how low can the humidity be

[stephanie1992]

from what ive been reading on here and online websights it seem like u shouldnt have to worry about having any water in the bator till the last 3 days. and as long as it dnt get to high. i have noo water in mine ant the humidity atays between 30% and 40%. ill add water on lockdown to get the humidity to where it needs to be. candled eggs and all are doing great

 

[Barbedwirecat]

AWESOME!!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!! You need some chickies!!

 

[hdowden]

i been trying to see what people think about my readings in my bator but no replies yet so heres a pic of what i'm using in my bator

says 32 but its actually 38 and flutates its 6 off for humidity. temp this one says 99-100

this one says between 100 and 101 on temp

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
That's too low, it shouldn't go below 25. If you are dry hatching.

Day 15 and alive and kicking

Everything I've been reading from 3 different University's states that your humidity should be at 58- 60 % for the first 18 days then bump to to 65 on the last three days. Low humidity causes chicks to pip then die or causes crippled chicks
http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p1182.pdf
Here's a publication from MSU and here's another for trouble shooting
http://msucares.com/poultry/reproductions/trouble.html

 

[Arielle]

Everything I've been reading from 3 different University's states that your humidity should be at 58- 60 % for the first 18 days then bump to to 65 on the last three days. Low humidity causes chicks to pip then die or causes crippled chicks
http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p1182.pdf
Here's a publication from MSU and here's another for trouble shooting
http://msucares.com/poultry/reproductions/trouble.html

THis baffled me to read the conflicting temps between the univeristy sites and the huge range BYC's reported using .

I decided to follow CHookschick's advice and did well for a first hatch IMO with 50% hatching. THe more I read the more low %RH seems to result in better hatching rates. A huge number of hatches seem to die right at the point of hatch and those hatches had higher %RH . Could it be that the hatcherys, which most universities are geared toward, have huge rooms devoted to hatching with major climate control ability?

I have read many sucess stories using the dry hatching method. So that is what I have been trying. ONly have the experience of a few hatches to draw upon.

Has anyone stuck a RH meter under a setting hen? That may offer a clue.

 

[mstricer]

I fully understand, I tried the dry method, it didn't work for me. I guess I will keep trying different things till I get it right. I'm getting ready to set eggs tomorrow and I think I am going to stick to the 45-50% I'm getting close to a 50% hatch rate with shipped eggs and that is just fine. I'm hoping for a higher rate this time according to the Old Farmers Almanac the moon is on my side. Happy Hatching everyone, Got to get up early for work see ya.
Michele