Incubators Anonymous

[rnt2005]

Once you have the first few chicks hatch the humidity is always going to skyrocket. The chicks are tiny wet sponges evaporating.

This increase on humidity should not effect your hatch. If you have had fully formed chicks that did not hatch out it's more likely to be from too high a humidity or even too low a humidity during the first eighteen days.

To trouble shoot have a look at the dead in shell chicks. Of the air cell is small then it was high humidity during incubation.

The only way to really get to understand your hatch in your environment is to weigh the eggs at weekly interval s and reach the weight loss.

In my high humidity environment I run a dehumidifier to keep the room at forty percent humidity. The room is at about eighty five degrees during the day. As increased temp will lower humidity on the incubator, the humidity in the incubator runs at thirty percent. It's so constant now that I don't even check incubator humidity any more add long as the dehumidifier ours up and running.

Once lockdown starts I use a Hatcher outside my incubation room. The ambient humidity is over seventy percent so I don't add water.

The chicks cause a big rise in humidity and often their is condensation on the plexiglass top.

The only time I have shrink wrapping outs on a egg that takes too long to go from pip to zip. With local eggs that is very rare and m my hatch rate is eighty eight to ninety seven percent.

On shipped eggs I last set 235 and hatched 115 - a 49% hatch rate. This is very good in my opinion. Three had zipped but did not hatch and five had pipped and stalled. The problem for me with a huge shipped batch is the unpredictability of when each batch will start pipping as eggs from one supplier will start at a different time to the next supplier even of the same breed. Having ten our twelve different breeds or supplies can make my hatch last three days. I have to balance getting chicks out versus waiting for stragglers.

This whole humidity issue is very personal. What works for me may not work for you. It's a game of trial and error. If you have the luxury of home grown fertile eggs then you can experiment at no great cost. I've am not sure where you are at with experience and availability of local eggs but if you don't have a source try craigslist or local BYCers, hatch as many eggs as you can and take notes.


Good luck

Thank you for the info. It's great having knowledgeable people willing to share their knowledge and experience. I have learned so much from BYC and expect to learn so much more.

 

[shewatson]

Thank you for the info. It's great having knowledgeable people willing to share their knowledge and experience. I have learned so much from BYC and expect to learn so much more.

I had a problem when I first started and I have the Styrofoam incubators and I couldn't keep humidity constant, well I solve that little problem by putting a hole in and inserted IV tubing now if I need to raise humidity I just use a seasoning injector and inject water thru the tube I never open the incubator or my hatcher anymore until I'm ready. So temperature and humidity stay constant.

 

[chickensnbees]

Just curious, are you using more thank one hydrometer? Maybe it's not accurate? Also I did the dry hatch method this time and I really think it allowed the air cells to be too big and the chicks couldn't position correctly. Maybe that is what made them drown for you? Plus what did you mean about all vents pulled without dropping the temp low?

I have a Styrofoam HB. The vent plugs were all out to try to reduce the humidity as much as possible. The only other thing I know of to let out humidity would have been to crack open the top which would have let out way too much heat. Sorry it was confusing the way I said it. And I used 4 different hydrometers that all showed within a 3% range.

 

[Runawaylobster]

Guys, I know it's picky but, you use a HYDROMETER to measure the specificc gravity of liquids, for things like salt content of salt water fishtank or amount of sugar remaining if you make your own wine. Relative humidity is measured using a HYGROMETER lol!!!

 

[lazy gardener]

thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rnt2005]

I had a problem when I first started and I have the Styrofoam incubators and I couldn't keep humidity constant, well I solve that little problem by putting a hole in and inserted  IV tubing  now if I need to raise humidity I just use a seasoning injector and inject water thru the tube I never open the incubator or my hatcher anymore until I'm ready. So temperature and humidity stay constant. :cd

Great idea, we were think of doing something like that. Do you put it through the top or through the side? Thanks!

 

[rnt2005]

I have a Styrofoam HB. The vent plugs were all out to try to reduce the humidity as much as possible. The only other thing I know of to let out humidity would have been to crack open the top which would have let out way too much heat. Sorry it was confusing the way I said it. And I used 4 different hydrometers that all showed within a 3% range.

oh wow. Makes me nervous starting up my incubator this weekend! Had such good luck the first time but this last time was rough... Not only sleep less nights and stress but wasted money... I decided not to give up just yet, lots of learning to do...

 

[rnt2005]

Guys, I know it's picky but,   you use a HYDROMETER to measure the specificc gravity of liquids, for things like salt content of salt water fishtank or amount of sugar remaining if you make your own wine.    Relative humidity is measured using a HYGROMETER   lol!!!

oh... i guess I need to check mine... Thanks

 

[rnt2005]

oh... i guess I need to check mine... Thanks

Guys, I know it's picky but,   you use a HYDROMETER to measure the specificc gravity of liquids, for things like salt content of salt water fishtank or amount of sugar remaining if you make your own wine.    Relative humidity is measured using a HYGROMETER   lol!!!

Yep mine are hygrometers... Thanks for the clarification

 

[rnt2005]

Yep mine are hygrometers... Thanks for the clarification