Fourth failed hatch...what to do? *Dry Incubation Progress*

[chickee]

E.M. Silkies :

My incubator is holding 31% humidity. I think that's pretty good for a dry incubation. I read an article here on byc about dry incubation and it said not to touch the bator for the first seven days but on day seven add a tiny bit of water. I'm excited about this and crossing my fingers for a great hatch!!

I do not use the dry incubation method because I have a Octagon 20 advance ex that does it all, but from what I have read about dry incubation, you start out at 40% humidity, let it drop to 28%, then add enough water (just a little at a time) until you bring it back up to 40%, then repeat through day 18. For lockdown, 65% humidity works just fine. I used to have poor hatches due to too high of humidity because I did not calibrate my hygrometer with the salt test. None of the hygrometers I have used have been accurate. They all read lower than the actual humidity. I now get 100% hatches with my own eggs.
GOOD LUCK!

 

[E.M. Silkies]

Wish I had an octagon!! That would remove a lot of stress and guesswork! I'm just at my wits end with this incubator thing and I'm willing to try anything I can! Thanks for the input on the humidity... I just went back and reread the article I found and there were no concrete humidity levels given until lockdown. I will try to raise my levels a bit. Thanks for the good luck wishes! I need them!!

 

[nurse_turtle]

Try dry incubation. Super easy.

 

[E.M. Silkies]

Quote:
That's what I'm doing this time! It's the first time I've ever tried it so I'm crossing my fingers for great hatch rates!!

 

[KIDDSBANTAMS]

I live in NW Alabama and I use the dry incubation, right now I have 18 eggs in lockdown. I had 6 hatch on day 19 and 13 have pipped. It is just the early morning of day 20 so it is working great for me. I also use the egg carton for lockdown and I like it so far. Good luck

 

[chickee]

E.M. Silkies :

Wish I had an octagon!! That would remove a lot of stress and guesswork! I'm just at my wits end with this incubator thing and I'm willing to try anything I can! Thanks for the input on the humidity... I just went back and reread the article I found and there were no concrete humidity levels given until lockdown. I will try to raise my levels a bit. Thanks for the good luck wishes! I need them!!

The Octagon 20 advance ex came programmed with the humidity at 40%. I still transfer the eggs on day 18 to my Genesis 1588 for hatching, so I need to use a hygrometer and check it with the salt method before each use. It does say in the dry incubation article that bantams do better keeping the humidity at 40%. I have shipped eggs (bantam Polish) due to hatch on Sat/Sun and 6 out of the 8 made it to lockdown. Shipped eggs are touchy

I have had 10% to 100% hatches with them.
Keep us updated on the eggs progress and I will be keeping my fingers crossed that you get a good hatch this time.

 

[jmc]

Quote:
I do not use the dry incubation method because I have a Octagon 20 advance ex that does it all, but from what I have read about dry incubation, you start out at 40% humidity, let it drop to 28%, then add enough water (just a little at a time) until you bring it back up to 40%, then repeat through day 18. For lockdown, 65% humidity works just fine. I used to have poor hatches due to too high of humidity because I did not calibrate my hygrometer with the salt test. None of the hygrometers I have used have been accurate. They all read lower than the actual humidity. I now get 100% hatches with my own eggs.
GOOD LUCK!

glad to hear of your bator success. but what have you done about the hygrometers? not use them at all? or just realize when you read them that they are a bit off and make a mental adjustment?

 

[chickee]

Quote:
I do not use the dry incubation method because I have a Octagon 20 advance ex that does it all, but from what I have read about dry incubation, you start out at 40% humidity, let it drop to 28%, then add enough water (just a little at a time) until you bring it back up to 40%, then repeat through day 18. For lockdown, 65% humidity works just fine. I used to have poor hatches due to too high of humidity because I did not calibrate my hygrometer with the salt test. None of the hygrometers I have used have been accurate. They all read lower than the actual humidity. I now get 100% hatches with my own eggs.
GOOD LUCK!

glad to hear of your bator success. but what have you done about the hygrometers? not use them at all? or just realize when you read them that they are a bit off and make a mental adjustment?

I use the wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer/hygrometer outside remote unit in my hatching incubator. That way I can watch the temps and humidity on the base unit outside of my incubator. Before a hatch I calibrate it with the salt method, which is quick and easy to do. Just put your hygrometer in a zip lock baggie. Fill a bottle cap with table salt and put a few drops of water on the salt until it is just damp, not soggy. Put the bottle cap filled with salt into the baggie with your hygrometer and tightly seal it shut. Wait at least 12 hours and check the humidity and it should read 75%. Mine only read 61% so I know that it is reading 6% lower than the actual humidity. I like my humidity at 65% for lockdown, so I now know that when my hygrometer reads 59% (I mentally add the 6%) it is actually 65% and right where I want it

 

[monkeemakr]

I had the same problem, went through dry incubation this time and had a 30% hatch rate with shipped eggs, and that was with a HUGE humidity problem at the time of hatch (I wasn't home, called my son to check the level and it was over 100 after the first chick hatched - lesson learned there about how to raise during lockdown). I opened one plug for the first days and the humidity stayed at 40-45 most of the time. A couple of days it got down as low as 35 and all I did was just keep one plug out. What I learned from the humidity catastrophe was how to adjust it better. I ended up ditching both the red plugs during hatch and cutting strips of cellulose sponge to stick in the hole. If the level got below 70%, I would wet one or both of them to raise the humidity. If two or more chicks hatched at the same time, I would usually have to take one out and insert a dry one in the other hole to lower it. Sometimes instead of sticking the sponge strip in the hole, I would lay it across it leaving a tiny gap, which would adjust it up less than inserting it in the hole. I had marans eggs so I didn't get to candle them - couldn't really see no matter how strong the light - but most did not develop at all (probably scrambled during shipping). I could see where I lost about 2 marans, 2 auraconas, and 2 silkies that drowned during the humidity rush. My cheap old Little Giant did great at maintaining temperature, but the humidity level kept me on the go all the time.

I messed up by adding water to the wells in the bottom when I went into lockdown. That was why it shot up so high when the first chick hatched. From now on, I'll use the wet/dry sponges in the holes to adjust. Hoping both of us have better luck next time.

 

[E.M. Silkies]

Quote:
I do not use the dry incubation method because I have a Octagon 20 advance ex that does it all, but from what I have read about dry incubation, you start out at 40% humidity, let it drop to 28%, then add enough water (just a little at a time) until you bring it back up to 40%, then repeat through day 18. For lockdown, 65% humidity works just fine. I used to have poor hatches due to too high of humidity because I did not calibrate my hygrometer with the salt test. None of the hygrometers I have used have been accurate. They all read lower than the actual humidity. I now get 100% hatches with my own eggs.
GOOD LUCK!

glad to hear of your bator success. but what have you done about the hygrometers? not use them at all? or just realize when you read them that they are a bit off and make a mental adjustment?

Oh I'm still using my hygrometer. I calibrated it once and I'm aware that it's a little off. I thought I'd go and buy another one when I'm in town again just for reference and comparison.