Low hatch rates - what am I doing wrong?

[BuckeyeFoodie]

Hi all,

So my last two hatches of my own Silkie eggs have had fairly poor hatch rates, 50 and 30 percent respectively although all the eggs were very active at lockdown and the eggtopsies show no obvious issues, and I'm trying to figure out where I'm going wrong.

I have two NurtureRight 360's, my newer "domed" model was the 50%, and my older the 30%. I'm in central Ohio, so we have high relative humidity already - on my older model I have been dry hatching through the spring at a very consistent 35% humidity, and the newer model hatches dryer so I have tried to keep that one on the 30's as well - I do have new hygrometers coming to verify that the humidity is correct, but egg sacks had textbook progression.

I have had great fertility rates, with nearly 100% of eggs making it to lockdown. I feel like as soon as I start raising the humidity for lockdown is where I'm losing viability. I slowly raise the humidity to the high 50's once I see an external pip, and it stays in the low 60's through the hatch.

So where am I going wrong? There is so much conflicting info on when and where to raise humidity to for lockdown.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

External pip? I raise my humidity with the internal pip. (or even before) Try up to 65% humidity to hatch. Do you have an easy way to lower the temperature for lockdown? If you do I'd lower it to 98.5 or 99'F, if not just leave it be.
Do you have additional thermometers?

 

[BuckeyeFoodie]

External pip? I raise my humidity with the internal pip. (or even before) Try up to 65% humidity to hatch. Do you have an easy way to lower the temperature for lockdown? If you do I'd lower it to 98.5 or 99'F, if not just leave it be.
Do you have additional thermometers?

I bump the humidity to 50 at lockdown, then raise it higher at external pip. I pretty much end up at 60-65% for day 20 onward. I have additional thermometers, and temperature is consistent at 99.5.