Another interesting read on "dry hatching" quail eggs

[_Randall_]

I'm getting more and more tempted to try the dry-hatch thing. Here's yet another somewhat persuasive read.........you decide: http://paraguinparadise.netfirms.com/Dry%20Incubation.htm
Might work here in the soggy south, but prolly wouldn't be to successful in Arizona!!

 

[optic1]

Interesting article, since I have eggs up the kazoo, I might try a few batches that way. We have an extremely dry climate up here on the east side of the Cascades but I think I can control it in our hatching room.

 

[FenDruadin]

I'm sold on dry hatching, at least for my location and situation. I have been hatching duck eggs dry, and getting better hatches than before I switched. My last hatch was a bit rough (only 76%), but before that it was all 90s on percentage. We also just hatched some quail eggs, first time hatching them. Every single fertile egg hatched (we set 10, one was infertile, the remaining nine all hatched healthy).

Live in the Southeast, it's pretty humid here, but it really hasn't gotten all that humid yet this year. Obviously, what works for me won't work for everyone, but dry incubation works great for me.

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
when I lived in research triangle I thought it was really dry most of the year I grew up here at the south end of the Chesapeake where most of the year it is 65% +++ RH when I lived in NC my skin constantly flaked here at Va beach I love my humidity I had a hard time keeping it below 65-70% my last hatch out of 17 eggs i candled on the 10th day I had 9 good eggs out of the 9 , 8 hatched I had 65%+ most of the hatch . It ran 70+ at lockdown I was thinking about the dry hatch thing I read a couple of different thoughts on it but a lot of everything else I have read says game birds need higher humidity then chickens and so far I have been tweaking my bator and my technique withe my bator this last hatch was pretty uneventful almost everything happened by the book that is just too cool when you get to see that

 

[FenDruadin]

I should add that I do NOT follow all those recommendations exactly. I pretty much just don't add water until lockdown. Then I raise the humidity as high as it will go (usually between 65-75 percent) without actually raining on the eggs (and I have had it rain in the incubator, lol). I open the incubator once or twice a day during the hatch, to remove babies, fix any problems that have arisen during the hatch, etc. I have found that leaving a lot of babies in the incubator spells trouble for the remaining eggs, as the babies will sleep on top of them and sometimes make it impossible for them to get out of the shell on their own (I had this happen not too long ago--a pile of ducklings spent an entire night asleep on top of four eggs that were zipping. The zippers managed to complete their zipping, but then couldn't push the egg open, and spent so long trying that eventually they wore out and by the time the ducklings had woken up and moved on, they were stuck. Now I don't leave large numbers of hatched ducklings in a crowded incubator).

Anyway--the point is--I don't do exactly what the original "dry hatch" author suggests. I'm much too lazy for that, lol! And I have outstanding hatches.

 

[AHappychick]

for fun I set a hatch of quail eggs and did nothing, absolutly nothing and at least 70- 80% hatched. no turning and no water. I am sure i lost some but still... now I have quail turning racks so I turn them but still forget the water most times, or at least the first 14 days.

 

[Bettacreek]

To be honest, I seem to have excellent luck if I keep everything at the 45-55% mark the entire time, INCLUDING during hatch time. I've forgotten about button eggs so many times and never adjusted the humidity, then heard peeping in the incubator. I've always had a great hatch that way.

 

[_Randall_]

Quote:
Yep, you are so right on this. I learned that this past week on my "initiation hatch-off"....LOL ............ When you've got 94 eggs in there, and after about 20 or so hatch out, they don't have ANY mercy on the zippers

I opened my LG many times to thin the herd, so the "in-progress" boogers could have a chance.............and they just kept on'a hatchin'!!!

 

[_Randall_]

Quote:
What kind of bator do you have?

 

[_Randall_]

Quote:
That's where I was on my first hatching, and I'm duplicating that on the one I started tonight. BUT, I'm prone to try the dry thing soon!!!