Can 30% humidity be too low?

[youngbiddy]

I've been following the dry incubation method and I've just candled some of my eggs at day 17. Some of the air cells seem almost too large, as in all across the entire fat end of the egg. I'm trying not to freak out that maybe I mummified the poor little dears while trying not to drown them.

 

[chicmom]

Well, I do know people who dry incubate. Well, the air sacs you describe do seem large, but all you can do now is get that humidity up when it's time for lockdown. Just don't worry.......(easier said than done, I know)......Consider this a learning experience and let us all know what happens at hatch time!

Good luck to you! Things might turn out just fine!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

The idea is to get the air sack big enough. If you think you have gotten there then go ahead an raise the humidity to lockdown levels. I have had some that still hatched with the airsack so big it deformed around the shape of the chick. Dont really want to get that far but even if you do the ones that cant hatch you can help them.

 

[youngbiddy]

Oh, all the air sacs are definitely large enough.

The smallest ones I've seen (five of my own eggs) are about the size of one of those big old dollar coins I used to see sometimes as a child (in the 80's). I raised the humidity yesterday to around 40% by filling both water channels on the sides, and just filled the middle one as well and the humidity only went up to 45%! I'm thinking of adding some sponges, and since the bator is in the master bath I could close the door and turn the shower on if I had to. I was just debating whether it would do any harm to raise the humidity to hatch levels, or if it would be too late for the ones that were too dry, anyway. Most of my eggs were shipped, and now I'm thinking that if some of them were a little on the old side, or too porous, they would have dried out much faster than my own fresh eggs and what kept some of them from drowning would mummify the others!

Crap, crap, crap. I'll find out this weekend, but I don't know if I'll have the intestinal fortitude to crack any open that don't hatch. Seeing a mummified baby would just be a little much for me.