- Dec 30, 2013
- 374
- 550
- 211
I'm skeptical about dry incubation. It seems like the only advantage is not having to add water...
After I candle eggs at lockdown with 40-50% humidity and then 50-60% humidity, I get between 80 and 95% hatch rate. I lost some chicks in my last batch that pipped while I was removing dry chicks, and I've had chicks shrinkwrapped from inadequate humidity. I've also had chicks that pipped internally and then died before they could unzip, but I don't know if they "drowned" or just ran out of air, and to me running out of air could mean not being able to unzip because it's too dry in the incubator. It could mean the chick was too weak to make that last stage, or that my temps were slightly off so they outgrew the egg, many possible reasons. However, the eggs didn't seem to be full of water and the other 35/42 chicks were A-Okay.
If someone reports percentages that match mine, I may give it a try, but it would need to be a sample size of more than a few eggs. So Little Jerry Seinfeld please report back!
After I candle eggs at lockdown with 40-50% humidity and then 50-60% humidity, I get between 80 and 95% hatch rate. I lost some chicks in my last batch that pipped while I was removing dry chicks, and I've had chicks shrinkwrapped from inadequate humidity. I've also had chicks that pipped internally and then died before they could unzip, but I don't know if they "drowned" or just ran out of air, and to me running out of air could mean not being able to unzip because it's too dry in the incubator. It could mean the chick was too weak to make that last stage, or that my temps were slightly off so they outgrew the egg, many possible reasons. However, the eggs didn't seem to be full of water and the other 35/42 chicks were A-Okay.
If someone reports percentages that match mine, I may give it a try, but it would need to be a sample size of more than a few eggs. So Little Jerry Seinfeld please report back!