Incubators Anonymous

[DMRippy]

Quote:
Dry incubation you just don't add water the first 18 days... I don't think there is a range of humidity to hit at either end. You have to find what works for you. No water works for me through most of the year. When I had higher humidity I could not hatch my Marans eggs at all... they hatch like popcorn now.

 

[choptank330]

But is 10% too low

 

[DMRippy]

But is 10% too low

There is no TOO LOW. Mine has not registered in weeks.... still having great hatches. I think ki4got would tell you to leave it alone. She may not even have a way to tell the humidity in hers though the first 18 days.

If you are nervous add a little water just not much.

 

[choptank330]

Thank you thank you @DMRippy.... Can you dry hatch quail as well? I have quail in there with the chicken eggs.

 

[DMRippy]

Thank you thank you @DMRippy .... Can you dry hatch quail as well? I have quail in there with the chicken eggs.

I have never hatched quail.... I hatch my guinea the same way. I would think DUCKS and GEESE might need some adjusting but IDK.

 

[ozexpat]

yes you can hatch quail that way

dry incubation is not a number - its a method

you need to study the air cells - you can adjust humidity if they are getting too large

the best wat to start is by weighing eggs. aim for an average of 3% loss each 5 days. on day 20 you should be 12 - 13%

if at day 15 you are already at 12% then bump up humidity to 60% to slow down evaporation.

I personally hatch in the tropics and use a dehumidifier to get my ambient humidity to 40%. inside the bator it would be 25-30% - i have not measured for a long time. As my humidity is high compared to most here, I dont go into lockdown until day 20 or first chirping from eggs. I add a little water to my hatcher thats in a naturally humid room and let the hatching eggs provide the rest,

On locally laid eggs set no older than 4 days i am getting an 80% hatch rate. I would hatch weekly but I dont have a cool location to store the eggs

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
I completely disagree... everyone I've heard with 40% humidity during incubation usually has poor hatches and high % of late quitters...

I prefer dry incubation, all 3 incubators were reading 10%. I moved about 60 eggs to lockdown tonight. half to the hatcher (full time hatcher) and the rest to one of the incubators that has been made a temporary hatcher for this weekend. that leaves me 1 full that's due in 2 weeks (bator #2) and the other half full due next Friday (in bator #3). the hatcher (#4) is 55-65% humidity only for days 19 and 20 usually. (note to self, add water bowl to #1 bator tomorrow... I numbered them so that hubby knows which one to check for me, if/when necessary. it's also handy for my note keeping.

for local (my own and a friend's 2 hours away) eggs I'm averaging (with dry incubation and 55-65% humidity for lockdown) about 80% and on shipped eggs so far this year I'm at 70%. tho that's only 8 chicks out of 11 eggs that developed - I don't count clears since I have no control over the PO or the rooster. I just set 14 more blrw from another friend, but they had a long trip here because of the 2' of snow that we weren't supposed to get (4-6" according to predictions).

 

[ki4got]

Thank you thank you @DMRippy .... Can you dry hatch quail as well? I have quail in there with the chicken eggs.

YES! LOL dry hatching shipped coturnix eggs, I had 38 out of 40 hatch. some had actually pipped in the incubator before I got them to lockdown LOL one popped out within minutes of moving.

they're like popcorn. once they start they all seem to go at once.

I kind of miss the coturnix. debating setting some more this year, since I've learned how to debone a chicken (hubby won't eat bone-in) I may try my hand at stuffed quail.

 

[ki4got]

yes you can hatch quail that way

dry incubation is not a number - its a method

you need to study the air cells - you can adjust humidity if they are getting too large

the best wat to start is by weighing eggs. aim for an average of 3% loss each 5 days. on day 20 you should be 12 - 13%

if at day 15 you are already at 12% then bump up humidity to 60% to slow down evaporation.

I personally hatch in the tropics and use a dehumidifier to get my ambient humidity to 40%. inside the bator it would be 25-30% - i have not measured for a long time. As my humidity is high compared to most here, I dont go into lockdown until day 20 or first chirping from eggs. I add a little water to my hatcher thats in a naturally humid room and let the hatching eggs provide the rest,

On locally laid eggs set no older than 4 days i am getting an 80% hatch rate. I would hatch weekly but I dont have a cool location to store the eggs

sounds like you need to invest in a wine cooler or dorm-sized fridge... I had one that wouldn't cool well, but got down to about 55 most days. it would hold the 30-egg flats about 6 tall if I cared to stack them that high. but I rarely had that many eggs sitting around that long LOL I set about once a week if I can. I aim for Saturday or sunday, but shipped eggs have been getting here Thursdays and Fridays lately.

 

[gander007]

I completely disagree... everyone I've heard with 40% humidity during incubation usually has poor hatches and high % of late quitters...

I prefer dry incubation, all 3 incubators were reading 10%. I moved about 60 eggs to lockdown tonight. half to the hatcher (full time hatcher) and the rest to one of the incubators that has been made a temporary hatcher for this weekend. that leaves me 1 full that's due in 2 weeks (bator #2) and the other half full due next Friday (in bator #3). the hatcher (#4) is 55-65% humidity only for days 19 and 20 usually. (note to self, add water bowl to #1 bator tomorrow... I numbered them so that hubby knows which one to check for me, if/when necessary. it's also handy for my note keeping.

for local (my own and a friend's 2 hours away) eggs I'm averaging (with dry incubation and 55-65% humidity for lockdown) about 80% and on shipped eggs so far this year I'm at 70%. tho that's only 8 chicks out of 11 eggs that developed - I don't count clears since I have no control over the PO or the rooster. I just set 14 more blrw from another friend, but they had a long trip here because of the 2' of snow that we weren't supposed to get (4-6" according to predictions).

I am sorry but I have been dry hatching for years and it seems to work out better for me as for the hatch rate really is higher then with high
humidity and here in the desert getting the humidity up is very difficult at best so as I like to say to each there own