Hatching Keets in an NR360??

[MissTracy]

Hey y’all!
I have been raising guinea for a few years and am in my second year of trouble hatching eggs in my Nurture Right 360. Last year I added new stock to my flock to enhance their fertility, and that has worked as candling 1-1/2 weeks in, 18 out of 22 are developing. However, when it comes to hatch day, I struggle to get them to hatch on their own. Today three out of 18 came naturally, four I helped by pipping out the air cell area.
I keep the humidity around 50-60% for most of the incubation and bump to 75% for hatching. I am still using the preset 99.5df, should I attempt a dry hatch or maybe bump the temp to 100?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[MissTracy]

Hey y’all!
I have been raising guinea for a few years and am in my second year of trouble hatching eggs in my Nurture Right 360. Last year I added new stock to my flock to enhance their fertility, and that has worked as candling 1-1/2 weeks in, 18 out of 22 are developing. However, when it comes to hatch day, I struggle to get them to hatch on their own. Today three out of 18 came naturally, four I helped by pipping out the air cell area.
I keep the humidity around 50-60% for most of the incubation and bump to 75% for hatching. I am still using the preset 99.5df, should I attempt a dry hatch or maybe bump the temp to 100?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

PS I have the newest model 360 as well as the slightly older version, both with the same problem.

 

[R2elk]

Hey y’all!
I have been raising guinea for a few years and am in my second year of trouble hatching eggs in my Nurture Right 360. Last year I added new stock to my flock to enhance their fertility, and that has worked as candling 1-1/2 weeks in, 18 out of 22 are developing. However, when it comes to hatch day, I struggle to get them to hatch on their own. Today three out of 18 came naturally, four I helped by pipping out the air cell area.
I keep the humidity around 50-60% for most of the incubation and bump to 75% for hatching. I am still using the preset 99.5df, should I attempt a dry hatch or maybe bump the temp to 100?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Sixty percent humidity is too high for the incubation phase. I try to keep my humidity at 30% to 35% for the incubation phase and increase it to 65% to 70% for lockdown.

I will help a keet if I see that it has been pipped for more than 24 hours without any progress. It happens several times during each hatch for me. By far the keets hatch on their own with some of the already hatched often helping to zip the pipped ones.

I very strongly urge you to salt calibrate a hygrometer to check the humidity. A calibrated thermometer is also a necessity.

 

[MissTracy]

Sixty percent humidity is too high for the incubation phase. I try to keep my humidity at 30% to 35% for the incubation phase and increase it to 65% to 70% for lockdown.

I will help a keet if I see that it has been pipped for more than 24 hours without any progress. It happens several times during each hatch for me. By far the keets hatch on their own with some of the already hatched often helping to zip the pipped ones.

I very strongly urge you to salt calibrate a hygrometer to check the humidity. A calibrated thermometer is also a necessity.

Hey! Long time no speak!
How have you been?
I could’ve sworn they needed a higher humidity. Memory isn’t what it used to be.
I will adjust and try again. I got extra thermometers/hygrometers with no real discrepancies. It’ll be a bit before I have enough eggs to try again, my hatching eggs sell faster than my birds

 

[R2elk]

Hey! Long time no speak!
How have you been?
I could’ve sworn they needed a higher humidity. Memory isn’t what it used to be.
I will adjust and try again. I got extra thermometers/hygrometers with no real discrepancies. It’ll be a bit before I have enough eggs to try again, my hatching eggs sell faster than my birds

Some people can get away with 50% humidity during incubation, I can't.

 

[My2butterflies]

Last year I incubated at 50-60% and did ok, but not great. Definitely more keets needed help. This year I’ve dry incubated around 30% and am doing way better. Out of three hatches so far I’ve helped I think 4 keets. Unfortunately our never ending heat wave has caused spikes at hatch (101) and killed 5 unhatched keets so far
I need to move my hatcher to a different location before my next lockdown.

 

[sunnie7]

I used my brand new NR 360 for my first clutch got 2/22....went back to my hand me down styrofoam incubator that doesn’t have a turner so I hand turn (and I work full time lol!) just hatched 14/14....I just put 12 in my NR 360 so we shall see. I’m also keeping my humidity down around 30 this time. I think it was possibly my eggs at the beginning of the season, I had a ton of blood rings and some not fertile.

 

[HarmonyPlains]

PS I have the newest model 360 as well as the slightly older version, both with the same problem.

I will say I have the same incubator and had the same problems with hatching quail in it. I ended up purchasing a new incubator after too many issues and only use the NR360 for chickens!