Ghanaian house runs too warm for more than a day or two, and a fridge chills them too far and dries the shell. Turn the stored eggs once a day, and never store them in direct sun, even for a short time while you load the car.
Use quail eggs within about five to seven days of collection. Fresher is better, and the hatch rate falls off visibly after a week. Mark the collection date on the tray, not just on your memory, and sort out any eggs that are cracked, very dirty or unusually small or large before they go anywhere near the machine.
Do not wash quail eggs. The shell is thin and speckled, and a wash that gets water through the shell is worse for a quail egg than for a chicken egg. Dry-clean each egg with a soft cloth and leave it at that. Eggs from a flock with no cock, or with a poor cock ratio, will not be fertile whatever you do in the machine, and our quail egg business article covers how to set up the flock before you collect eggs for hatching.
Setting the tray: small eggs, small gaps and a clear map
Load the quail eggs pointy end down, in a tray with cups or compartments sized for small eggs. A chicken tray with the chicken cups removed will let the quail eggs roll, and a rolling egg that lands on its side in the first hour will drop the air cell in the wrong place. If your machine has only chicken trays, buy or make a tray with small cups before you start, rather than laying quail eggs loose on a flat mesh.
Make a map of the tray. Number the rows and the columns, and write the setting date and the batch on the map. Weigh a sample of eggs before they go in, and write the weight against its tray position. That way, when you weigh the same eggs at lockdown, you know exactly which egg is which, and you can see whether the top or the bottom of the machine is drying them.
Let the machine recover for about an hour after you load the tray, with the lid shut, before you read the thermometer again. Opening the lid to load the eggs drops the temperature and humidity, and quail eggs in a machine that has not yet recovered will sit cool for longer than you expect.
Temperature: 37.5 °C in a forced-air machine
For quail, set the forced-air machine to about 37.5 °C, which is 99.5 °F. That is the same reading as a chicken setter, but quail eggs hold a different timetable, so do not carry the chicken lockdown or humidity across by habit. The number matters most in the first week, when the embryo is laying down its organs, and it matters again on the last few days, when the chick is working hard to pip.
A still-air machine needs a little more care. Heat rises, and the top of the tray will read warmer than the bottom. Put the thermometer probe at egg height, not at the top of the cabinet, and aim for about 37.5 °C at that level. If the machine runs warmer at the top, move the eggs, not the setting, and check the readings at several points before you decide the machine is wrong.
Keep the thermometer honest. A reading that is half a degree out will not kill a set on its own, but a machine that drifts through the day will. Check the readings morning and evening, and write them down. Check the probe against a reference before the first quail set of the season, using the method in our thermometer calibration guide.
Humidity: 45 to 50 percent for the first two weeks
Hold the quail humidity at 45 to 50 percent from setting until lockdown on day 14. That is lower than the duck programme and lower than the lockdown figure that follows on day 14. The band is the one we work to, and the weight table below is how you confirm it for your own machine.
Use the water tray to hold the humidity. A wider water surface raises it, a narrow one lowers it, and the vents trim the rest. Check the hygrometer against a salt reading before you rely on it, because a cheap hygrometer can be five points out and still look convincing. Our incubator humidity article shows the salt test and the fixes for a machine that runs too wet or too dry.
Harmattan days pull water out of the tray within hours, so the band slides down while you are busy elsewhere. Widen the water surface first and touch the vents last. The rains do the reverse: the machine can climb past 50 percent with no help from you, so keep the water tray shallow and the vents open enough to let the air move.
Turning small eggs three or four times a day, then stopping
Turn quail eggs three or four times a day, at roughly even intervals, until lockdown on day 14. A quail egg that is turned less often tends to stick to one side of the membrane, and the chick comes out with its legs and head in the wrong place. Keep the turning rhythm regular, because an irregular turn that leaves the eggs flat overnight does more harm than a slightly lower count.
Turn the whole tray in one motion, and mark the turns on the map. If you are turning by hand, get the lid open, the turn done and the lid shut in one motion. The quail eggs are small enough that a long open-lid turn drops both the temperature and the humidity quickly.
Stop turning on day 14 at lockdown. Leave the eggs flat, in the position they were in at the last turn. From lockdown, the chick needs a fixed position to pip the air cell. An automatic turner that keeps going after lockdown can move the chick, and a quail chick moved late is one of the most common reasons for a stuck hatch.
Candling on day 7 with a small torch and a dark room
Candle once on day 7. That is the check that matters most for quail, because the shell is thin and speckled and the embryo is small, and a second look is only useful if you have a steady hand and a very small torch. On day 7, a live quail embryo shows as a darker speck with a fine web of vessels around it. An egg with neither is clear and should come out of the tray.
Use a dark room, and hold the egg against the light for a few seconds only. Do not hold a quail egg against a torch for long, because the heat can harm a young embryo. Put the clear eggs on a separate tray, not in the bin straight away, so you can count them and compare the count with your flock's fertility over the season. Our egg candling guide covers the method, and the quail check uses the same principles on a smaller egg.
Write the count of clear eggs on the map and the sheet. A clear count of one or two in a set of thirty is a normal result for a good flock. A count of ten suggests the cock ratio, the storage or the breeding was wrong before the set, and that is the place to look next time.
Weight loss on a 12-gram egg: the table to work from
The weight loss tells you whether the humidity has done its job. Quail eggs need to lose about 12 to 13 percent of their starting weight by lockdown. From a 12.0-gram egg, that is roughly 10.4 to 10.6 grams at lockdown on day 14. Read the reading against the table below, and act on it the same day, while the set still has time to respond.
| Lockdown reading (from 12.0 g) | Loss | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.7 g or more | Under 11% | Too little water lost, humidity too high | Cut the water surface first, then ease the vents |
| 10.4 to 10.6 g | About 12 to 13% | On target | Lift humidity to 65 to 70 percent and leave it |
| 10.3 g or less | Over 14% | Too much water lost, humidity too low | Widen the water surface and keep the lid shut |
Pull the sample from several trays, not one corner. The readings differ across the trays, and a set that is dry on the top shelf and wet on the bottom is telling you about airflow. Fix the airflow before you adjust the humidity, or you will chase a problem that the machine is causing.
Need chicks for your next batch?
Send breed, number and town. We reply with price, hatch date and delivery cost in writing.
Lockdown on day 14: the change that decides the hatch
Lockdown is the day you stop turning and raise the humidity to 65 to 70 percent. It is the most important change in the whole set, because the chick is about to pip, and the membranes have to stay soft enough to let it out. A quail set that goes to lockdown too dry will have chicks stuck to the membrane, and one that is too wet will have chicks that struggle to dry out.
Raise the humidity gradually, over an hour or two, by adding water surface rather than by flooding the tray. Then leave the machine alone. Check the temperature and the humidity once in the morning and once in the evening, and fill the water tray if it is low. Do not open the lid to look at the eggs, because every opening costs humidity that takes an hour to recover.
Write the lockdown date, the lockdown weight and the expected hatch window on the machine. Quail chicks usually pip around day 16 and hatch by day 17 or 18. Those are normal windows, and a chick that is still in its shell on day 18 needs a careful look, not a hurried rescue. Our article on why eggs do not hatch sets out the usual causes, and the same checks apply to quail.
The hatch window on days 16 to 18, and what to leave alone
Quail chicks are fast. A chick that has pipped can be out of the shell within a few hours, and it will be dry and running within another hour or two if the machine is warm and the air is moist. That speed is the reason to leave the machine shut through the hatch. A chick that is still wet can stick to the lid or the tray, and a chick that is pulled too early is one of the commonest losses in a quail set.
Leave the eggs alone while they pip. If a chick has pipped and then stopped for a long time, the answer is often a humidity problem, not a need for help. Wait for the chick to rest, and let it draw in the last of the yolk. Our assisted hatching article covers when, if ever, you should help, and why quail chicks are usually better left alone than chicken chicks.
Count the hatch, and the chicks that did not come out, on the day the window closes. Open the dead eggs at the end of the set and look at the chick. A chick that died late, with its head under the wing, usually points to a humidity problem near hatch, and a chick that died early points to temperature or storage.
Move the chicks once they are fully dry, fluffy and steady on their feet. In a quail hatch that is often within a day of the first pip, and some chicks will need a little longer than others. Do not rush them out while they are still wet. A wet quail chick chills quickly, and a chilled chick in a brooder is harder to save than one that was left in the machine for a few extra hours.
Have the brooder warm, dry and ready before the first chick comes out. Quail chicks need a steady heat source and a clean floor, and they are at risk from draughts and crowding in the first days. Put a shallow feed tray and a water drinker in the brooder before the chicks arrive, so they can find them straight away. Our quail farming guide lists the brooder steps in order.
Keep the hatch records with the chicks. Write the set date, the lockdown weight, the hatch count and any notes on the hatch on a single sheet, and file it with the batch. If you are selling chicks, the sheet is the first thing a buyer will ask for. Quail chicks are quoted case by case. Once your set date is fixed, WhatsApp us on +233 24 915 1503 and we will work out the figure with you.
Ghana's harmattan and rains: how the seasons change a quail set
Harmattan air is the enemy of a quail set in the first two weeks. The air holds little moisture, the machine loses water fast, and the set can drop below 45 percent before the first candling. Plan for it. Add water surface before the harmattan arrives, keep spare water ready, and check the hygrometer more often than you would in the rains.
The rains bring the opposite problem. The machine can hold too much moisture in the late stage of the set, and the lockdown humidity can climb past 70 percent without any help. Open the vents a notch, and check the water tray for leaks that you did not notice in the dry weather. A set that is planned for the rains needs a little less water surface than you would expect.
Power cuts are a seasonal risk too. A cut of an hour or two on day 5 is survivable for most sets, but the same cut on day 15, with the lid shut and the humidity high, is a risk to the whole batch. Keep a backup supply for the machine, and do not plan lockdown for a day when you know the power is likely to go. Our guide to incubating through power cuts covers the backup options.
Mistakes that stop a quail set
- Using the chicken timetable. Lockdown comes a week late and the chicks dry out in the shell.
- Turning the eggs after day 14. The chicks move out of position and the pip stalls.
- Weighing to the whole gram. A scale that cannot read 0.1 gram cannot show you the problem in time.
- Setting eggs that have waited a fortnight. The hatch rate falls, and the cause is only visible at the end.
- Opening the lid to check on the chicks. Every opening drops the humidity, and the next hour is spent recovering it.
- Pulling chicks before they are dry. A wet chick chills, and a chilled chick is hard to save.
A checklist for a quail set
- Write the day 7 candling, the day 14 lockdown and the hatch window on the machine before the eggs go in.
- Store the eggs at 15 to 18 °C, pointy end down, and set them within five to seven days of collection.
- Dry-clean the eggs and do not wash them. Discard any that are cracked or very dirty.
- Weigh a sample to 0.1 gram, and map each egg's tray position with its starting weight.
- Calibrate the thermometer at egg height, and hold the machine at about 37.5 °C.
- Hold humidity at 45 to 50 percent until lockdown, and check the hygrometer against a salt reading.
- Turn three or four times a day until day 14, and mark the turns on the map.
- Day 7: candle once, and log the clear eggs on their own tray.
- On day 14, stop turning, raise humidity to 65 to 70 percent, and weigh the sample again.
- Leave the machine shut through the hatch, and move the chicks once they are dry and steady.
Questions farmers ask
How long do quail eggs take to hatch?
Quail eggs take 17 to 18 days from setting to hatch in a forced-air machine. Lockdown comes on day 14, and the chicks usually pip around day 16 and hatch by day 17 or 18. Day 1 is the loading day, so count from the moment the tray goes in, and write the lockdown and hatch dates on the machine before the first load.
What temperature should I use for quail eggs?
Hold about 37.5 °C, which is 99.5 °F, in a forced-air machine. Probe at egg level so you read what the eggs actually feel, and keep that figure steady through lockdown rather than dropping it.
What humidity do quail eggs need?
Hold the machine at 45 to 50 percent from setting until lockdown on day 14. At lockdown, raise the humidity to 65 to 70 percent and hold it through the hatch. Check your hygrometer against a salt reading first, because a cheap instrument can be several points out.
How much weight should a quail egg lose?
A 12-gram egg should lose about 12 to 13 percent by lockdown, which means it should weigh about 10.4 to 10.6 grams on day 14. Use a scale that reads to 0.1 gram. If the egg is heavier, the humidity is too high, and if it is lighter, the humidity is too low.
How often should I turn quail eggs?
Three or four times a day, at roughly even intervals, until lockdown on day 14. Turn the whole tray in one smooth movement, close the lid fast, and mark each round on your map. Stop turning at lockdown and leave the eggs flat until the hatch is finished.
Should I candle quail eggs more than once?
Once on day 7 is the essential check. A second look later is possible with a very small torch in a dark room, but the shell is thin and speckled and the light can harm a young embryo if you hold the egg too long. Keep the candling quick, and count the clear eggs on each check.
Can I wash quail eggs before I set them?
No. The shell is thin and speckled, and water can pass through it more easily than most people expect. Dry-clean each egg with a soft cloth, and set only eggs that are clean enough without washing. Discard any that are cracked or badly soiled before they go into the machine.
