Very good write up. The primary reason to either weigh or incubate all the same type of eggs.Check out the Hatching 101 article by Sally Sunshine here on BYC. It's long, but SOOOOOOO good - I suggest reading the whole thing several times.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101
Humidity is not a set number, but rather a method to get the air cells to develop at the right rate and, more importantly, to be the right size when you go into lockdown. The reasons you can't use a set number are:
- If your Brinsea hygrometer (thing that measures humidity) is not calibrated, it will be off (mine was off by about 10% in my brand new Brinsea Octagon Advanced)
- Smaller eggs will lose moisture faster than larger eggs (more surface area) at any given humidity
- Blue and green eggs will lose less moisture than other eggs. (I can't remember the white vs. brown thing, as I have no white egg layers - maybe someone will pipe up)
- Even individual eggs of the same type can lose moisture differently, for instance, some more porous eggs will lose moisture faster (and rounder eggs lose less, at least in my experience)
What type of eggs are you incubating? Unless you're incubating bantam or serum eggs, or blue or green eggs, most suggest starting with 35% (green/blue, often suggested to go with 30% - Sally will say). You should mark your air cells with a pencil before putting them in the incubator. You'll look at and mark the air cell size when you candle (starting at day 7 usually) and compare to what it should be. (There are also lots of good examples to compare here). If they're too small or too big, you could then adjust the humidity as needed (I usually ask for help on here when considering that, as so many experienced folks have good input). You can also try tracking egg weight, but unless you have a very good little scale, it can lead you astray (happened to me, got a new scale).
You DO really need to calibrate/check the temperature, though, as there's no "air cell" to check on that. My temp was off a few degrees (again, a brand new Brinsea - great 'bator, it was just off a bit). Calibration is covered in the article, I believe, but @Chaos18 and @BantyChooks are much better than I am at finding and linking the pertinent info, and @Sally Sunshine will give guidance of course, but occasionally has online access issues (due to horrible HughesNet). Thermometers by Thermoworks are great, and many have found that Brinsea Spotchecks are good.
Yup - and when I cleaned out the brooder yesterday (it was due anyway, but especially with the baby with probable cocci), I discovered that they had spilled a decent bit of water into the bedding and I had missed it (tracking under the dry stuff). That would do it...
- Ant Farm
Moving plants out started indoors before transplanting into the garden hardens them off a bit when exposed to wind.
Good morning. It was a very good class. I even brought a chicken to class this time, among other show and tell items.
Next week's class covers more advanced topics.
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The only problem I have with chickens eating earthworms is that they are secondary hosts for parasitic worms. Among them are short tapeworms, capillary worms, gapeworm and stomach worm. However, the worm eggs in question needs to be present on/in the soil for it to be in the earthworm. Earthworms aren't the only secondary host to be concerned with. Beetles, earwigs, cockroaches, grasshoppers, slugs, snails, etc. can all be secondary hosts to parasitic worms.
I don't think yours will be a problem since you are raising the worms separate from the soil.
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