Incubating in my bra: An experiment.

[redhen689]

News: I put Abe in the 100 degree water and he went straight to the bottom and laid there on his side. No movement at all. So I took Abe out, put Bibi in, and Bibi also sank. This time, however, with the air sac up. No movement, though. So I think Bibi is also gone, but I put that egg back in the bra and will wait a bit for advice here.

This would indicate that the air cell was too small. The egg had too much humidity. An egg that has been in an appropriate amount of humidity for 21 days should float.

 

[WHmarans]

Has anyone tried running an incubator this low? I'm wondering if chicks can develop at human body temperature fast enough to reach full development by hatch time or if they just develop too slow, run out of air and can't make it. I know if your incubator is running high you'll get an early hatch and if low you'll get a late hatch, but have never tried running at body temperature in an incubator intentionally. That way you could control humidity and make sure it was not another variable. I think getting enough air circulation combined with enough heat would be difficult since we don't have feathers and run cooler body temperature than birds.

I can see how it would get the eggs by for the last few days to hatch if they had been incubated at bird temperature up until that time.

 

[RockNSuccess]

This would indicate that the air cell was too small.  The egg had too much humidity.  An egg that has been in an appropriate amount of humidity for 21 days should float.

I have wondered about this. I reached a point around day 17, where I wasn't sure if the chick was still alive. I decided to do the float test since they were going into lockdown soon. The air cells looked appropriate for the age. When I set them in the water, they sank to the bottom. However, 2 out of the 3 were moving. Those two have now hatched, but they didn't hatch until day 23.5 so I am a little concerned. One of them is having difficulty walking. They are not yet 24hrs old.

 

[WHmarans]

I've always been told if you wash eggs they will not hatch and even will not stay fresh as long if you are just storing them for consumption if you wash them. So putting them in water just sounds risky. In thought they needed the layer deposited on the egg by the hen when its laid for the egg to "breathe" so I just get worried thinking of developing eggs being placed in water. .. Yours hatched so it must not be as scary as it sounds?

 

[Farmer Viola]

I have wondered about this. I reached a point around day 17, where I wasn't sure if the chick was still alive. I decided to do the float test since they were going into lockdown soon. The air cells looked appropriate for the age. When I set them in the water, they sank to the bottom. However, 2 out of the 3 were moving. Those two have now hatched, but they didn't hatch until day 23.5 so I am a little concerned. One of them is having difficulty walking. They are not yet 24hrs old.

The float test is to test whether there is enough air in the egg to float the weight of the body and liquid in the egg.

At day 17, I would expect it to sink, since the air cell is not yet big enough to hold it up above the surface, and you still have liquid in the egg at that stage. Also remember that an egg has pores just like your skin, it isn't solid, it allows air (and humidity) to pass through it.

The float test is best used as a last resort on eggs that you suspect are dead, beyond day 24, since it wipes off the bloom and if there were an internal pip at that time, the chick could drown.

 

[RockNSuccess]

The float test is to test whether there is enough air in the egg to float the weight of the body and liquid in the egg.

At day 17, I would expect it to sink, since the air cell is not yet big enough to hold it up above the surface, and you still have liquid in the egg at that stage. Also remember that an egg has pores just like your skin, it isn't solid, it allows air (and humidity) to pass through it.

The float test is best used as a last resort on eggs that you suspect are dead, beyond day 24, since it wipes off the bloom and if there were an internal pip at that time, the chick could drown.

Thank you. I have been so confused on it.

 

[redhen689]

I have wondered about this. I reached a point around day 17, where I wasn't sure if the chick was still alive. I decided to do the float test since they were going into lockdown soon. The air cells looked appropriate for the age. When I set them in the water, they sank to the bottom. However, 2 out of the 3 were moving. Those two have now hatched, but they didn't hatch until day 23.5 so I am a little concerned. One of them is having difficulty walking. They are not yet 24hrs old.

To tell you the truth, I have never used this test on a fertile egg, but even non- fertile eggs will sink to the bottom on their side when fresh. If you drop them in when they are about two weeks old, they will still sink to the bottom, but the end with the air cell will tilt up. Eventually the egg will achieve neutral bouyancy and will be suspended in the water. A week later it will float. DD did this as a science experiment while in elementary school to demonstrate bouyancy. As the egg loses moisture it becomes more bouyant. We did this a long time ago (12 years), so I don't remember all of the specifics, but when I've read about the technique with fertile eggs to determine viability, I've always noticed that they say that the egg should float. Any eggs you have in your fridge that float are probably over a month old, maybe older, but that depends on the humidity in your fridge.

 

[foreverlearning]

Just a thought... I have friends that incubate and they get the best air cell development and thus hatch by starting dry and adding humidity later in the process. Is there a way you could transfer your body heat while keeping the humidity lower for them for the first part of the process? Maybe something like cheese cloth between them and your breast? It would transfer heat, let the eggs breath, remind you to turn, and start off with a dry incubation. I don't think the heat would have been an issue as people have hatched in incubators that didn't have the proper temps. From the results of the float test it seems that the air sac wasn't big enough for them even if there was something else that we haven't figured out yet.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Just a thought... I have friends that incubate and they get the best air cell development and thus hatch by starting dry and adding humidity later in the process. Is there a way you could transfer your body heat while keeping the humidity lower for them for the first part of the process? Maybe something like cheese cloth between them and your breast? It would transfer heat, let the eggs breath, remind you to turn, and start off with a dry incubation. I don't think the heat would have been an issue as people have hatched in incubators that didn't have the proper temps. From the results of the float test it seems that the air sac wasn't big enough for them even if there was something else that we haven't figured out yet.

OT, but do you know what type of incubators your friends have? Are they still air incubators or forced air? I'm thinking the type of incubator makes a difference in whether you can dry hatch or need to have some humidity added. Seems like it is always still air incubators that people dry hatch in.

 

[Aphrael]

OT, but do you know what type of incubators your friends have? Are they still air incubators or forced air? I'm thinking the type of incubator makes a difference in whether you can dry hatch or need to have some humidity added. Seems like it is always still air incubators that people dry hatch in.

I've done "dry" hatching in a forced air incubator. Although it can be misleading when people read dry hatch. It doesn't necessarily mean not adding any water at all. It is just a hatching method running lower humidity throughout the initial stages of incubation and only raising it pretty high for "lockdown". For people in more humid climates this may mean they don't need to add any water during the first stages. But people in dryer climates will still likely need to add water. I ran mine between 25%-35%, and being in Texas I had to keep a dish of water in there to maintain that level. In most cases you want to be sure the humidity doesn't dip below 20%, even in a "dry" hatch.