California - Northern

[SilkieRose]

Lockdown help!!!
Ok...since my hatches will be staggered, I built a hatch box to regulate the higher humidity for the ones on lockdown. Question is this: I have seen so many variances that I need a good number for success!! How low does the humidity need to be on lockdown? I was able to get it up to 80% last night, but I don't want any drownings!! Also- what is the max humidity the bator should be at while the others are in it?? I have been keeping it at 50%, but I brought it down to 45% last night.
I keep reading conflicting numbers
Thanks, Shelly

 

[ronott1]

Lockdown help!!!
Ok...since my hatches will be staggered, I built a hatch box to regulate the higher humidity for the ones on lockdown. Question is this: I have seen so many variances that I need a good number for success!! How low does the humidity need to be on lockdown? I was able to get it up to 80% last night, but I don't want any drownings!! Also- what is the max humidity the bator should be at while the others are in it?? I have been keeping it at 50%, but I brought it down to 45% last night.
I keep reading conflicting numbers
Thanks, Shelly

They cannot drown from the humidity in the incubator. They drown if they egg is wet on the inside and they are in a Mal position. If you are hatching a lot of eggs, the humidity will often get to nearly 100 percent in the hatcher because each hatched chick releases moisture and the adds to it by being wet!

65 to 75 seems to work fine but do not fret about it too much. I have read posts from people that missed lockdown completely and hatched chick were found on the egg turner with humidity set at 40.

I am very excited for you!

 

[ronott1]

Lockdown help!!!
Ok...since my hatches will be staggered, I built a hatch box to regulate the higher humidity for the ones on lockdown. Question is this: I have seen so many variances that I need a good number for success!! How low does the humidity need to be on lockdown? I was able to get it up to 80% last night, but I don't want any drownings!! Also- what is the max humidity the bator should be at while the others are in it?? I have been keeping it at 50%, but I brought it down to 45% last night.
I keep reading conflicting numbers
Thanks, Shelly

For a Dry hatch you would keep the humidity between 35 and 45%. If the chicks stick, raise the humidity 5% for the next hatch.

With the Genesis incubators, I had disposable food storage containers that I cut a hole in the top side of the lid, fill it with water and the put in side way into the incubator. For my last hatch I had two of those and had to add a condiment cup from a steak house(it showed up at my house one day--don not know how it got there...). I was shooting for 40%. When the humidity dropped to 25% I would refill the water.

I splurged and got the humidity pump with my Octagon and now it does all the work. Rock steady temps and humidity at 40%. It is amazing.

 

[debs_flock]

Those of you who have done chicken exchanges in parking lots and the side of the road, do you do anything to make sure chickens don't escape during the transfer?

I'm meeting someone today, just off the freeway, to hand over 10 chickens. I don't have individual cages, will have to put multiples in large dog crates. These chickens are not used to being handled, some are very flighty. I'm hoping that I can do this without any escapees.

Any tips?

Thanks!

I try to keep the crate inside my vehicle and block the door as much as possible when I open it. Make contact with the first thing you can leg or wing. Have you watched judges catch wild birds in show coops? They usually grab right where the wing attaches to the chest.

Good luck, I've moved some NUTS birds, LOL.

Deb

 

[SilkieRose]

They cannot drown from the humidity in the incubator. They drown if they egg is wet on the inside and they are in a Mal position. If you are hatching a lot of eggs, the humidity will often get to nearly 100 percent in the hatcher because each hatched chick releases moisture and the adds to it by being wet!

65 to 75 seems to work fine but do not fret about it too much. I have read posts from people that missed lockdown completely and hatched chick were found on the egg turner with humidity set at 40.

I am very excited for you!

OMG!!! I'm EGGstatic!!! lol!! Especially since one may be born on my birthday Should I turn the humidity in the bator down to help the eggs? They are on their side tilted big end up. I only have 9 right now, but I'm expecting the 10th today. I will stop there & open an egg on the 2nd. I haven't opened any, but the breeder said they were both fertile. How long do they stay fertile? She said 20 days?? I will post pics of my set up later; my bator is small. I'm sure I could go up to 12, but my husband wants eggs & bacon...sooooo!!! We made a deal that after I got my fertile eggs I would be making breakfast lol

 

[SilkieRose]

For a Dry hatch you would keep the humidity between 35 and 45%. If the chicks stick, raise the humidity 5% for the next hatch.

With the Genesis incubators, I had disposable food storage containers that I cut a hole in the top side of the lid, fill it with water and the put in side way into the incubator. For my last hatch I had two of those and had to add a condiment cup from a steak house(it showed up at my house one day--don not know how it got there...). I was shooting for 40%. When the humidity dropped to 25% I would refill the water.

I splurged and got the humidity pump with my Octagon and now it does all the work. Rock steady temps and humidity at 40%. It is amazing.

what constitutes a dry hatch? I thought it was without humidity... I sure hope I'm doing this right!

 

[capayvalleychick]

Thanks so much for the suggestions! I wish that I had a van, that would be the safest. Maybe the person getting the chicks will be driving one.

Boxes are a good idea, but I don't have any right now. Will have to stock up for next time. I had totally forgotten about upending the crate when removing the birds. I know that works well for piggies, too.

Thanks for the reminder!
When I was at the Heirloom Expo, one of the chicken farmers came over and asked me if I had an extra feed sack for him to put his chickens in, to take them home. I thought it was horrible at the time but have heard about others doing the same.
I worry about suffocation. I was moving birds across our property once, during the summer. I had a nest box made out of a plastic storage tote. DH put a hen inside it, to move her. He put a cloth over the opening so she couldn't escape. She was only in there a minute. Next thing I saw was DH giving CPR to the hen! She had stopped breathing. He knew that I was going to be p***ed! So he was trying to revive her. I was upset about the loss of the hen but the sight of him doing mouth to mouth and chest compressions on a chicken - I didn't know whether to yell at him or laugh!
DH is a volunteer firefighter and he has revived kittens with CPR, so he thought it would work as well on a chicken. Unfortunately she did not survive, but now I laugh about it.

 

[juststruttin]

Those of you who have done chicken exchanges in parking lots and the side of the road, do you do anything to make sure chickens don't escape during the transfer?

I'm meeting someone today, just off the freeway, to hand over 10 chickens. I don't have individual cages, will have to put multiples in large dog crates. These chickens are not used to being handled, some are very flighty. I'm hoping that I can do this without any escapees.

Any tips?

Thanks!

Put a blanket over the cage to keep it as dark as possible. This will keep birds in calm and you should just be able to reach in and pick em out one at a time. If you are putting them in another cage together cover that cage too. Good luck

 

[OR4-hmom]

There was a chicken trade off last summer at a park where we do 4-h dog training. The person receiving the cockarel had other chickens, it was assumed she knew how to handle them. Incorrect assumtion!!! 10 of us spent 45 minutes trying to catch him again, after that fiasco I handle my birds.

 

[ronott1]

Quote: The "wet" hatch is 55%. Less than that traditional amount is a dry hatch. If you live in a dry place, then there is not enough humidity in the air to keep the correct humidity for hatching. For example, the deep south in the summer, without adding water you would have about 40% without adding water. Here in CA, and not on the north coast, we do not have enough humidity for hatching without adding water. The conditions change with the seasons too so you have to change the amount of water added to get to the correct humidity.

You can find a lot more information by clicking the link in my signature. There is also a chart that shows air cell development on days 7, 14 and 18. Humidity is supposed to be adjusted based on the air cell size on those dates.

For the very scientific, you can also weigh the eggs and chart its weight loss. Based on the % of weight loss, humidity is adjusted up and down in the incubator. Still it works to pick an humidity and then raise or lower it based on if the chicks are covered by an amber liquid or not. If so, raise the humidify 5% next time.