Incubating issues - H E L P

[golfaz]

This is my second try at incubating and the first batch fully developed but never piped. My guess the humidity was too low, under 50% and I kept the lid plugs in the entire time.

Today is day 22, second hatch, and still no piping. I maintained a constant 99.5 degrees that entire time, with 2 power outages (temp dropped to 70 for a few hours). I maintained humidity above 50% the entire time.


What can be the issue? What are some of your exact methods for incubating?

My Setup:

Farm Innovator 2200 circulated air deluxe with built in temp and humidity gauge, auto turner.

Kept both lid plugs out the entire time

Kept temps at 99.5

Humidity kept in a range of 50% - 80%.

Lock down at day 18, removed from turner

Candled periodically and chicks seemed to develop properly throughout the cycle.


Please help.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

This is my second try at incubating and the first batch fully developed but never piped. My guess the humidity was too low, under 50% and I kept the lid plugs in the entire time.

Today is day 22, second hatch, and still no piping. I maintained a constant 99.5 degrees that entire time, with 2 power outages (temp dropped to 70 for a few hours). I maintained humidity above 50% the entire time.


What can be the issue? What are some of your exact methods for incubating?

My Setup:

Farm Innovator 2200 circulated air deluxe with built in temp and humidity gauge, auto turner.

Kept both lid plugs out the entire time

Kept temps at 99.5

Humidity kept in a range of 50% - 80%.

Lock down at day 18, removed from turner

Candled periodically and chicks seemed to develop properly throughout the cycle.


Please help.

My opinion: Humidity levels are WAY too high for the first 17 days. Anything over 45% (in my book, especially with the styrofoam bators) is risking chicks drowning in the eggs or becoming too large to turn. People are finding that the "dry" (or low humidity incubation) method is much more successful, especially in the styrofoam bators. At lockdown you want above 65% humidity (I use 75%). You (almost) never want it at lockdown levels the first 17 days.

This is what I would do: if you are going strictly by the incubator's gages, don't (unless they are checked for accuracy). While there is a possibility that they are right, a good share of the time they are not. Get yourself an indepedent thermometer/hygrometer and check them for accuracy. I use at least 2 thermometers in my bator. I've experienced what relying on one unchecked thermometer can do. After you have a thermometer/hygrometer that you know is accurate-you are half way there, (as long as your incubator holds a steady temp.) I agree with having the plugs out. I myself keep my plugs out (ok, in truth, my sisiter lost them.

) Your temps were good (providing the temp is accurate.)
Now I am going to link you to my method. It explains why we control humidity, (I believe a better understanding of this will help hatchers to understand the process which I believe is important) how to control it and know that your humidity is adequate for your eggs. This is considered a "dry" I prefer to call it a "low humidity incubation" because no incubation should be completely dry of humidityand the name is misleading. If you have a steady temp and accurate thermometers/hygrometers, I swear by this method. I feel it's worth trying at least once and if it doesn't work for you, tweak it, but it has been my success story since I started using it. (And I incubate in a touch older little giant incubator that needs to be babysat.)
http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity

(When you do eggtopsies look for extra fluid, very "sticky" or overly large chicks. Chicks with moisture/air bubbles at their nose. These are all signs of high humidity deaths. When there is extra fluid in the egg and a chick pips, that fluid fills the air cell and can drown them. If they are developementally behind or stopped developing at a certain period the cold spells could have compromised the hatch or it could be a combination of the two.)

I hope you try again, with much better success.

 

[kuchchicks]

I am very new at this but think from everything that i have read so far your humidity during the first 17 days is way to high. I have a styro bator too and my very first attempt produced no hatches. I did the exact same thing as you (because that is what the instructions that came with the bator said to do). Last month I had my first "successful" hatch... 30% - successful for me. I started the incubation before I found this site and was adding water but not as much as the directions said. I found this site about 2/3 was through my incubation and it was suggested that I lower my humidity. I just started another group of eggs and have been using the dry method. My temp is holding better and and am really hoping for a good outcome. I know how disappointing it can be. After 3 attempts and never having a hatch I was ready to toss out my bator and give up. Once I found this site and decreased my humidity I instantly got chicks. I really believe that was what I was doing wrong. Good luck.

 

[DanEP]

Your humidity is way to high for first 18 days. Lower humidity will help air cells to develop, which are critical for good hatches. I try to run my humidity at 30-35% with a vent open for first 18 days then raise to 55-60 for lock down as humidity will jump once the first egg hatches. I would also at least calibrate my hygrometer before trying again so you know for sure where your humidity is running. Just do a search on this forum and you will find instructions on calibration, it's easy.
Don't be discouraged we all had to learn from our mistakes and it does get easier. Dan





Oh and don't close all your vents for lock down you chicks will need the air. If you have to you can add water or even a sponge in the water to get you humidity up for lock down.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Your humidity is way to high for first 18 days. Lower humidity will help air cells to develop, which are critical for good hatches. I try to run my humidity at 30-35% with a vent open for first 18 days then raise to 55-60 for lock down as humidity will jump once the first egg hatches. I would also at least calibrate my hygrometer before trying again so you know for sure where your humidity is running. Just do a search on this forum and you will find instructions on calibration, it's easy.
Don't be discouraged we all had to learn from our mistakes and it does get easier. Dan

That's about what I run the first 17 days 30%. Some seasons I can maintain that w/o water and others-winter-I use a damp sponge to maintain it.

 

[DanEP]

Yep since I went to lower humidity my hatch rate has jumped. 30-35 is ideal for my area but I don't loose any sleep if it drops to 25% it doesn't seem to hurt anything for short periods of time. I still get 80 to 90% hatch rates from fertile eggs.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Yep since I went to lower humidity my hatch rate has jumped. 30-35 is ideal for my area but I don't loose any sleep if it drops to 25% it doesn't seem to hurt anything for short periods of time. I still get 80 to 90% hatch rates from fertile eggs.

xs 2, when (I notice) it dips below 25%, I rewet my sponge. It's less stressful running low humidity too. You are not constantly trying to keep a certain level and if you are doing it right, you are checking your air cells so you know that everything is on target, and if not you can catch it and adjust. I too have 80-90% of lockdown/hatch The one before this last hatch was 13/16 hatched and this last one was 33/36. I am very satisfied with those numbers. The only bad hatch I ever had was my very first (of course) and that was my fault for using an unchecked thermometer and having it be wayyyyy off.

 

[golfaz]

Thank you for the insight.

As of now, day 22, 1 chick hatched, and 4 more have piped.

It seems like a very very slow process. I guess this is normal?

What do you wash your eggs with prior to incubating them?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you for the insight.

As of now, day 22, 1 chick hatched, and 4 more have piped.

It seems like a very very slow process. I guess this is normal?

What do you wash your eggs with prior to incubating them?

Yes, pip to zip can take a good 24 hours. Mine seem to average 12-18 hours.

A good share of hatchers do not wash eggs prior to incubation because "it washes off the bloom and increases the chance of bacteria getting in the egg." Something like that.

 

[Drewnkat]

This is my second try at incubating and the first batch fully developed but never piped. My guess the humidity was too low, under 50% and I kept the lid plugs in the entire time.

Today is day 22, second hatch, and still no piping. I maintained a constant 99.5 degrees that entire time, with 2 power outages (temp dropped to 70 for a few hours). I maintained humidity above 50% the entire time.


What can be the issue? What are some of your exact methods for incubating?

My Setup:

Farm Innovator 2200 circulated air deluxe with built in temp and humidity gauge, auto turner.

Kept both lid plugs out the entire time

Kept temps at 99.5

Humidity kept in a range of 50% - 80%.

Lock down at day 18, removed from turner

Candled periodically and chicks seemed to develop properly throughout the cycle.


Please help.

My setup:
Hovabator (old model, I found it in the shed when we moved here, can't beat free), no fancy gauges, just a wafer thermostat.
Computer fan added by me.
Egg turner with a new motor, the old one was damaged when I found it in the shed with the incubator.
Hygrometer off Amazon, checked using salt method.

My procedure:
Temps kept around 99-100.5
Humidity between 20-35% until lockdown, 65-75% after.
One vent hole open until day 18 (computer fan power cord runs through that hole anyways), both open after.
Candled a few times to monitor air cells. I marked them for comparison to make sure they weren't too big or too small. I had a couple that looked kind of small on day 18, but obviously they were OK because... they all hatched.
Did not wash eggs before setting.
Used filtered water, but not distilled.

If I were you, I would:

Run with much lower humidity until day 18.

Mark air cells on day 7 and day 14, checking them against expected development levels. If they're too big, raise humidity a bit. If they're too small, lower it. I am speaking of majority here. If you have one or two outliers, keep things at conditions which are working well for most of the eggs, but if you have a bunch with air cells outside the norm, consider adjusting

Check your gauges for accuracy, and don't rely on one thermometer/hygrometer. Even with a fan, you can have temperature variations. If you do, it helps to 1. know about them, and 2. swap the eggs to different sections of the incubator so they aren't always in a hot spot, or always in a cool zone.

Congrats on the beginning of hatch!