Air cells...Am I on track?

[CSisley]

By the way, the chicks in your picture are super cute, are they yours?

 

[stephanie1992]

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i think it should be ok, keep watching it and check how its forming, hope all goes well

 

[spowell]

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They were

A fox got them about 2 months ago. Which is the reason I am now hatching.

 

[spowell]

OK... lockdown day. As of this morning, the seven eggs had lost a combined weight of 11.85%. Should I wait until tonight to move them to the hatcher, or maybe tomorrow? Why can't I move them to the hatcher and not bring the humidity up until piping? This is my first hatch so tell me what is best. thanks

 

[pete55]

Hi

If your incubator is fan assisted then I would leave the eggs where they are until external pipping then place them into the hatcher with increased humidity. You can of course stop turning them if you wish. Your weight loss remains a little low and another trick to increase weight loss is to remove them from the incubator and let them cool for 20 minutes daily. Set an alarm so you dont forget them

Pete

 

[spowell]

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Thanks Pete

 

[pete55]

You're welcome

Just hold your nerve and keep them in low humidity as long as possible but trust me the cooling trick works (I use it all the time on the Dewlap Geese)

 

[Gypsy07]

How does cooling them cause them to lose weight faster? Not doubting you at all, just looking for an explanation of it...

 

[pete55]

Hi Gypsy

The technique of cooling and misting of the eggs remains controversial though other experienced breeders have employed these techniques (Ashton 1999, Holderread 1981). There appears no clear rationale how this benefits the growing chick though some consider the cooling as beneficial to the chick’s stamina. In relation to moisture loss it appears that as the egg cools to the room environment then heat is lost from the egg. It may be argued that rapidly escaping heat from the pores of the eggshell also carries water and gas molecules with it. Certainly there is evidence that daily cooling appears to improve hatch rates in domestic geese. The misting of eggs with tepid water at first appears illogical in stimulating water loss but this may increase further heat loss by evaporation.

It is a technique we usually have to employ to hatch the Dewlap Toulouse Geese which are notorious for losing insufficent weight. Sometimes I'll use it for the Parrot eggs if they're under their target weight. Usually I start using cooling as an aid to weight loss after approx the first third of incubation.

Pete

 

[Gypsy07]

Thanks for the info Pete. I was surprised the first time I incubated duck eggs by how low I had to keep the humidity to get them on track for the correct weight loss. I've never incubated geese - the pair we used to have did all the sitting and parenting themselves - but it sounds like they're quite similar to ducks. Think I read somewhere that with bigger eggs, the decreased ratio of shell surface to internal volume gives less of an opportunity for moisture to be lost, which sounds like it should be correct. If I ever try goose eggs, I shall remember your advice!