The Great Egg Shipping Experiment! - Page 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinky67 

Located very close to the CA/OR border coastal town of Crescent City CA. I tested with a digital temp/humidity and also with a dial type. Tested inside w eggs and also outside with in the room where the incubator is set up. Both temp an humidity matched. Right now room humidity is 39 w a temp of 73 (wood stove going) and in the incubator temp is 99.6 humidity 40 w no water in the cup inside.

Hi and welcome from Woodland CA!

Humidity in the incubator should go down when the incubator heats up to 99.5.

Get a different hygrometer. It may be off some.

Luckily you are using a Brinsea so the temp should be just about perfect, which makes up for any humidity problems. If the chicks are sticky or covered with amber goo when they hatch, adjust the humidity up or down 5 percent.

It is always humid in Crescent City!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinky67 

Located very close to the CA/OR border coastal town of Crescent City CA. I tested with a digital temp/humidity and also with a dial type. Tested inside w eggs and also outside with in the room where the incubator is set up. Both temp an humidity matched. Right now room humidity is 39 w a temp of 73 (wood stove going) and in the incubator temp is 99.6 humidity 40 w no water in the cup inside.

I would be surprised that with the wood stove going your humidity is that high, but I've never been out there... and know nothing about the climate.

I would personally still add about 1/2 of the water recommended. My Brinsea has 2 wells at the bottom and it says to start the incubating with one of the wells filled halfway and adjust from there. So if you had that model you'd fill one of the wells to 1/4 full. That's just my $0.02. I also keep the air hole at least half open, so I do lose a lot of water to the really dry air in here.

Too wet and the chicks could get sticky and stuck, and have a hard time hatching. Too dry and the chicks can get sticky and stuck and have a hard time hatching. Both scenarios could end with the chick dying in the shell before hatching. You gotta find that happy medium. It's not rocket science, but if it was me I would add a tiny bit of water.

Quote:

Originally Posted by superchemicalgirl 

 

I did not. It's not something I do because I haven't been able to correlate it with benefit. I incubate anything (even if it's cracked if it's salvageable), and candle.

 

Interestingly, 100% of my Olandsk Dwarf hatching eggs from PA (or was it NY?) had some kind of veining on Wednesday. 100% of my polish did not (from NY, or was it PA?). It's a good thing I'm not a fan of polish. At this stage in the game I can only see well through light colored shells.

 

I also crack open all the eggs that don't make it to a hatched chick - so I'll report on those as well when it comes time to do that.

 

My "broody" hen is still sitting on her clutch in her favorite nest box. I think she knows she's being used but is just relieved I'm finally letting her sleep in the nest box so she's acting good.

Good to see this thread from both the perspective of the shipper and the recipient.  Looking forward to candling and hatch stats... thanks all.

See what I mean? There is no water in the bator.... So it should be correct?

Just got home from a long day. Was supposed to have tomorrow off but I kinda had the inkling that it wouldn't work out for me. It didn't.

Therefore, I plan to candle on Saturday or Sunday. My incubator's a mess... this should be fun!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinky67 

See what I mean? There is no water in the bator.... So it should be correct?

 Give it a go at 40% and see what you get. If they stick, raise the humidity to 45% for the next hatch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wisher1000 

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinky67 

I'll see if I can find another h-meter. I just figured the meters I had were good because one was a digital and one was a dial type and they matched each other very closely inside and outside the bator in a side by side test. Yes, Crescent City is always very moist! Think Redwood trees, the ocean and lots of rain!

Oh, Pinky, be carefull!  My first hatch-a-long (Mahonri's 2012 Easter Hatch) I had a 0% hatch rate.  I later discovered that my two thermometers, one digital, one mercury, both read exactly 2 degrees low.  The entire hatch, my eggs were in 101.7 temps.  I never dreamed they could both be wrong yet exactly the same.  I COOKED my poor eggies!

Exactly!

I am always more comfortable with using ones for incubators.

Luckily the humidity is not as critical as the temps. The Brinsea incubator should be spot on for temperature!

Good luck with the hatch!