Incubating Marans Eggs - tips, please?

[WoofMeowCluck]

I've read (not on this site) sooooo many different methods of incubating & hatching MARANS eggs. Now I'm confused. High humidity, no humidity, no humidity until lock down----

So now I'm unsure of what to do so I thought I'd ask the real experts, here on BYC. I swear some of you could hatch rocks!!

For Marans eggs - What is the best Humidity & temp for the first 18 days ---- Best Humidity & temp for lock down?

Thank you, and my future chicks thank you too!!

Oh, I'll be incubating in a R-COM 20 if that makes a difference or not.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I've been told (and do this myself) that you should have very low humidity during incubation since the 'color' on the eggs makes it harder for them to evaporate. They need to evaporate some of the contents to allow the air cell to 'grow'. I've also read on here that you can scratch some of the color off the egg to help them evaporate better.

I've also been told (and learned from my experiences) that they do hatch better if the humidity is on the higher side during the hatch. I've had several get stuck to the membrane when the humidity was around 50%.

So very low humidity during incubation (I add NO water until hatch time), then relatively high humidity (60%+) during hatch time (last 3 days).

Temp is the same as any other, 99.5*.

 

[WoofMeowCluck]

Quote:
So, don't add water at all during the first 18 days?

What do you consider in the safe range in the 60%+ range during lock down? 60% but not over 70%

Sorry about all the questons. This will be my first hatch so I'm kinda nervous and the eggs are expensive too.

Thanks!

 

[Katy]

I incubate and hatch my Marans with my other breeds all the time. I don't do anything different for them and they hatch just fine. I run my humidity about 30% the ifrst 18 days and then bump ot up to about 60% for the last three. Those are the levels I've found work the best for me for hatching no matter what breed I'm hatching......you'rs might be a bit different depending on where you live. A lot of it is trial and error.

 

[ChooksChick]

If you're using and R-Com, you just do it at 40% the whole time and not change it at all. That's how I do mine, anyway!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Honestly, I have a hard time getting mine much over 60%, so I pretty much just add water to it (sometimes a wet cloth) and let it go. I'm like Katy, I set all eggs at the same temp/humidity and don't have many problems. Though like I said I have had marans chicks get stuck when the humidity was low (45-50%) during hatch. I even hatch duck eggs the same way

 

[chicmom]

Hi Anne-

You have read my mind asking this!

I can't wait to set my eggs tonight......I'm relieved....my humidity in the Brinsea has been around 36%. I won't worry now that it's too low.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Lower humidity during incubation actually makes it easier for the chicks to hatch. It makes the air cell larger (by evaporation) which makes the chick smaller. The smaller chick is better able to turn inside the egg to zip.

I always keep my incubator (not the hatcher) around 30%. It can go as high as 45% or low as 25%, whatever it gets from the room. I add NO WATER to my incubator, only to the hatcher...unless I'm hatching quail...but that's a different topic

 

[WoofMeowCluck]

Quote:
Lower humidity during incubation actually makes it easier for the chicks to hatch. It makes the air cell larger (by evaporation) which makes the chick smaller. The smaller chick is better able to turn inside the egg to zip.

I always keep my incubator (not the hatcher) around 30%. It can go as high as 45% or low as 25%, whatever it gets from the room. I add NO WATER to my incubator, only to the hatcher...unless I'm hatching quail...but that's a different topic

Whoa, you lost me! You add no water to the incubator - but do to the hatcher - by that do you mean you use a different incubator for the hatch - or does that mean you add water only during the lock down? Sorry, I'm a green newbie at this so I need things uber explained LOL.

I kind of like the 40% humidity and leave it alone idea. I know different brands of incubators work differently. Yes, I am going to be using an R-COM 20.

Thanks to everyone for responding. Waving to Sharon, geeze I can't hide from you, can I?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Lower humidity during incubation actually makes it easier for the chicks to hatch. It makes the air cell larger (by evaporation) which makes the chick smaller. The smaller chick is better able to turn inside the egg to zip.

I always keep my incubator (not the hatcher) around 30%. It can go as high as 45% or low as 25%, whatever it gets from the room. I add NO WATER to my incubator, only to the hatcher...unless I'm hatching quail...but that's a different topic

Whoa, you lost me! You add no water to the incubator - but do to the hatcher - by that do you mean you use a different incubator for the hatch - or does that mean you add water only during the lock down? Sorry, I'm a green newbie at this so I need things uber explained LOL.

I kind of like the 40% humidity and leave it alone idea. I know different brands of incubators work differently. Yes, I am going to be using an R-COM 20.

Thanks to everyone for responding. Waving to Sharon, geeze I can't hide from you, can I?

I use a separate incubator for hatching because I have staggered hatches, but it can mean either or