Incubation humidity & Temp

[SarahCNZ]

Hi all, I'm about to start my final attempt and hatching some silkie eggs. Can someone please confirm if these levels of humidity and temp are correct.
Temp: 37.5°
Humidity 50%
Lock down 70%

 

[JaeG]

Humidity all depends on your unique set up. What works for one person would be a disaster for another. Regularly check your air cells to make sure they are big enough. Here's a chart to compare to.

Just adjust the humidity up or down as needed as it's the overall average humidity that matters.

Temperature sounds good so hopefully you'll have a bunch of little cuties hatch out for you.

 

[Rose Quartz]

Hi all, I'm about to start my final attempt and hatching some silkie eggs. Can someone please confirm if these levels of humidity and temp are correct.
Temp: 37.5°
Humidity 50%
Lock down 70%

My local humidity is usually around 80% i run dry the first 18 days. Usually around 15% in incubator. And then put it up to 65% for hatch.

Just keep an eye on your aircells and adjust to what they need.

Temp you have is correct for a forced air incubator. If you have a still air incubator it should be at 38.9 at the top of the eggs.

 

[007Sean]

Humidity should be adjusted to the ambient humidity at your location, not an arbitrary % based on what is commonly expressed in literature. A 35 to 40% RH for the first 18 days is usually adequate. I wouldn't go above 65% at lockdown, humidity above 70% at hatch time can cause the chicks to become "stuck", this is different from "shrink wrapped", which is caused by a lack of humidity. A stuck chick can not turn properly in the shell during the zipping phase of hatching. Sometimes it will pip then drown if the humidity is too high, the ambiotic fluids haven't been fully absorbed and can collect around the external pip and harden, causing suffocation.
As stated above, keep an eye on the air cells, they will tell you if your humidity is adequate or if you need to make adjustment to the humidity.

 

[SarahCNZ]

Humidity should be adjusted to the ambient humidity at your location, not an arbitrary % based on what is commonly expressed in literature. A 35 to 40% RH for the first 18 days is usually adequate. I wouldn't go above 65% at lockdown, humidity above 70% at hatch time can cause the chicks to become "stuck", this is different from "shrink wrapped", which is caused by a lack of humidity. A stuck chick can not turn properly in the shell during the zipping phase of hatching. Sometimes it will pip then drown if the humidity is too high, the ambiotic fluids haven't been fully absorbed and can collect around the external pip and harden, causing suffocation.
As stated above, keep an eye on the air cells, they will tell you if your humidity is adequate or if you need to make adjustment to the humidity.

On my last incubation I had the humidity at 60-65% and the one egg that did form got stuck and couldn't even get through to the air pocket when I opened it up it was very dry inside. Is there a post where I can see what the air cells should look like.

 

[Rose Quartz]

On my last incubation I had the humidity at 60-65% and the one egg that did form got stuck and couldn't even get through to the air pocket when I opened it up it was very dry inside. Is there a post where I can see what the air cells should look like.

Number 2 ^



This is for a chocken egg.

 

[SarahCNZ]

Number 2 ^



This is for a chocken egg.

Ahh sorry didn't see that one, so not enough humidity the air pocket will be to big and to much to small? It looks like my local humidity is around 65%. This is my last try so really need to get this right.

 

[SarahCNZ]

Will candling to often harm them? Or is checking once a week OK?

 

[alexa009]

On my last incubation I had the humidity at 60-65% and the one egg that did form got stuck and couldn't even get through to the air pocket when I opened it up it was very dry inside. Is there a post where I can see what the air cells should look like.

If the air pocket turned dry, then obviously your humidity might of been too low. I never go lower than 68% during the lockdown period and my hatch rates are really good. Temp and humidity do affect hatching differently though with different people. Where I live, 35% humidity through days 1-18 would be way too low.

 

[Rose Quartz]

Will candling to often harm them? Or is checking once a week OK?

I havent had problems candling often. Just wash your hands before handling the eggs.

You may not notice any significant changes if youre checking every day. Checking every week should be good enough. Every egg is going to loose moisture at its own speed too, so youre really just looking for the average to be close to what the picture looks like.

You can also post pictures here of your candled air cells and get others opinions if you still arent sure. hope this hatch goes well.