Incubating peafowl eggs thread

[Peafowlssssssss]

Location, location, location. It changes so much with your location. So far this year, and it has been a rainy spring, I have done well with the lower humidity running in the low forties and it does not seem to matter at hatching time if I run 45% or 75%, both are working fine for me. I think the key is low % humidity in the incubator.

As a side note; the auto water fill bucket on the Sportsman got clogged up with minerals. The float valve stuck and the pan was dry, I don't know for how many days, but when I noticed it the humidity was 39%. I have had two really good hatches since then so I don't think that mattered so much. The bucket when filled, will normally last two or three weeks before needing to be refilled.

What is your humidity for lock down?

I only have a small room in my house where i could run my incubator in, its the same room where i raise my chicks, the only thing i could do to change the location is to move it right or left for a few feets.

I'm thinking of lowering my humidity for the first 25 days, i'm just waiting my eggs in the hatcher to hatch tomorrow and then i will candle the eggs with dead chicks to see the size of their air sac, i read if the air sac was too small before moving to lock down it means too much humidity, if so i will reduce the humdity.

 

[casportpony]

This year i'm having many quitters, some of them die just a day before lockdown and most of them die at first day on lock down, could it be lack of oxygen in the hatcher? I decreased the ventilation holes to the half in the hatcher to get the humidity higher to 70%or 72%, if i will leave them open at all the humidity will be only 65%.

Of course I'm no xpert, but I everything I have read says to open all vent holes. Somewhere I have something that explains how dangerous the co2 leves are for eggs... Will look for that.

-Kathy

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

Of course I'm no xpert, but I everything I have read says to open all vent holes. Somewhere I have something that explains how dangerous the co2 leves are for eggs... Will look for that.

-Kathy

I hope you will find it

 

[KsKingBee]

What is your humidity for lock down?

I only have a small room in my house where i could run my incubator in, its the same room where i raise my chicks, the only thing i could do to change the location is to move it right or left for a few feets.

I'm thinking of lowering my humidity for the first 25 days, i'm just waiting my eggs in the hatcher to hatch tomorrow and then i will candle the eggs with dead chicks to see the size of their air sac, i read if the air sac was too small before moving to lock down it means too much humidity, if so i will reduce the humdity.

Of course I'm no xpert, but I everything I have read says to open all vent holes. Somewhere I have something that explains how dangerous the co2 leves are for eggs... Will look for that.

-Kathy

By location I meant whether you are in Kalifornia, Kansas or Kuait, there are differences in what works best in those locations. When I had hatching problems last year I still think it was the general health of the flock that was the main cause.

I run my incubators with the vents full open, and lots of ventilation in the broodie house too!

 

[casportpony]

Quote: That's from here:
http://www.poultry.uga.edu/extension/tips/documents/03 01 HB tip J M M.pdf


-Kathy

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

By location I meant whether you are in Kalifornia, Kansas or Kuait, there are differences in what works best in those locations. When I had hatching problems last year I still think it was the general health of the flock that was the main cause.

I run my incubators with the vents full open, and lots of ventilation in the broodie house too!

Many people here believed we need higher humidity, many suggested 60 to 65% for the first 25 days for peafowl and duck eggs.

Just opened all the vents

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

Forgot to say my house is only a mile away from the sea, if it has something to do here.

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

"Based on expected O2 requirements for a hatch, air in most incubators needs to be changed about eight times
a day or once every 3 hours. This rate of air exchange is the minimum required. Air exchange rates in most
machines are usually more than adequate."

These words from the article that Kathy just posted, but if i'm going to open the incubator door many times at look down it will lose the humidity, and the chicks will get dry and stick to the eggs shells.

 

[AugeredIn]

This year i'm having many quitters, some of them die just a day before lockdown and most of them die at first day on lock down, could it be lack of oxygen in the hatcher? I decreased the ventilation holes to the half in the hatcher to get the humidity higher to 70%or 72%, if i will leave them open at all the humidity will be only 65%.

This, of course, is the most common problem in peafowl hatching. I have been part of a group that has been playing with various incubating and hatching methods the last couple of years and sooner or later there will be some published results (not by me, I am small potatoes). This is the information that I can give you based upon last years information and this years information and may be contrary to anything I have written before:

1. The "real" peafowl hatch rates, even amongst the big boys is incredibly small when talking about the total number of eggs laid. I am talking ridiculously small. No one really like to admit this but it is true. I am not giving numbers but keep this in mind during your incubation and hatching efforts. LOTS of eggs never hatch.

2. I have, in the past, incubated eggs on the ends and laying down and did not notice a difference in numbers. This year we really focused on the difference and the eggs that were laid on their sides and hand rotated twice a day in the first 10 days (in addition to the normal turning in the GQF) FAR out hatched any other method.

3. It has always been my experience that if they are quiting just prior to lockdown they are usually to dry and there is no excess fluid under the membrane and they definitely appear dryer out in the eggtopsy (full credit to casportpony I believe for that term). Raise humidity 5-10% during incubation. This usually IS NOT the problem in my experience.

4. Our normal problem is that the eggtopsy reveals that there is still lots of free fluid under the membrane and there was to much humidity during incubation.

5. We used to adjust temperature to control problems and it seemed to work. Since we have really been keeping track of what we do, I no longer believe this to be true. I think 99.5 - 100 degrees is the best place to be.

6. We monitor oxygen/CO2 and with one side vent open in the GQF, it can get borderline low with higher humidity. We open both vents.

7. Our best hatches this year were at a temperature of 99.5 humidity at 35-40% five days a week and 50-60% during two days of lockdown. I know the lockdown number is low but thats all we can effectively get.

8. Other folks that are testing the use of Game hens either for 10 days, 25 days or the full incubation period out hatched the users of incubators.

9. I have tried both last year and this year to monitor egg weight to try and correlate to hatching success and humidity. If I am honest, it has been an utter failure both years. Don't know if I am not weighing a large enough sample or what the deal is but I can't tell anything from it or at least it is not consistent.

Lastly, I think the biggest truth is that none of us really know what we are doing given the hatch rates. You should look at your results, do eggtopsies, and make adjustments accordingly. Keep really good records and share what you find.

We will be using Game hens next year for at least half of our incubation efforts. I am convinced.

 

[casportpony]

I'll hide my head in shame and say that of the 41 eggs set so far, only 11 chicks hatched... One of those is Crookie, and another died from a yolk sac infection. Eggs 42-71 are in the incubator, but that's it, I will not put more in them, instead I will use broodies.

-Kathy