Experimenting with dry incubation; Worried about air cell size day 9..

[lamNervousNellie]

I've been experimenting a bit with 'dry' incubation on this hatch.. Humidity's been between 30-40% pretty consistantly, and seems to hover right around 33% with little to no water.

Yesterday was day 9 so I candled to see what was going on. 10 out of 12 are looking great.. but I'm a little concerned about the air cell size. Normally a freshly laid egg from my hens has an air cell about the size of a dime, or slightly smaller. When I candled last night, the cell seemed to be about the size of a quarter, or slightly larger. Is this too big/are my chicks going to be forced to hatch early?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Oh, P.S... The eggs were laid by a RIR (well, production red.. althought she could be a sex link! We're incubating eggs laid by 2 of our girls and I'm not sure which egg comes from which hen). If pics are a necessity I can take some tonight. Thanks again, all. Also, I'm using a LG bator w/ fan kit, if that matters!

EDIT: ok, screw it, I just took some pics.. not the greatest since I was trying to hold my phone (camera), a flashlight, and the egg all at once but hopefully this helps. I wish I could remember what my last hatch looked like on day 9

This egg was laid today:

This is a day 9 egg (well, day 10 now I guess):

 

[youngbiddy]

I've used dry incubation and just did another hatch with 'standard' humidity levels. I had 66% of my shipped eggs hatch with the dry method, and about 20% with standard humidity. I was concerned about the size of my air cells the first time, and they all did great. I would say make sure that your hygrometer is giving you a correct reading and then don't worry about it.

 

[lamNervousNellie]

Quote:
Thanks for that, it helped put my mind at ease a bit

On another note, is the first picture showing up as looking really crazy for anyone else, or is it just me? It looked fine when I previewed the post but when it redirected me back to the page after submitting it looks weird, like half green half purple & split up?

 

[youngbiddy]

It did look weird when it first started to load up but when it finished it was fine.

The second air cell looks good; I'd candle again at day 14 or so and maybe up the humidity by 5-7% if it's grown a lot more. And definitely make sure your hygrometer is accurate. If it's reading 10 points higher than what it actually is, then you should worry. Otherwise, 33% is great!

 

[FOGELLY]

I would not worry about the size of that air cell. It looks good to me. If you candled eggs from under a broody you will find them to be very large also. Stick with your plan, a good sized air cell gives the chick a nice water free dome for pipping. I would stay at 35% average, until lockdown then 65%. The first time I did I also found that the air cell was alot larger than in the past.
Let us know how it comes along. Good luck.

 

[lamNervousNellie]

Thanks for the input, everyone!

I had a nightmare about a bad hatch last night (I candled immediately before bedtime, dumb idea!

)

I have another question though.. How do I know if my hygrometer is accurate? Is there a way to test it somehow?

 

[FOGELLY]

Here is a link for a easy to use way to check your hygrometer.
http://cmfarm.us/HygrometerCalibration.html

 

[lamNervousNellie]

Quote:
Perfect! Much appreciated

..except after looking at the site they recommend using "ordinary table salt" but with no iodine? that might be hard to find since mostly all table salts have had iodine added to them (not to be a smarty pants, we learned about that in culinary school!)

 

[redhd077]

l.comNervousNellie :

Quote:
Perfect! Much appreciated

..except after looking at the site they recommend using "ordinary table salt" but with no iodine? that might be hard to find since mostly all table salts have had iodine added to them (not to be a smarty pants, we learned about that in culinary school!)

Yes you can find salt with out iodine. Or at least you can where i live. I did this test and found that my hygrometer was 11% off!! I just turned on my bator and am going to do a dry incubation....looking foward to see if you have a good hatch!​

 

[FOGELLY]

Kosher salt I believe dosn't have iodine.