Also Rin - I don't think 40% is too dry for the eggs. I have always done mine at 30% for the first 18 days and 55-65% for lockdown and it seems to work well. It sounds like with the defects and such it could have been a temperature problem or old eggs.
Quote:
Sadly if your local is correct there, nowhere near. I live in Florida, Ocala. Thanks so much for the offer at least
Yeah sorry, I am in Michigan... Do you know anyone who sells "brown eggs" locally? You could go talk to them and if they have a roo get a fresh dozen from them. I did this for my second batch and got a good hatch. We went out together and gathered them right out of the nesting boxes. At least you will have a better idea if the problems are shipping related or incubator related.
Quote:
Insensitive? NO WAY! I want to hear other people hatching or I wouldn't still be here. It's about the few things that'll cheer me up right now. That. and pictures
lots of pictures.
Also, your other post to me was like a no way to me. Is there a chance these guys were too sick or weak in the first place and not actually the humidity? I mean the air sack was pretty dry but they tore holes in them before dying and some died before even touching it or properly attempting to touch it. The membrane was still pretty soft and mushy. Like it wasn't stuck to them or anything which is why a huge part of me was like "WHY"... I would have believed the temperature being an issue more than anything. It got extremely erratic near, at, and after LD. Not during the main incubation. Is there a chance the spikes I mentioned earlier made them weak/sick? Because then I just need to install a fan and turner and not stress so much next time...
We have 1 egg sitting under a broody that hopefully will hatch around Dec 16th This is our first time and we weren't sure if she would sit on the eggs. We were told she is a blue bantam, we got her off craig's list. We haven't candled the egg because she is very protective of it. I haven't figure out how to load pictures yet but will try and get some on of her and the roo.
Quote:
Insensitive? NO WAY! I want to hear other people hatching or I wouldn't still be here. It's about the few things that'll cheer me up right now. That. and pictures
lots of pictures.
Also, your other post to me was like a no way to me. Is there a chance these guys were too sick or weak in the first place and not actually the humidity? I mean the air sack was pretty dry but they tore holes in them before dying and some died before even touching it or properly attempting to touch it. The membrane was still pretty soft and mushy. Like it wasn't stuck to them or anything which is why a huge part of me was like "WHY"... I would have believed the temperature being an issue more than anything. It got extremely erratic near, at, and after LD. Not during the main incubation. Is there a chance the spikes I mentioned earlier made them weak/sick? Because then I just need to install a fan and turner and not stress so much next time...
Think about it like this.... If those eggs sat for 10-14 days before being put into the incubator, they were slowly drying out all that time. So even if you had the correct humidity they could have ended up too dry. Those air sacs looked really big so if the humidity was spot on, I would almost lean towards older eggs. Did you happen to candle them before putting them in the incubator? If they had anything but a tiny air sac then they were not the freshest of eggs.
I will take some pictures of the pips after supper. And we had 4 pips by the time I got home. Go chickies, go!
If you can get photos of them we can probably ID them for you. Good luck with your broody banty. I had one go broody the other day but she gave up after like 12 hours lol.
great....so i have a little problem here.....first of all I am a dork, let me just say that, I AM the problem...but for the part of the problem you guys can help me with......
Ok, so I got a hydometer. It was reading like 45ish prior to LD. I added my extra water in the secondary water spot. It was about 55ish. So I got a bowl of water and put some paper towels in there to increase the humidity. AND then while the eggs were safe from rolling around I moved the bator across the room. Then I had to travel across town and back....about 2 hours away from the house. So I got back and noticed that the temp was at 95ish instead of back at 100. Then I freaked because half of the carton and the paper towel on the mesh was SOAKED and the humidity was at almost 80!!!! Ok, I figured out that the water just sloshed from below when i moved it. So I put in a new carton and got everything situated.
So to end this long story and get to the point....I have removed the bowl of water but the humidity only dropped to about 78ish. Where exactly should it be and how can i get it there. (remember that I have an assortment of eggs....marans, orps, hamberg, lakenvelder if that matters) Also when you increase humidity is it harder to keep the temp up?
Thank you Crazy4Chicks as I now have the same problem. My temp is kind of low on the digital but the liquid therm inside the bator is OK, the humidity is higher. I've removed the two red plugs and there is still a tiny bit of condensation on the two windows. What is the optimum humidity level if I am not using the dry method? I've read anywhere from 60-80% I'm at about 77% .... I checked the eggs by laying them down flat and they all rocked/moved. So I will assume I have not killed them........hopefully will not!