Humidity/Egg Weight

[duckking]

First time hatcher using a Brinsea Mini Advance. I have 7 Maran eggs at day 10. I weighed them before I put them in and just weighed them again today. Temp has been steady at 99.6, humidity at between 40-50%, but I try and hold it around 40%. It seems to me they might be losing weight a little too fast which means I should get the humidity DOWN....right? I am aiming for 13% weight loss from the Brinsea instructions.

The eggs were shipped from Gabbard. I candled them and while one seems clear, the others all have a dark blob and air sac. The blobs are quite large and I have one that has a dark blob and a much darker smaller spot in it. That's about all I can make out. I am keeping them all in no matter what. None are smelly.

So should I get the humidity down? We live in the Pacific Northwest and have high natural humidity anyway. It is just taking a couple of drops of water in the well to maintain 40%. With no water it goes down to around 30-35%. Should I just leave it dry?

***EDIT*** I think I might have it backwards.....If they weigh LESS than they should, they lost too much weight, I should INCREASE the humidity????? I am sooooo confused....


I know shipped egg hatch rates are low, so if I get 2-3 chicks I would be more than pleased.

 

[KZ]

This is a good website to take a look at regarding humidity and egg weight.

http://poultrykeeper.com/chickens/incubation-and-hatching/weight-loss-method-forl-incubation.html


.........and yes, if the eggs are losing too much weight, your humidity is too low.

 

[duckking]

Thanks so much KZ.

It makes sense. I'm going to keep it up around 50% RH and try that. Now I'm freaking out that they lost too much too quickly. I hope I caught it early enough.....

 

[bordergurl]

Quote:
It's total weight loss by lockdown that counts, so no freaking out necessary- I weigh my eggs daily and adjust +/-, had a 100% hatch last month. I have two types of duck eggs in my bator currently, and since their weights are very different, I'm doing two calculations!

 

[Gypsy07]

Yes, you've figured it out correctly. If they're losing too much weight, it means they're drying out too fast, so you should raise the humidity to slow down the rate of weight loss. And if they're not losing enough weight, you should lower your humidity to get them drying out faster. Weighing is a great way to figure out your ideal humidity. I always weigh my eggs and it helps to reassure me that everything is progressing as it should be.