Dry Incubation **NOW WITH PHOTOS!** - How Low is Too Low? 10% Humidity**ANSWERED: NO.**

Meara said:

I have a small batch that have been incubating at ~10% humidity in a Genesis hovabator and I just now put them in lock down and raised the humidity. They are not only bantam eggs, but they are also pullet eggs and very small. I've found with my bantam eggs that if I keep the humidity at "normal" levels my chicks get too big/air cells too small and they can't configure themselves in order to pip the air cell. I've lost a lot of chicks this way. I'll check back and let everyone know how this hatch turns out. 10% is a new record low humidity level for me and I'm not sure what to expect.

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pawtraitart said:

I've never tried to keep my humidity as low as 10%. I'll be watching this with interest.

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x 2! I hope you'll keep us posted.

Wow, thanks everyone for your input! Your insights are greatly appreciated. Please keep us posted on your results.

Just a bit of a continuation from this topic: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...cks-dead-in-their-shell-pictures#post_8428646

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

--CHAD

Results of my hatch:
I only had 6 eggs because this was just a fertility check on some pullets that just began laying. I had three chicks that were dead in the egg in various stages and I think that may have been due in part to temperature spikes I had going on in my incubator. I had two healthy chicks that hatched without problems. And I had one chick that pipped internally, but didn't pip externally and died. My hovabator genesis ran at ~10% humidity for most of the hatch and then I jacked the humidity up to ~60% at lock down. The size of the air cells looked perfect, not too big or too small. With such a small sample this is hardly conclusive plus these were bantam pullet eggs and combine that with the temp spikes........ But I did have a couple healthy chicks pop out without a hitch so I'm still open minded about the low humidity issue.
In a month or so when I have another hatch I'll report back again. This has been an interesting thread.

AllenWMiller said:

A few more points on incubation:

Store hatching eggs no longer than 7 days between 40-65f (55-60f is optimal at 75% relative humidity).Remember that cell division in the egg occurs at 67f and above. The first cell division is completed about the time the egg enters the isthmus. Additional cell divisions take place about every 20 minutes; so, by the time of lay, several thousand cells form two layers of cells called a "gastrula." Once the egg is laid it cools and cell division slows or stops until proper environmental conditions are met.

Also remember the day you are setting the eggs in the incubator to allow the eggs to set in the hatching room for 4 to 8 hours to warm up to the relative room temperature of 70f and 70% humidity. This will prevent the cold eggs from sweating in the hot incubator.

One of the biggest failures in a foam hobby incubator is the lack of proper ventilation during the hatching process; particularly with automatic turners. We assume that since the eggs are being turned this is sufficient to tending the eggs. But as the embryo is developing it is taking in oxygen through the pores of the shell and likewise it is expelling carbon dioxide through the shell into the incubator.

If we allow the unit to remain closed for days this is tantamount to asphyxiation and is often the reason for a poor hatch. We must open a foam incubator several times a day albeit it briefly to exchange the air in the unit.

Prior to automatic turners for these small units we naturally opened them twice a day to turn the eggs. One time this rule should be suspended is during a power outage. In this case the unit should remain closed to conserve heat and humidity. The other time this rule is suspended is from the 18th through the 21st days when we stop turning the eggs and close the unit for hatching.

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Hello, I'm new to BYC and hope I can jump in this older thread. Do you know when weighing became part of the process? Same time as candling? Before or after? I'm incubating my first eggs, duck eggs and I've been candling but also weighing. If I go off my weights, I'm afraid they haven't lost enough and I'm on day 24.

I dry incubated this time with plugs out due to elevation (almost 5k), every few days when it would get down to 15-16% would add a little to get it back up to the 20-25% had great looking eggs at lick down but think I missed how much to increase the humidity to at day 17 they looked to be a couple days ahead of time, so raised humidity to 30% is that going to be enough or should it be more, eggs were rocking pretty good at end of day 18 and all of a sudden on day 19 without any changed it spiked to 60% then dropped back down to 30% range

This is an older thread that you have jumped into here. You may want to start a new thread but if not, hopefully others will chime in. I know that at elevation, your humidity in general needs to be higher than lower elevations. As the eggs are showing movement now, I think you are doing fine but if the humidity is jumping around, your instruments may be faulty. Are you using independent, calibrated instruments aside from your incubator?