Operation Dry Hatch

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That's really interesting, considering how small they are. Actually, Owasso isn't really that small anymore. When I was just a kid.......you know how that story goes!!!!! There wasn't anything there. Now it's almost a thriving metropolis. You don't even need to go to Tulsa to do most of your shopping.
Did you have any bad weather this winter?
 
I have heard that the chicks can have a hard time pipping using the dry hatch method. I don't use the plugs at all through out the 21 days. And when I put the eggs into the styro hatcher at lock-up stage I fill the bottom grooves about half full. I also (very quickly!) spray the eggs with a very fine mist of warm distilled water once a day the last three days in the hatcher. Do you candle your eggs before the lock-up stage and are you still turning your eggs then also? I candle them quickly just to make sure that when I lay them in thehatcher that the air sac is slightly up not down. And you must not turn them in lock-up stage because they use this time to get into the right position. I'm just telling you this in case you were turning them.
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What else did you say....just sec I'll take a quik look at your last long post....
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......Ok and yes if you see blood when you're trying to help STOP and put it back into the bator.
I Love My Chickens
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Is this your Buttercup chick?
No, I didn't turn them any more after day 18. Locked 'em down and sat back for the fireworks.
And yes, I was seriously worried about helping them out, even if they did live, because they had to have been out of oxygen and I wondered if they would be brain damaged. They had been in there for a long time by that point.
I think I did everything right except for the humidity level. My DH now calls me Dr. Frankenstein, so I was getting the bator ready to try another hatch. We have tons of eggs around here to experiment on, it's just not a real good feeling to give them life and the kill them like this. I thought maybe this time I would just put in five or six. I had planned to hatch along with a broody hen so if things didn't go right and I only got one chick like I did last time, I was going to slip it in with her and be done with it. That one little chick thing is no fun. I had a loner for a week and a half and it ran me ragged. Finally found some bantam friends to go with her last Tuesday and life is so much more peaceful now! Only I sat eggs under the hen two days ago and didn't get mine in the bator yet. Oooooppppsss!!!!
Are Buttercups a rare breed?
 
I hear you alright, I was a little worried about trying a new method in case I ended up hurting them or culling because they weren't doing well. And having one chick can drive a person crazy!!!!! I end up carrying him around with me A LOT. I've used a soft stuffed toy once. They have warm breathing pillows for lonely puppies? But with this dry method I'm not out of the woods yet! I had 48 eggs in one bator and 36 in the other when I started this hatch. Three separate hatching dates and I have two hatches to go. This early one turned out great, I have 9 healthy chicks out of 11 eggs....but....one of the eggs had twins in it! They didn't make it but they were fully developed and each chick had its own yolk sac. Never had that happen before. The other was a buttercup and I think it was my fault for trying to intervene. I've done that a lot, I worry that they need help and end up making thinga worse. And yes! that little chick is a Sicillian Buttercup and they are quite rare.
I found more good information on Dry Hatching today that I'm going to add to this thread in a bit so have a look and tell me what you think.

ttys

Debbie
 
ChickensInMyYard said:
INCUBATION TECHNIQUES:
All eggs in nature are incubated flat. You'll never see a hen set them on the small end and turn them. By laying them flat and rolling them 180 degrees each time, you’re making everything inside the egg shift completely. This complete shift is called “Making the Embryo Exercise”. This will give you a stronger chick when it comes time to hatch.
The only time I'll incubate eggs in the upright position is when I get eggs shipped in. Then I incubate them in the upright position for 7 to 8 days without turning them at all and then turn them for the remainder of the 18 day period. This stabilizes the air cell and gives the embryo a better chance to start growing and get strong. You should let them rest at least 12 hours prior to incubation when you use this system. When shipped eggs that have air cell damage, it's best to have them incubate in the upright position the entire time of incubation just tipping back and forth after the first 7 to 8 days. I've taken eggs that have the air cells damaged so bad that they'll shift all the way down the side of the egg and I've gotten a good percentage of them to hatch doing it this way. This is my idea from getting hatching eggs shipped in over the years and then nothing hatching because of air cell damage. I just studied the eggs and opened tons of them that didn't hatch and came to the conclusion that to get them to hatch you first had to get the embryo growing building up strength. That was always the biggest battle. That's what blood rings are in shipped eggs. The embryo starts and then dies because it can't attach itself properly in the egg. Run both of these incubator with the air vents wide open. This will keep the air healthier in the incubator and keep the humidity lower. Only go by the size of the air cell in the egg to gauge the humidity in your incubator. Some eggs dry down easier than others. Marans eggs will dry down slower than Leghorn eggs. This has something to do with the egg shell. But if you go by standard operating directions and run your incubators according to the incubator directions you'll have poor hatches. You have to shoot for getting the air cell size to grow up to 1/3 of the egg by the time the chicks are supposed to hatch. The smaller the air cell the wetter the chicks will be. Small air cells will lead to a lot of chicks pipping and then drowning in the eggs.
As far as the humidity goes like I said, just watch the air cells. They're what will determine if the eggs are incubating right. Sticky chicks are caused by way to much moisture in the egg. What you have to think about is all the white of the egg has to be gone when that chick is ready to pip out. Then what happens ,if it is still there, is as soon as air gets into the egg when they pip through, the white of the egg acts like glue and as they're pipping it's drying and eventually it plugs the air hole and their nostrils up and they smother. I have all my vents wide open and I don't add any water until the eggs are pipping. I set my Redwoods up so when I start them I fill the water pans full of the hottest water that comes out of the faucet. Then let them run for a couple of hours to seal up the wood. Then set your temps. Once the Redwoods are sealed then the moisture evaporating out of the eggs seems to be enough until they start pipping. Then, when the eggs start pipping, fill the water pans with straight hot water again. I do this even with my waterfowl eggs. They hatch so much better this way.
I've always lived my life with the motto that "The way you treat people will come back to you double". I've made a lot of friends this way.
Rodney Haefs
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