Honey Bee Homestead

[thistlewick]

Re; the hatch and incubation; from what I've read the humidity during incubation only needs to be above 20% (and below 60%) for it to be successful, so most people can safely dry hatch from day 1-18. It's a SUPER popular method and in my reading around, that's what most people do these days.

During lockdown (day 19-21) the humidity needs to be higher to make sure the egg actually softens up so they can successfully pip and zip -- and it *cannot* dip below 50% because that can cause shrink wrapping, where the internal membrane loses the moisture that it collected to soften when the humidity raised, and sucks back down onto the chick, disallowing movement.


The first time I incubated, I checked every 3 hours the ENTIRE 3 weeks, to keep humidity around 50-55% during 1-18, that was exhausting. I did have 2/2 hatch (yeah I only put 5 eggs in the first time, like a fool - 2 unfertilized, 1 day 10 quitter)

So this second time I did a day 1-18 dry hatch, and my house is climate controlled so 40-55% humidity ambient temp 72-74 and the bator was never lower than 33-35% humidity for day 1-18 -- then in lockdown I punched it up to 65-68% (it was hard to get it lower lol) and I had 11/12 hatch. (I candled after the hatch and it looked like a day 14/15 quitter, I did not candle at lockdown)

 

[HoneyBeeHomestead]

Re; the hatch and incubation; from what I've read the humidity during incubation only needs to be above 20% (and below 60%) for it to be successful, so most people can safely dry hatch from day 1-18. It's a SUPER popular method and in my reading around, that's what most people do these days.

During lockdown (day 19-21) the humidity needs to be higher to make sure the egg actually softens up so they can successfully pip and zip -- and it *cannot* dip below 50% because that can cause shrink wrapping, where the internal membrane loses the moisture that it collected to soften when the humidity raised, and sucks back down onto the chick, disallowing movement.


The first time I incubated, I checked every 3 hours the ENTIRE 3 weeks, to keep humidity around 50-55% during 1-18, that was exhausting. I did have 2/2 hatch (yeah I only put 5 eggs in the first time, like a fool - 2 unfertilized, 1 day 10 quitter)

So this second time I did a day 1-18 dry hatch, and my house is climate controlled so 40-55% humidity ambient temp 72-74 and the bator was never lower than 33-35% humidity for day 1-18 -- then in lockdown I punched it up to 65-68% (it was hard to get it lower lol) and I had 11/12 hatch. (I candled after the hatch and it looked like a day 14/15 quitter, I did not candle at lockdown)

I've done dry incubations before, but have always upped the humidity to ~60% during lockdown. That's what I did with my last hatch. I did have to add small amounts of water a few times during the first 18 days, as there were times it dropped to around 15%, and I like it to be 20-30%. For this next hatch, I am planning on doing a true dry hatch, which means no water is added during lockdown either. The idea is that as the chicks hatch, they will naturally raise the humidity. It's a bit scary, which is why I've avoided doing it thus far, but I've done lots of research and know people have had great success with it.
Throughout all my hatches over the last few years, I have had one consistent issue, which is chicks dying during lockdown before they hatch. I'm not 100% sure what is causing this. I expect a few losses, which is normal, but when I have done larger hatches, it would not be unusual to have 10 out of 30 healthy looking, fully developed chicks not hatch. I've tried three different incubators, different rooms, have expensive temp/humidity gauges, eggs from different places, different species of eggs, dry and wet incubations, and different styles of turning. At this point, the only other thing I can think to try, besides spending the money on a super fancy incubator, is a dry hatch with zero water added. My theory is that the chicks are drowning because once the first chicks start hatching, the humidity jumps up even more above the original 60%. So the ones that would be later to hatch, drown before they get a chance to do so.
I'll keep this thread updated on how it goes.

 

[thistlewick]

I've done dry incubations before, but have always upped the humidity to ~60% during lockdown. That's what I did with my last hatch. I did have to add small amounts of water a few times during the first 18 days, as there were times it dropped to around 15%, and I like it to be 20-30%. For this next hatch, I am planning on doing a true dry hatch, which means no water is added during lockdown either. The idea is that as the chicks hatch, they will naturally raise the humidity. It's a bit scary, which is why I've avoided doing it thus far, but I've done lots of research and know people have had great success with it.
Throughout all my hatches over the last few years, I have had one consistent issue, which is chicks dying during lockdown before they hatch. I'm not 100% sure what is causing this. I expect a few losses, which is normal, but when I have done larger hatches, it would not be unusual to have 10 out of 30 healthy looking, fully developed chicks not hatch. I've tried three different incubators, different rooms, have expensive temp/humidity gauges, eggs from different places, different species of eggs, dry and wet incubations, and different styles of turning. At this point, the only other thing I can think to try, besides spending the money on a super fancy incubator, is a dry hatch with zero water added. My theory is that the chicks are drowning because once the first chicks start hatching, the humidity jumps up even more above the original 60%. So the ones that would be later to hatch, drown before they get a chance to do so.
I'll keep this thread updated on how it goes.

Chicks don't drown from high humidity during hatching


They drown from high humidity during incubation where the air sac doesn't dry out enough/get large enough and when they pip, it's water and drown.


What incubators are you using? Just out of curiosity

 

[HoneyBeeHomestead]

Chicks don't drown from high humidity during hatching


They drown from high humidity during incubation where the air sac doesn't dry out enough/get large enough and when they pip, it's water and drown.


What incubators are you using? Just out of curiosity

I have a hovabator and a nurture right 360. Both seem to do a really good job at holding a steady temp. (I have thermometers that keep a record.) My last hatch was the first time I used the 360. I only had 3 out of 6 survive, 1 was malpositioned and passed. The other two were fully developed. I have eggs in both incubators right now, where I place them to hatch will depend on how many I have at lockdown.
There could definitely be other issues causing my low hatch rates, but I'm at a loss for what else it may be.

 

[thistlewick]

I have used the 360 2x so I am not an expert by any stretch, I know there are some huge huge experts in incubating that help people out and really dive in and dig to find out what could be going on - you might want to make a post on the Incubating forum here and write out in detail what has been going on to get some eyes on it.

 

[HoneyBeeHomestead]

I have used the 360 2x so I am not an expert by any stretch, I know there are some huge huge experts in incubating that help people out and really dive in and dig to find out what could be going on - you might want to make a post on the Incubating forum here and write out in detail what has been going on to get some eyes on it.

Yeah, that's a good idea. Maybe I'll make a post there and see. I'm sure the experts will be able to think of something that I haven't!