Is weight loss during incubation linear

[zippy722]

I started with 16, and currently have 12 eggs in the incubator, on day 12, so just over 1/2 way. On average, these 12 have lost 8.55% of their starting weight, ranging from 5.88%-11.29%. I’m most concerned about 2 at the upper end of weight loss who have lost 10.95% and 11.29%. I’ve read that ideal weight loss is 11-13%. So my questions are
1). Is weight loss linear during incubation, or can I expect weight loss to slow down, or even speed up, towards the end?
2). What are the issues with excessive weight loss during incubation? I believe having low weight loss risks the chick drowning upon pipping, but I don’t know the risks of high weight loss.
3). Besides increasing humidity, are there any other variables I can adjust to minimize weight loss without impacting the entire clutch of eggs in the incubator?

I’m guessing I selected eggs that were more porous than ideal, which is what’s causing the extra weight loss. Temp and humidity have been pretty constant, at 99-100 and 40-50% humidity.

Any extra info would be extremely helpful. Science geek at heart here, can you tell by the data dump??!!

 

[Susan Skylark]

What a geeky question! I am so very proud of you, but sadly have no answer as I don’t weigh eggs (or baking ingredients).

 

[zippy722]

What a geeky question! I am so very proud of you, but sadly have no answer as I don’t weigh eggs (or baking ingredients).

I really am a data geek like that. Curiosity as well as learning. This is the 3rd time I’ve incubated eggs, but this time I live at 5500 ft elevation in Montana, where it’s quite dry. So it’s very different than when I lived in the humid Midwest.

 

[Susan Skylark]

My first hatch I thought my thermometer was off by 5 degrees as it said water boils at 207F, which it does at 3000ft, I moved from near sea level a decade ago and didn’t even think about local elevation as it was never an issue! We also have 80% humidity in the winter here, which is totally weird, back home it was no humidity at -30F, not so here, makes the cold even colder and usually it is very dry here as well.

 

[zippy722]

My first hatch I thought my thermometer was off by 5 degrees as it said water boils at 207F, which it does at 3000ft, I moved from near sea level a decade ago and didn’t even think about local elevation as it was never an issue! We also have 80% humidity in the winter here, which is totally weird, back home it was no humidity at -30F, not so here, makes the cold even colder and usually it is very dry here as well.

Thanks for raising the question. I have had to adjust my temp inside the incubator. On the incubator, I’ve had to increase the set temp after using 2 different thermometers to verify. Now it’s set at 103, but 2 other thermometers I’ve put inside, show it at 99.5-100. Am I misunderstanding your point?

 

[Sic]

Can be linear, but variables to consider are temp/humidity, egg size, shell thickness and porosity. For chicken eggs the 11-13% weight loss is approx from point of lay to lockdown (day 18) Shooting for an ideal of 15-16% total. When there's a large disparity as you have, you'll have to decide which end to err on. I currently have a batch in the incubator at day 15, all around 11% weight loss, however the larger white eggs have nice size air cells and the smaller brown eggs have smaller underdeveloped air cells. All my eggs are important to me, but I will adjust my humidity based on the larger white eggs as this breed is currently my focus. If it didn't matter, I would probably lower my humidity, but I actually can't do that as this is a dry hatch and I live in a rainforest, so the incubator humidity has been a steady 53%rh. You can weigh your eggs daily if you need to get an idea of daily loss. I'm not sure what the best choice is, but I think I would rather have a few that lose a bit more weight than some drowning in their shell. Tough decisions for sure.

 

[zippy722]

Can be linear, but variables to consider are temp/humidity, egg size, shell thickness and porosity. For chicken eggs the 11-13% weight loss is approx from point of lay to lockdown (day 18) Shooting for an ideal of 15-16% total. When there's a large disparity as you have, you'll have to decide which end to err on. I currently have a batch in the incubator at day 15, all around 11% weight loss, however the larger white eggs have nice size air cells and the smaller brown eggs have smaller underdeveloped air cells. All my eggs are important to me, but I will adjust my humidity based on the larger white eggs as this breed is currently my focus. If it didn't matter, I would probably lower my humidity, but I actually can't do that as this is a dry hatch and I live in a rainforest, so the incubator humidity has been a steady 53%rh. You can weigh your eggs daily if you need to get an idea of daily loss. I'm not sure what the best choice is, but I think I would rather have a few that lose a bit more weight than some drowning in their shell. Tough decisions for sure.

Thanks for sharing your thought process. I’m probably going to have to put a room humidifier in the room where the incubator is once I get to lockdown day. I’ve put in wet paper towels today and was only able to get it up to 51%. Since I bought these eggs with only the plan to eat them, and later decided to incubate, I’m not attached to certain eggs/breeds. I’m just shooting for the greatest hatch and survival rate at this point. I feel pretty good about having 12 of 16 viable at this point. Thanks again!!

 

[Artistickatt]

I was a database analyst many years ago so I loved your question. I have eggs in an incubator at the moment and I am trying to chart the weights so that I can adjust the humidity along the way.

How did your hatch go in the end? Did you see any data correlations?