HELP!!!! Humidity all wrong!!!

[vivaciouswoman]

Could be the condition, or she may be a horrible momma. It's a toss up, so its up to you whether to give her another chance. I have had a couple hens kill chicks, only to go on to be wonderful mothers. But it's risky, so the risk is up to you.

Just the other day, I found a freshly hatched chick on its side, I thought dead. Grabbed it up, kept it inside overnight and the next day. Took it back to the group of broodies and it's fine now. It's eyes looked a little pecked at first and it wasn't able to get its butt up on top of its legs, but after 24 hours, it's fine.



The main problem with too many eggs is not being able to cover them all completely, and turn them sufficiently. But depending on the way she built her nest, I guess anything is possible! Lol
And how's the fertility? Might you lose a few if you can candle in a few days?

I'll give her another chance. She only has about half a dozen under her.

Good call on the fertility rate in the gigantic nest!! We're down to 2 roosters after Rooster Dude was killed, and they're servicing about 30 hens. Midnight is the dominant one, and he kicks the other rooster's tushy whenever he tries to mate with a hen, so essentially they're all getting serviced by just Midnight now. He does a little courting dance in the morning, but otherwise, he's not very aggressive with mating. I'm guesing my fertility rate might be lower now. Since she just started sitting, I'm going to give this girl a few full days on the nest before I sneak up to candle. Earliest number of days before candling with certainty?

 

[WVduckchick]

Depending on egg color and your candling light, usually 4 days growth can be seen seen, or reddness at the very least. But 7-10 days to be positive.

 

[vivaciouswoman]

Depending on egg color and your candling light, usually 4 days growth can be seen seen, or reddness at the very least. But 7-10 days to be positive.

Speaking of candling light, I just bought a flashlight I LOVE from my local Meijer store. I think it can be purchased just about anywhere. Yeah--Amazon has it. It's a COAST HX5. It's very small and has a nice circular end for candling without light leakage (many tactical flashlights don't). Switch out the regular battery for a Li-ion battery, and it gives off about 345 lumens!! Total cost: $20 for the flashlight and $12 for a few batteries that will last me the rest of my life. No cords, no worries about overheating the egg--It's LED. LOVE it! It's the one I used for the pictures posted earlier. I'll repost one of them here. This is a relatively dark corner of my kitchen in mid-day on an egg that's thick-walled and pretty hard to see anything for.

Now if I can just keep hubby's and kids' hands off my flashlight and batteries somehow...

 

[vivaciouswoman]

I'm getting desperate about these air cell sizes. I'm ready to just set the eggs in a bed of pure salt and see if I can pull moisture out. Am I crazy???

 

[Lazy Farmer]

the RH here in my area of Michigan is naturally 50-70%.

BINGO! Geographical location is everything!
We have upwards of 90% RH and higher in Fl. I run ZERO WATER in my incubators. Anything over 59-60% on day 18 (here) causes wet gooey sticky splay leg- mass drowning. Some one quoted over 70% earlier.. I know they don't live where I do.
Florida's air is like a invisible rainbow right now. It has been raining everyday for a month.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

I'll give her another chance. She only has about half a dozen under her.

Good call on the fertility rate in the gigantic nest!! We're down to 2 roosters after Rooster Dude was killed, and they're servicing about 30 hens. Midnight is the dominant one, and he kicks the other rooster's tushy whenever he tries to mate with a hen, so essentially they're all getting serviced by just Midnight now. He does a little courting dance in the morning, but otherwise, he's not very aggressive with mating. I'm guesing my fertility rate might be lower now. Since she just started sitting, I'm going to give this girl a few full days on the nest before I sneak up to candle. Earliest number of days before candling with certainty?

Little does Midnight know, the hens are all sneaking out late at night to have a rendezvous with the rival rooster..... because he's not violent, sweet tempered, and listens to their problems.

 

[vivaciouswoman]

BINGO! Geographical location is everything!
We have upwards of 90% RH and higher in Fl. I run ZERO WATER in my incubators. Anything over 59-60% on day 18 (here) causes wet gooey sticky splay leg- mass drowning. Some one quoted over 70% earlier.. I know they don't live where I do.
Florida's air is like a invisible rainbow right now. It has been raining everyday for a month.

I used to live in Gainesville, FL. HATED IT! I was essentially living in a swamp. I guess you could get your RH down with a/c, which is a must down there.

So glad to have my seasons back, though the summers are getting crueler and crueler and winters less and less snowy up here in Michigan.

 

[vivaciouswoman]

Little does Midnight know, the hens are all sneaking out late at night to have a rendezvous with the rival rooster..... because he's not violent, sweet tempered, and listens to their problems.

 

[vivaciouswoman]

I'm getting desperate about these air cell sizes. I'm ready to just set the eggs in a bed of pure salt and see if I can pull moisture out. Am I crazy???

^^^But...THIS! Thoughts?

 

[Lazy Farmer]

I used to live in Gainesville, FL. HATED IT! I was essentially living in a swamp. I guess you could get your RH down with a/c, which is a must down there.

So glad to have my seasons back, though the summers are getting crueler and crueler and winters less and less snowy up here in Michigan.

I use socks with rice in them at lock down. It is 97%RH outside here right now. You can feel the air.