ELEVATION PROJECT INTRO | Zero G Quail Farms

The Elevation Project: Community Hatch Experiment Intro

Altitude changes air pressure, oxygen levels, and moisture loss through the shell, so eggs laid at one elevation can behave very differently when they’re incubated somewhere else. Scientific papers and hatchery manuals show that moving eggs from low altitude up to high altitude can sharply reduce hatch rates and chick quality unless settings are carefully adjusted. At the same time, eggs laid at higher elevations often have different shell characteristics, which means standard “one-size-fits-all” humidity and temperature recipes don’t work reliably across locations. Despite this, most backyard and small-farm hatchers are left guessing, with very little real-world data that connects breeder altitude, hatch altitude, and actual outcomes in birds like Coturnix. The Elevation Project exists to fill that gap by turning our community’s hatch records into shared, science-minded data that can help everyone dial in better, more predictable hatches at any altitude.

Can we improve hatch rates at different altitudes by working together?

The Elevation Project is our ongoing community experiment to answer that question.

By pooling real hatch data from different locations and elevations, we can move beyond “I heard…” and start building tested, shared guidelines for hatching Coturnix in thin air (and thick).

This project lives in our Private Members area.

Report Results

Join Us: Experiment and Protocol

What you'll need

Steps

Record

Project Abstract & Purpose

Project Abstract

Experiment at a Glance

Goal:
Understand how the difference between where eggs are laid and where they’re hatched affects hatch results — and which humidity and temperature adjustments work best at each altitude.
Who can join:
Anyone hatching Coturnix eggs, at any elevation. Beginners and seasoned hatch nerds are all welcome.
What you’ll do:
Run your normal hatch (or a planned test hatch), measure a few things, and submit your results inside the Elevation Project.

What We’re Testing

We’re especially interested in three “lanes”:

Lane A: Eggs from low altitude → hatched at high altitude
Example: Eggs shipped from near sea level up to Colorado or other mountain areas.
Lane B: Eggs from high altitude → hatched at lower altitude
Example: Eggs from Colorado shipped down to hatch closer to sea level.
Lane C: Eggs laid and hatched at the same altitude
Example: Local eggs hatched locally, whether lowland or mountain.

By comparing these three lanes, we want to see:

How often each lane struggles with late deaths, weak chicks, or drowners
Which humidity and temperature tweaks produce better, more consistent hatches at each lane and altitude

Step 1: Join the Elevation Project (Free)

Go to the Members page on the Zero G Quail Farms website.
Create a free account or log in if you already have one.
Look for the Elevation Project section. That’s where you’ll find:
- Downloadable tracking sheets
- Data submission forms or posts
- Ongoing results summaries

Step 2: Choose Your Lane

For each hatch you want to share:

Note the breeder location (where the eggs were laid):
- Approximate city/region
- Approximate elevation (e.g., “500 ft” or “5,000 ft”)
Note the hatch location (where your incubator is):
- Approximate city/region
- Approximate elevation
Decide which lane this hatch belongs in:

Lane A: Breeder lower than you, you are higher
Lane B: Breeder higher than you, you are lower
Lane C: Both at roughly the same elevation (+/- 500 ft)

You’ll enter this lane info when you submit your results.

Step 3: Weigh and Set Your Eggs

For a sample of at least 6–12 eggs in your batch:

Number each egg (1, 2, 3, etc.).
Weigh each egg just before setting and write down:
- Egg ID
- Start weight in grams
Set your eggs in the incubator using your usual settings or your planned test settings:
- Temperature
- Humidity range for most of incubation
- Lockdown humidity

Don’t stress about being perfect; we’re interested in real, everyday hatches too.

Step 4: Check Weight Loss

You don’t have to weigh every day. Just take a few key checkpoints:

Around Day 6
Around Day 12
At lockdown (day 14 or 15 depending on YOUR preference)

At each checkpoint, weigh the same sample eggs again and record:

Egg ID
New weight
Any notes (weird air cells, cracks, etc.)

This helps us understand whether eggs are losing too much or too little moisture at different altitudes and settings.

Step 5: Record Hatch Results

When your hatch is done, record:

Farm Name (Yours), Elevation
Farm Name (Shipper), Elevation
Ship Date
Date Received
Condition of the Box (so we can add variable effect of shipping)
Total eggs set vs number of eggs received
Total eggs that hatched
Number of fully formed chicks that died before hatching
Number of chicks that pipped but didn’t finish
Any obvious patterns/ health issues:
- Very small, dry chicks
- Big, swollen chicks
- Sticky chicks or “shrink-wrapped”
- Really wide or really tight hatch window
Your incubator average temperature for the duration of the hatch, record lockdown as separate data.
Your incubator average humidity during hatch, record lockdown as separate data.
Any spikes or drops of temperature and humidity, including the date it occurred.
The average temperature and humidity of the location where the incubator is located. Include if any weather or storm event occurred during that time period.
Egg weights on your selected days and weight on any eggs that did not hatch.

What You’ll Need

You don’t need fancy lab gear. Just:

A working incubator (any brand)
A small accurate/trusted kitchen scale that reads in grams
A way to note your approximate elevation
- (You can use your phone’s map app or a quick online search)
A way to record your temperature and humidity in both your house AND inside your incubator.
Shipped eggs, knowing at what elevation as well as hatch date for the eggs were.
Our suggested Hatch Tracking Sheet (or your own notebook)

What We’ll Do With the Data

As results come in, we’ll:

Look for patterns within each lane
Share summaries, Email or in the Facebook group, as well inside the project updates in the blog section
Highlight incubation strategies that seem to work better at different elevations

Over time, the goal is to build community-tested guidelines for:

Hatching lowland eggs at higher elevations
Hatching highland eggs at lower elevations
Fine-tuning humidity and temperature for anyone dealing with “thin air” or big altitude jumps