My first 100% hatch! Dry incubation success story!

[Fay at Frizzled Feathers]

Congrats , job well done !!!

cute chicks , the first pic with the roo peeking into bator is priceless !

Fay

 

[Cherlyn]

I think I need some education - where can I read all about dry incubation, what it is, how to do it, etc etc?

~Cherlyn

 

[cw]

yea. i would like to know also

 

[OCchickens]

Thanks everyone for your nice feedback.

There's an article in the learning center on dry incubation.

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

 

[BeccaOH]

I do think there is something to doing it dry (or slightly dry).

In my newbie experience, I had trouble regulating the humidity and keeping it has high as recommended, but I had a great first hatch of around 80% on the viable SHIPPED eggs.

When I started with a Hova-Bator with fan for my incubator and a LG for my hatcher, I was able to keep the humidity at around 50% in the incubator and then higher in the hatcher. Usually the cleaning between hatches really keeps the humidity up in the hatcher. BUT, my hatch successes have gone down. On ducks, I actually only had a 50% hatch with 2 out of 4 ducklings really struggling to break out.

I'm going home and lowering humidity.

 

[2txmedics]

after reading the article that Buddy postedon DRY INCUBATION...Ive kept in contact with him and Jamie...this is what I have and sent out to another person. We all dont agree with this, but this works great for me since I have an LG9200:

First you know to calibrate your meter
1/4 water 1/2cup salt in a cup, stir virgously, place in a zip lock bag, also take meter and place it in the bag next to the cup, seal and let it sit 6hrs min. but best 12hrs. reading should be 75%,...if not then its off. CANT BE FIXED, but you can use it by just adding or subtracting what % its off on every reading.

Run bator 48hrs or more BEFORE you set eggs. Reason you want to see how its running and make any adjustments you need too before you set eggs and ruin your hatch. Too late then. I know ...we get impatient...but have too. I will try and explain this as simple as I can to make sense, if you dont understand...ASK QUESTIONS, and I will try to help.

Ok...How an egg comes to hatching, First you know its full of fluids, water, yolk, In order for a chick to form, its like a baby, it takes it Nutrition from its contents. So To Form, the yolk and such has to absorb into the chick.

The temp/humidity help it do this. The Egg Must lose 11-14% weight during incubation, it needs to evaporate its contents for the chick to have room, move and develope, be able to turn the way it needs too. THIS IS ANOTHER REASON, WE STOP TURNING THE EGGS...SO THE CHICK CAN TURN AND DO WHAT IT HAS TO INSIDE THE EGG.

If the humidity is too high, it hinders and slows down the evaporation process or stops it all together. If the temp is too high, it causes the chick to grow fast also, and pip or not pip and die. They have a egg tooth, this can puncture the membrance and then cause the chick to drown in its own fluids.

Still with me? ok... When the hen lays her eggs and broods to hatch...she lays, warms the eggs, gets up, walks away to eat, stretch...the eggs cool down a bit, she goes back and warms them just right again...does this for "18" days...in your bator..your doing the same thing...you keep the temp at 99.5-100.0 and humidity on the "low" end 35-38%. She rolls them, moves them...that us like the bator turning them. Studies show that a reading under a hen ...high was 38% when tested.

So on Day 18 she knows its time...She plans to raise her humidity, and to also stop turning her eggs. She raises humidity by, sitting, fluffying feathers, pushing eggs up against her skin, causing it to get humid. We cant do that so we raise by adding water to the smallest well in the bator.

So you place your eggs on day one: after all the testing and adjusting, knowing your temps are holding at 99.5-100 BUT NOT MORE THAN 100.6, start watching it then, your RED ZONE is 101.0 that is too high. LEAVE RED PLUGS OUT...OF BATOR, DO NOT ADD WATER...YOUR DOING DRY INCUBATION. Just like the hen.

DO NOT OPEN THE BATOR "AT ALL"...NOT FOR A TINY BIT...you will change all your settings you worked so hard to get, and just remember LG's are TOUCHY.
what I do is watch me temps/humidity every 2hrs when I first place my eggs in, reason...THE EGGS HAVE FLUID IN THEM...YOUR TEMP/HUMIDITY WILL CHANGE...ITS OK, DO NOT PANIC...this is normal...but watch the temp for the RED ZONE...it has to adjust, and you do it by your room temp. Do not place bator by a vent, keep it away from a window, high draft area, in a stable temp. control room.

at 10 days you if you MUST can candle your eggs...but open it quick and remove the eggs to candle everytime you open it, it changes the settings. keep this in mind and your set. I say Candle at 10, and throw out what you dont see thriving. Some take there chances and dont candle. Of course you know when you load the bator, its small end down, big end up, that is where the AIR CELL is...Remember on the last part of the run...opening can make or break your hatch rate.

NOW IF DURING THE 1-18 DAYS, YOUR HUMIDITY DROPS TO 25%, you add a teaspoon of water through the tiny holes on the lid, DO NOT OPEN THE BATOR...you can use a hose which I bought one at home depot...the kind you use for those spray bottle that have a hose with a pump, just cut the pump handle off...slid it through the hole and put a tiny bit of water into the SMALLEST WELL...monitor it again for an hr...if it needs more use the next smallest well....give it time to adjust...DO NOT LET IT SIT AT 25% or LOWER FOR MORE THAN AN HR...you want to bring it back up to 35-38%. Remember you want the egg to evaporate the correct way.

DAY 18 You want to stop TURNING THE EGGS...so you open the bator remove the tray and place the eggs on there sides not touching each other. NOW YOU WANT TO BUMP UP HE HUMIDITY...like a mother hen does, you need to keep them moist to hatch from the shell with ease...65-75% is a good average.

I keep track on a chart, I didnt at first...im smart and a Medic...Ive alway been good about remembering vital signs, medical history...etc...BUT...when hatching, you will find yourself adjusting the a/c room temp, watching your humidity/temp..you want to REMEMBER what you did to cause the rates to change. So keep track. This is how I do mine.

Start Date Aug 22 940am ....due hatch sept 11th

9:40am 99.6 38% RA 85 (this is your a/c temp)
11:15am 100.6 42% RA 82 and I put a little arrow down next to this number this tells me I bumped the a/c down to 82 from 85 and I watch my next reading...etc etc...

You with me so far in understanding? ANY QUESTIONS??? I hope this has helped you understand it alittle more. DO NOT HELP A CHICK OUT OF ITS SHELL, LET IT TRY ON ITS OWN...MIGHT TAKE A FULL DAY OR LONGER...if you have to contact me again. The chicks once hatched can stay in the bator for 2 days and survive...they are still eating off there own yolk they absorbed into there body.

Spraddled legs, normal happens alot...dont panic...it can be fixed...when its time show you how.

AND REMEMBER, THERE ARE NEVER ANY DUMB QUESTIONS, THIS IS HOW WE ALL LEARN...from each other. this is how I keep my log:

the green highlighter marks everytime Ive had to change the temp in the room to adjust it to get a perfect humidity/temp in bator...and I arrow down or up next to the number of the a/c temp...to show what I did...for me.

 

[kittin797]

Wow, it never fails to amaze me how much I still don't know about all this! Hopefully all the reading will sink in and I can remember and learn! great post on step by step of incubator and not helping chick! I have 1 hatching right now and a 2nd coming!
For the original poster, I love the pics and its nice to see some1 able to cuddle their rooster! I can only hope we can get ours that tame to us!
This is a great site and the forum is VERY informative! thanks!

 

[Fowl Visions]

I just had a very unsuccessful hatch with a LG9200 and after reading your information I am sure it is due to too much humidity. I am now preparing to incubate more eggs and will it try it this way. Thanks for the great information.

 

[2txmedics]

Hello fowl...what were your settings??? you see I also had a bad hatch my very first time, and so I went in search of answers...studied different ways and found someone who basiclly held my hand to explain why this and that...makes alot of sense. And things got alot better.

I hope you can make sense of what Im saying if not your more than welcome to contact me. I will try, help if I can. I had 17 eggs that didnt hatch, 13 that did, and 2 of them were very sickly I had to put one down, and the other died within 3 days on its own. Shell was stuck, and they were all gunked up. looked tiny, weak and bald.

 

[Fowl Visions]

In the beginning it was 99 humidity in the high 30's. After day 18 I increased humidity to 55 to 60. Out of 21 eggs, seven pipped and four lived.