This has been my first 100% successful hatch. I'm not sure if that is due to using a different method for lockdown or the fact that these are my own eggs and are not shipped but I would like to get some input from others and see if anyone has had success using this method.
Typically I would raise the humidity and stop opening the lid on day 18 and just let the eggs sit but I usually ended up with 3-4 chicks that were fully formed but never externally pipped. This time my eggs had very small air cells so I did not add any water for lockdown (humidity was at 35-40%) until I saw the first external pip and brought it to 60%. Doing this, the humidity did not spike like it has in my other hatches at the moment of the pip. Usually a pip would bring it to 80-85% but this time it stayed pretty steady at 60%.
I'm wondering if the other hatches might have been affected by the very high humidity and drowned in the shells but there are so many factors with shipped eggs that there's really no way to be sure. Has anyone else had success leaving the humidity alone until external pip? Is this a commonly practiced method and has anyone seen improvement in their hatches from it?
Typically I would raise the humidity and stop opening the lid on day 18 and just let the eggs sit but I usually ended up with 3-4 chicks that were fully formed but never externally pipped. This time my eggs had very small air cells so I did not add any water for lockdown (humidity was at 35-40%) until I saw the first external pip and brought it to 60%. Doing this, the humidity did not spike like it has in my other hatches at the moment of the pip. Usually a pip would bring it to 80-85% but this time it stayed pretty steady at 60%.
I'm wondering if the other hatches might have been affected by the very high humidity and drowned in the shells but there are so many factors with shipped eggs that there's really no way to be sure. Has anyone else had success leaving the humidity alone until external pip? Is this a commonly practiced method and has anyone seen improvement in their hatches from it?