ALASKA incubation tips please

[BirdBrain]

For those of you who have successfully incubated chicks in Alaska, I need to pick your brains. I last hatched eggs in Houston and as we all know, temps and humidities are very different. What do you run your humidity at? Anyone want to loan me some eggs for a practice incubation? You can have the babies when we are done. I am going to be getting eggs from my Mom (BOs) and I want everything set and perfect.

 

[GraceAK]

Eggs all develop the same at the same temps. as long as you keep them at a standard incubation temp/humidity it should be fine.

Also, still air or forced air?

 

[Ban seabhag]

I just use the standard for dry hatch. Up it for lockdown. The temps will be a little different if you have a still air. I have eggs in now but they are shipped. I am just building a flock.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
Hey, we got fertile eggs!
PM me, we live in Willow, so we are not that far away.
My broody can only do so much, LOL!

 

[BirdBrain]

I tried the dry incubation and ended up with chicks that were too dry. We hatched out 30 of 39 but we had to help two and cull two others. Thankfully, the two I washed off in the sink were pullets and ended up as favorites in my Mom's flock. I was thinking that with the lower humidity here than houston I would have an even harder time keeping the humidity up. I will be using the bator pictured on my BYC page.

Paula, I would love to hatch some eggs for you. What have you got?

 

[Ban seabhag]

What did you use for the humidity? I start with 35-40 and up it to 65 - 70 for the lockdown. The first ones I tried drowned in the shell from to high humidity. They've been doing much better for me anyway. I use a brinsea, and a Hovabator still air.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
We have standard Cochins, RIRs, EEs and CMs.
Just for fun, I have two Cochin/EE eggs under my broody, just to see what they will look like

I would get you Cochin and Cochin/RIR eggs, as its a bit hard to tell which is which.
How many can you do? Or, should I ask how many do you want to do, LOL!

I candled three of the eggs yesterday, ( day 6) and I am pretty sure a couple of them are not viable.
I will check again on day 14 or so, to see what is what.
Just in the eggs we are eating, it looks like very few of the eggs are not fertile, which is good!

 

[GraceAK]

I am using 30-35% humidity, and 95.5-100 F temperature, and all seems well. in AK it can get really dry because it is so cold, so make sure there is plenty of water and such.

Good luck!

 

[Ban seabhag]

Grace, what humidity do you go to for lockdown? Does 65-70 seem reasonable to you or do you go higher?

 

[BirdBrain]

My bator is forced air. The way I remember it I had humidity at 25-40 until day 18 when I upped it to 65ish. I think temps may have been a squidge on the high side and plan to try for half a degree lower this time.

Paula I can do up to 40 eggs. I'll get my bator out today or tomorrow and get it going to balance it any maybe we can get together this weekend.