Drowning chicks.

[mama24]

Kinda hard to lower the humidity when it's always around 40% in my house. And I have hatched before with the same humidity, as has my boss with no problems. He said his wife is a member of BYC and she was told by people on here that it was the rain that made the humidity too high causing the higher death rate. Well, whatever is going on, my hatch is over. I opened up the eggs that weren't having any sign of life while I was there checking on my chicks. The ones I opened up were either never fertile or had quit weeks ago. I only had 1 chick die, and like I said, it was halfway through zipping. I don't know if it drowned or not, but it was dripping wet, as were the 2 that were just getting out of their shells when I got home an hour ago. My chicks that hatched before it started raining weren't this wet. Of course I know chicks are always wet when they hatch. I have never seen them THIS wet before, though. Maybe the chick that died just wasn't strong enough, but since it was very wet, I choose to believe my boss and his years of experience in this particular climate. No need to get nasty with me over it.

 

[yinepu]

Quote:
that's when you go for a "dry incubation".. in other words you do not add any water for the first 18 days.. please do a search on here for "dry incubation" I have never had to do one because the relative humidity in my home is always low enough that I do have to add moisture.. but from what I know of dry incubations you want to aim for about 35 to 40% humidity in the incubator.. those who are more experienced with dry incubation can give you more insight on the proper humidity.. i know some people never add any water during the first 18 days.. and some only add a bit here and there..

also please make sure your hygrometer has been calibrated before incubation.. even if you calibrated it last time it can change from one incubation period to the next

 

[mama24]

I tried the dry incubation before. Then I had shrink wrapped chicks. I just can't seem to win. But I only lost 1 this time.

 

[yinepu]

ok.. the shrink wrapping is due to the humidity dropping too low during hatch.. like when the incubator is opened for too long of an interval or if the incubator has a fan and the humidity dips too low.. a slow chick with a large pip can also shrink wrap if your incubator has a fan because the fan dries the membrane out too much before the weakened chick can break it.. which is why a really nice high humidity at hatch is a good thing.. it helps to keep the membrane soft so the chicks can break through it much easier

so try for a drier incubation and a nice wet hatch and you should have a much better hatch rate

 

[Caffus]

Is 50% ok at lock down? Cant seem to get it any higher

 

[JaeG]

Is 50% ok at lock down? Cant seem to get it any higher

Try adding a wet sponge or cloth. That should help bump it up a bit. Just make sure it isn't touching the eggs as it can chill them. 60%+ is best for lockdown, but I wouldn't stress until the eggs are due to hatch as it can take a little while for your humidity gauge to read the current conditions.

Good luck with the hatch.

 

[Caffus]

Try adding a wet sponge or cloth. That should help bump it up a bit. Just make sure it isn't touching the eggs as it can chill them. 60%+ is best for lockdown, but I wouldn't stress until the eggs are due to hatch as it can take a little while for your humidity gauge to read the current conditions.

Good luck with the hatch.

Thank you it worked!

 

[ChickNeeny]

high humidity during lockdown and hatch WILL NOT drown your chicks.. i have had it as high as 90% and never had a problem (been hatching chicks for a very very long time)...

they can drown when the incubation humidity is too high

I hear this...but every time I do a raised humidity hatch the eggs fill with liquid and the chicks die. If I hatch low I have success.