"DRY INCUBATION"

[DeannaA]

I have read about basic incubation. Everything I've read pretty much says the same as dry method, other than letting it dry out completely before adding water. But when I let it dry out, my temps jump to 111'- 114' and kill my eggs. How do I prvent this and what else is different that I am missing?

 

[Roadeo99]

I'm in California with not a lot of humidity and I am confused how to bring my room humidity up it's around 25%. What should inside the incubator be for humidity? I have it set up and it's reading 101' inside but my humidity gauge outside says 25% thanks this is my first hatch do I put a humidity gauge inside as well as outside??? Please help

 

[rayray983]

First time incubating and I'm dry hatching I'm on day 19 so only a few days to go in lock down I have a egg rocking and rolling and peeping so far I have a lg forced air and couldn't ask for anything better temp has remained steady had to decrease the temp around day 10 read up and it turns out my eggs start making there own heat around that time started with 47 eggs barnyard mix dropped one at day 7 and it busted open poor baby day 10 tossed one due to infertilityon day 18 I candled and have on ifish looking egg so first time incubator and got 45 out of 47 eggs in lock down love this web site I would be completely lost without it and oh yea I hand turned my eggs feel more conected to them that way thanks to everyone who posts on here I've learned so much

 

[cvstable]

I keep having a problem with my humidity dropping too low, this is my first batch trying this method. Humidity will get down to 20% every other day, and when I add water it jumps up to 40-50%. Will constant fluctuation hurt the eggs? It is so dry where I am right now we had to add a humidifier in my girls room..

 

[lazy gardener]

Cvstable: No the fluctuation won't hurt the eggs. Goal is 45% through day 18 then up to 65%. My humidity fluctuated between 15 - 50% in the first stage, and I had an excellent hatch. Keep an eye on your air cells, and compare them to the charts. That'll help you stay on target. And yes, you will see temp fluctuations even though your bator is thermostatically controlled. When the chick's metabolism increases, you might see some temp spikes and may need to adjust temp accordingly. Roadeo99: I'd be more interested in the humidity inside the incubator. I understand the concept of keeping the humidity up in the room the bator is in, but honestly, it's what's going on in the bator that really matters. Remember that chicks need air. It's tempting to block the air vents to the bator to keep the humidity up, but that also cuts down on O2 availability.

 

[Roadeo99]

Thanks so much

 

[waldeneffect]

We've learned that dry incubation is the right way to go during certain times of the year.

It would most likely depend on your climate zone as well.

Here's a blog post my wife made summing up our experience with dry incubation.

http://www.avianaquamiser.com/posts/Dry_incubation/

 

[rayray983]

Dry hatch works for northern Arkansas in winter I'm thinking in summer with higher humidity then I won't add any water at all till lock down

 

[rayray983]

My first hatch ever using dry hatch I got 43 of 45 hatched!!! Also on my second hatch lock down tmrw and I've got 66 eggs going into lock down

 

[traceyj]

Know this an old thread but I've just started my first home incubator dry hatch. Will keep you updated how I go.