Anatomy of a 90% hatch. Warning: DATA (UPDATE, WT./MOISTURE DATA)

[jmc]

Well, here is the data (yawn) from my most recent run with the bators

I do hope that it may be of some use to others in TV land!

I don't know how to import a table into the forum and i don't have excel anyway, so i have to sort of make a table..................

Eggs set into two Brinsea Octagon 20 Eco incubators the evening of 21 November. Hatch date would be =/- 12 December.

44 eggs set.

Each unit had 22 eggs.

ALL AMBIENT DATA IS FROM ACCURITE INSTRUMENTS

ALL INCUBATOR TEMPS. DAYS ONE TO EIGHTEEN ARE FROM THE GLASS THERMOMETER INCLUDED WITH UNITS.

ALL INCUBATOR RH READINGS ARE FROM ACCURITE INSTRUMENTS.


DATA, DAYS ONE TO SEVEN:


Avg. Ambient Temp.: 71.9
Avg. Ambient RH: 32.8

Avg. Temp. Unit I: 99.4
Avg. RH Unit I: 42.7

Avg. Temp. Unit II: 101
Avg. RH Unit II: 41.9

Candling day seven eliminated two clear eggs and one blood ring.
Now down to 41 eggs:
Unit I with 20; Unit II with 21.


DATA, DAYS EIGHT TO FOURTEEN:

Avg. Ambient Temp.: 72.2
Avg. Ambient RH: 34.5

Avg. Temp. Unit I: 99.5
Avg. RH, Unit I: 41.5

Avg. Temp. Unit II: 100.4
Avg. RH Unit II: 38.8

Candling day 14: one more odd looking clear removed.
Now down to 40 eggs:
Unit I with 19; Unit II with 21.


DATA, DAYS FIFTEEN TO SEVENTEEN:

Avg. Ambient Temp.: 72.4
Avg. Ambient RH: 41.4

Avg. Temp. Unit I: 100.1
Avg. RH, Unit I: 44.5

Avg. Temp. Unit II: 100.4
Avg. RH, Unit II: 37.1

Candling day 17 made it clear to me that at least some of the eggs would not hatch, some air cells quite small, embryo odd shaped, egg not lost enough weight, etc.
Nevertheless, forty into lockdown.

DATA, DAYS EIGHTEEN TO TWENTY-ONE:

Hatching Unit is a Hovabator Genesis 1588
Bator temp and RH is recorded by Accurite instrument.

Avg. Ambient Temp.: 70.9
Avg. Ambient RH: 28.7

Avg. Hatcher Temp. (by Accurite): 99.3
Avg. Hatcher RH (by same Accurite): 77.6


RESULTS:

As I suspected early on, hatching began a bit early.
First egg hatched at noon, day 20

hatch complete by same time day 21.

36 eggs out of 40 hatched: 18 out of each unit. Three of the eggs I had doubts about did not, in fact, hatch. The fourth, well...............c'est la vie.


90% hatch. Very pleased.

 

[jmc]

EGG WEIGHT/MOISTURE LOSS DATA

Since the avg. weight of the eggs in each unit differed by only .5g, the data listed here from Unit I suffices for the eggs in both incubators.

The data here is governed by the ideal of 13% weight loss by day 21 (not 13% wt. loss by day 18, as some say, apparently erroneously)


At start date:

Avg egg wt.: 57.4g


Avg. wt. day 7:

Unit I: 53.95g
Unit II: 53.8g

Ideal wt: 55.2


Avg. wt. day 14:

Unit I: 51.6
Unit II: 51.4

Ideal wt.: 52.6


Avg. wt. day 17 (my last before lockdown the next morning):

Unit I: 50.05
Unit II: 50.04

Ideal wt.: 51.5


So you can see, there is what "the book" calls for, and what "the field" sometimes gives us. These eggs had lost too much weight/moisture (I was heading for 15 + percent total wt. loss), and yet had a very good hatch at 90% !