Operation Dry Hatch

[WanderingFarmer]

We "turn" day 21 at 1pm today and i already have over half my bator hatched! Thrilled with the dry hatching results!

 

[dgrasseth]

Hello there! Im hoping you fellow peeps can help me out! I am new to hatching eggs and this is my first time.

I have a Hova Bator 1602 incubator. I have been running it for almost 2 days now and the temp has been level between 99 and 100 almost consistently. I've been told that with these particular eggs they do much better it a dry hatch incubation. which is what I am planning on doing. However, my hygrometer read 16% and has been stable there for quite sometime. Normally, WA is such a humid state so Im surprised its so low!

Everything that I have read says not to worry about Humidity until day 18. But there are conflicting ideas saying that it should stay in the 25-35% humidity range. So Im not sure if 16% is too low or not? Should i add a wet sponge in the room next to the incubator? maybe a humidifier? Or should I seriously not worry about it? Has anyone else done a dry hatch in a still incubator during the winter? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

[lazy gardener]

I don't worry in my humidity gets down to 11% in a dry hatch. But, my goal is to keep it between 30 - 40% till lock down. When it gets below or above, I just wait out the curve, and adjust. I use a sponge in a cup of water, and add water to the cup with a syringe or straw through a vent hole. The entire purpose of the lower humidity is so that you can monitor your air cell sizes, and you will then have wiggle room to adjust up or down to correct. If you were doing the traditional higher humidity hatch (I think they used to recommend 50%) by the time you get to lock down, and realize that your air cells are too small, there's no time to safely fix that.

 

[dgrasseth]

Ok Awesome! Thank you so much for the information. So when you have the water and a sponge is that only during lockdown, or do you have it in there during day 1-17 as well with the dry hatch? I was planning on literally not using any water until day 18. But if 16% is too low then I can absolutely put a tiny bit in there to raise it to say 25%? What would you reccomend?

 

[lazy gardener]

"Dry hatch" is a mis-nomer. It should be called less humidity hatching. While there may be those who hatch truly without adding ANY water till lock down, I think that most of us aim for himidity around 30 - 40% during the first 18 days. A lot depends on the humidity in your area, the time of year (which affects humidity) and even the size and type of eggs you are hatching. Winter in my house with wood heat (which lasts until the end of April, and I sometimes burn wood in May, even June, and start back up again in September) is VERY dry, rarely getting above 15%. So, with winter hatching I have to add a lot of moisture to keep up to 25%. My late spring hatch last year was a challenge b/c I was used to winter conditions. I'd add water just as a low pressure area moved in, bumping me up to 50%, then I'd scramble to get the humidity back down to fix the air cells before lock down. I ended up going into lock down dry, and only boosted the humidity at first pip.

 

[dgrasseth]

Wonderful! Thank you so much for help. I really appreciate it

 

[dgrasseth]

This is what it read at 10 AM this morning when I set the eggs

OK So i set the eggs at 10 AM this morning. It was holding steady at 99-100 for 48 hours prior to opening it up to put the eggs in. It dropped to 82 when i put them in. It has been 6 hours and it is still only at 97. Humidity is at 31%. From all the research I've done, it says don't mess with it and leave it alone. So is 6 hours too long fro it to be so low? Also the Accurite Thygrometer on the wire floor says 97, and the basic bulb thermometer sitting on top of the eggs reads about 99. Which one should go off? When no eggs were in there they reading at exactly the same degree so I know that they are calibrated to be right working together. So should i turn it up a tiny bit or should I seriously leave it alone and go off of the higher basic thermometer?

 

[lazy gardener]

Don't touch that dial. Wait 24 hours before you adjust, unless, of course it reads too high during the first 24 hours. Does your bator have a fan? If so, you want 99.5, and I'd measure that at the top of the eggs. That being said, I run at 100 with my home made bator with fan, and have very good hatches at that temp. Whether you have a fan or not, check temp throughout your bator, as there will be differences here and there. For that reason, I rotate my eggs throughout the box. Without a fan, I think you want to run 101 at top of eggs, but you'd have to check that.

 

[dgrasseth]

Perfect! Thanks again for the help. It does not have a fan. I have all the vents out to have the air circulating. Rotating the eggs is a great idea! I will definitely do that!

 

[lazy gardener]

Check out this from HE101:

TEMPERATURE
Never trust the thermometer that comes with the incubator, always check it.
The thermometer that came with my incubator was off by 5 degrees.
That could mean life or death for your babies.

Did you know "The yolk is orange and on its surface is a visible germinal disc; radiating from this area is the more watery white
yolk, which is less dense. During turning, the yolk’s structure makes the part containing the germinal disc stay most dorsal (closest to the incubating bird) for heating"

With a Forced Air Incubator (fan model) you can get the best hatch rate by keeping the temperature at 99.5º F. throughout the entire incubation period. HOWEVER, when using a Still Air incubator (no fan) at 102º F. The reason for different temperatures is that with a fan model the circulating air warms all around the egg while still air temperatures are warmer at the top of the egg than at the bottom. The temperature is measured at the level where the embryos develop (at the top of the HORIZONTAL egg). NOTE:
If the eggs are in vertical position, elevate the thermometer just below the top of the egg. The temperature is measured at the level where the embryos develop (at the top of the egg). Never allow the thermometer to touch the eggs or incubator because incorrect readings can result.
A high temperature tends to produce early hatches. A consistently cooler temperature tends to increase incubation times and produce weakened chicks. In both cases the total chicks hatched will be reduced. Prepare your incubator and run it for several days before adding eggs, to be positive you are maintaining correct incubation temperature. NOTE: It is common that when adding eggs the temperature will drop but should come back up to correct temperature within an hour or two. Don’t rest the thermometer's bulb touching the eggs or the incubator. Incorrect readings will result. Did you know that 10/13 day old embryos begin to produce excess heat in the incubator? Most large commercial incubators will spend more time cooling than heating!
​