Lockdown questions/dry incubation

[Lil'ChickFarm]

I have six silkie eggs that were set June 17th. So today I am setting up for lockdown.

This is what I have done:

Removed the turner and put the eggs in a paper egg carton.

Added water and I am watching the humidity to not go above 65 percent.

Added one plug. One is still open.

Current humidity stayed about 42-45 percent.

I started with ten, tossed four that looked infertile at day seven.

I have one in there that looks questionable. Just some dark spots and alot of light, no definitive air area. Another one shows an air space but blood in the air space. The other four seem all dark. Should I remove the first two?

I am going by someone's idea here to put them in an egg carton, but my dry incubation instructions state to lay the eggs on their sides. Which would be better?

There is still an air space in the bottom where the pluggin for the egg turner goes out. Should I plug that up?

Thanks for all your help. I would like to see some beautiful silkies in a few days.

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

Ok, my humidity went up to 75 so I took out water, still 75, so I took out all the water. Do the cardboard egg boxes have moisture in them? I am trying to figure out where this humidity is coming from.

 

[John farmer]

I always try to achieve at least 75% on the lock down maybe I misunderstand what your doing but humidity is good during the hatch.

 

[Gypsy07]

Be wary of restricting the flow of air in order to raise the humidity. At this stage you should actually be removing all the plugs and increasing the air flow, as a good supply of oxygen is every bit as important as keeping the humidity high. If you want to raise the humidity, increase the surface area of the water, i.e. a wider water tray, not a deeper one. If that doesn't work, dip a paper towel in the water to wick up water and increase the surface area that way.

I don't think it matters whether you put them on their sides or in a carton. The lockdown period of no turning is to give the chicks time to position themselves correctly in the shell for hatching so either way should be fine.

As for which eggs to leave in and which to remove, if you're not exactly sure what you're looking at when you're candling, leave them all in. Have a quick sniff at them and if you don't smell anything rotten, any dud ones won't do any harm to the good ones. If you DO smell anything rotten, remove that one immediately. from what you say, it sounds like the four 'all dark' ones are good, and the others are questionable, but if you're not certain, leave them in anyway. You might be pleasantly surprised!

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-DryIncubation.html

I am following these instructions which state to put the plug in at lockdown and not to have humidity above 65 percent.

 

[cashdl]

Leave both plugs out and keep the humidity at about 45% give or take. Don't panic when the humidity rises to 65% as the chicks hatch. Its natural.

Lanae

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

Quote:
My gosh, they can hatch at 45 percent humidity? Right now they are in the egg cartons and humidity is 70 percent without any water in there. I think the cartons must have had air humidity in them. lol. It is slowly dropping as it started out at 75 when i put them in there for lock down. I am now playing the waiting game to meet my little critters.

 

[cashdl]

I incubate at 25% humidity and hatch at 45% humidity. Last couple of years I have been incubating at 65% and raising to 75% and my hatch rates on my own eggs sucked eggs. About 25%. Since I have gone to the dry hatch method, my hatch rate is 75% or higher. Bare in mind that I am in Northern CA. The humidity that I am using right now is easy to maintain. In the south or even the east things may be different.


All I can say is what works for me.

Lanae

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

Quote:
Lanae, that is interesting. I incubated these eggs without any water and the humidity stayed at 45 percent to 40. There was no way that I could have gotten it lower. I kept them in a room that had an even temp, no air, no outside windows open either.
It kept an even temp of 101 in a still air incubator.
So you think I should not add any water even for lockdown?

I spent years incubating and hatching bearded dragon eggs, button quail and green cheek conures. I never ever worried about any of this and hatched everything perfectly, lol.
I think we kept humidity between 50 and 60 percent and used some water on rags in there.
Now it seems that chickens are the hardest little stinkers to incubate.
My first set of eggs only hatched two as my humidity was probably too high, eggs were not set right. I think i made every mistake in the book.
However these guys just are not as forgiving as reptiles, lol.

Terry

 

[cashdl]

Where are you located. I am in California. I have no problem keeping 25% humidity even through the winter.

In your case If your humidity during hatching is 45% with a still air, then only raise it maybe 15% to 20% for hatching.


Lanae