how much water is too much?

[HuttonFamilyHens]

Hi! I'm new to BYC and hatching my first batch of Orpington and Sussex eggs. I don't have a humidity reader on my incubator so I have been going by the size of the air sac and candling every 4 days to keep an eye on it. (so far so good I think) but this evening I will be putting them in lockdown and obviously can't check if everything's ok that way anymore. So my plan is to put down some paper towel on the egg tray and flip it over to the "rough" side and just follow the instructions that came with the incubator. What I want to know is, if in doubt, is it better to err on the side of a bit too much or too little humidity and what are the potential consequences of each?

 

[NatJ]

Warning: I've read about incubation but my actual experience is pretty limited, so if I'm wrong I hope someone else shows up to correct me.

I think it's better to err on the side of LOW humidity/big aircells for most of incubation (too much humidity can cause extra-large chicks, and chicks that drown as they try to hatch.)

But I think it's better to err on the side of HIGH humidity during the actual hatch (because you need the membranes to stay moist as the chicks hatch, so they don't get dried out and stuck.)

The humidity will tend to go up as the chicks start to hatch. If you have a large number of eggs, and many of them start to hatch at once, that could have a large effect. If you only have a few eggs, or only a few hatch at a time, then the effect will be much smaller.

 

[MotherDucker3]

following

 

[HuttonFamilyHens]

Warning: I've read about incubation but my actual experience is pretty limited, so if I'm wrong I hope someone else shows up to correct me.

I think it's better to err on the side of LOW humidity/big aircells for most of incubation (too much humidity can cause extra-large chicks, and chicks that drown as they try to hatch.)

But I think it's better to err on the side of HIGH humidity during the actual hatch (because you need the membranes to stay moist as the chicks hatch, so they don't get dried out and stuck.)

The humidity will tend to go up as the chicks start to hatch. If you have a large number of eggs, and many of them start to hatch at once, that could have a large effect. If you only have a few eggs, or only a few hatch at a time, then the effect will be much smaller.

Thank you so much. This was really useful. I did tend to err on the dryer side before lockdown as I was monitoring the air cells and then ramped it right up so that I could always see some condensation on the lid. I did have to mist a couple of times with hot water after taking dry chicks out (they were knocking the other eggs about) to make sure it stayed moist enough and all16 eggs that made it to day 18 hatched and have been very happy and look to be all healthy.
I found one flattened under the brooder today though. (8 days old) They all looked perfectly healthy last night and I have no idea what could have caused it. My only guess is that it was accidentally smothered by the others s it as right in the middle under the plate. When I took it out the only thing strange about it was that there was a bit of yellow around it's navel which had looked fine the night before with just a tiny scab that you could just feel if you were looking for it and It's vent seemed to have gone brown and dried up (no poop) but I'm not sure if that caused it or just happened after it died. This is our first time rising chicks so I have no idea what to look out for. They all seem to be eating and drinking well, I replace their water 3 or 4 times a day when they get too many shavings in it. none of them seem lethargic or weak or disorientated, no panting or breathing problems as far as I can tell. Really worried that this could be the start of something that causes me to lose more but I don't have the fist clue where to start with identifying the cause of death or how/if to treat the others. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[NatJ]

I'm glad it's gone so well!

You might be right about the one just getting smothered by the others. It does not sound like anything contagious, so as long as the other chicks are doing fine, I do not think you need to worry.

They all seem to be eating and drinking well, I replace their water 3 or 4 times a day when they get too many shavings in it. none of them seem lethargic or weak or disorientated, no panting or breathing problems as far as I can tell.

The only other points I can think of:
--bloody poop would indicate a problem (usually coccidiosis, treat with Corid)
--chicks huddling under the heat or in the corner away from the heat would indicate a problem (adjust temperature until they move around freely)
--poop stuck on chicks' vents can be a problem (you may have already checked, but it wasn't on the list.)

By the time you have checked all those things, I think you would have found any problems that exist, so your chicks probably are fine!

 

[HuttonFamilyHens]

Thank you again, It's so great to be able to get answers from people with experience like yourself.
There's no bloody poop or pasty butt. I tend to check each of them over once a day to be sure and make sure they're used to being handled.
The chicks do huddle at night under and/or around the brooder plate to sleep but are pretty much out and running about for most of the day now and seem to go back under or near for naps. They're set up in our kitchen (we weren't expecting so many to hatch and the utility room set up wasn't big enough by day 2) so It's moderately warm even at night at the moment.
I raised the plate up a bit after finding the chick dead as I was worried the issue was that it couldn't get out and overheated.
Of course, now I'm worried that the other's might crowd under again.

 

[NatJ]

It sounds like you've covered all the points I can think of

Probably half of my "experience" comes from reading what other people do, that either does work or does not work