Operation Dry Hatch

[kidcody]

Have used dry incubation for years, the only way to go! But you do have to raise the humidity during lock down. Some people think dry means you never raise humidity.

 

[ChickensInMyYard]

Ok good to know because I'm about to move some eggs into the hatcher in the morning, Im getting it ready and I've been racking my brains trying to decide on a good humidity level.

Thanks!

 

[wholewheatchicken]

I'm curious if when you open the incubator at any time during your incubation period it feels kind of humid inside? Mine has always felt relatively dry. I have had the incubator going for the last three days waiting for my husband to hook my fan back up and the humidity has been in the upper 60s - there isn't anything in it right now - and it still feels dry in there when I put my hand in. Is that normal? I remember my dad incubating guinea eggs when I was young and when he opened the door to the incubator you could feel the warmth and humidity coming out. Nothing like that going on for me?????
So Chickensinmyyard you leave the vents open the entire 21 days? Does that work okay on getting the humidity up?
Your little buttercup is cute. I love to look on Craigslist to see what is selling anywhere six hours around me. I don't buy there, just like to look...and someone had these little guys for sale. They are so pretty when they're grown. How did you end up with just one?
And interesting info you posted on hatching. Do you use shipped eggs very often? That is why I'm trying to figure the incubator out so I can buy some hatching eggs, but I'm so terrible at this I think I might be better off to buy the chicks. I am thinking blue laced red wyandottes.

 

[OkChickens]

even dry hatching come lockdown you need to up the humidity to at least 60% to keep them from shrink wrapping.

I have my hatcher around 30% humidity and chicks hatch fine. During hatching I do not open the door for at least 2 days or until all of the chicks are hatched.

Nate

 

[wholewheatchicken]

So I know we are talking about incubators, but I am mulling over this whole thing while eating a snack with the kids and I'm wondering.....I have had two hens go broody. Didn't really know anything at the time about hatching so the first hen I picked up to take outside to use the restroom and I heard the baby peeping in the shell. I picked the shell up and listened a few times, got my husband to come listen to the egg, took the kids out to listen to the egg....put Sophie back and left for the day and came home and pushed Sophie over a little bit and the egg was cracked....no shrink wrapping, the baby was fine. So my second broody hen was inside in the bathroom and I picked her up to take her out to use the restroom. This time I knew when the chicks were to be born and it was day 19. I picked her up and heard peeping from one egg. I made Maggie go out and use the restroom and stretch her legs. The chick had pipped. No shrink wrapping. I was subscribed to a thread a few weeks ago from a lady in Costa Rica who had the hen leave the nest for several days and she found the egg and the baby was pipping out on its own and no momma had been sitting on it. Granted it is warm and fairly humid there. Also, when Maggie was hatching her babies last time, I spent a lot of time with her as curious as everything. She got off the nest and walked around a little bit. I saw her turning eggs in between babies being born. One night while I was asleep she moved her nest from one end of the box to the other, I think because the shells were under her from the chicks that had been born. So at least my hen gets up during "lockdown". I know it's messing with nature to incubate, but I don't understand why these babies didn't shrink wrap when they had a momma on them and mine do!

 

[Farm_Maven]

My first hatch was my "learning" hatch, it was also an emergency hatch(lost my Br roo, and wanted to "set" some of his progeny b4 the hens went sterile). Started out in a homemade cooler incubator with an incandescent bulb. The eggs spent two weeks in it, then it went supernova, and I thought I cooked the babies. Rushed to TSC, grabbed an LG incubator. Kept humidity between 60 and 70% in both. Out of the twelve i started with, eight went into lockdown (two of those were unsure). Six hatched, two with assistance. Babies are half grown now, and doing well.
This time I tried the dry method. It was a huge FAIL. Five OE's. Used an auto turner, and bought another LG for strictly hatching. Humidity level in incubator stayed right around 30%, dropped to 25% at times. Moved them to the hatching 'bator for lockdown, at roughly 65% humidity. On hatch day, four stopped rocking. The day after hatch date, the 5th one stopped rocking. No pips at all. Eggtopsied the last egg to quit. Almost half the shell was empty space (upper half). Never pipped internally. I hope I increased the humidity level(roughly 55%) in this next batch in time to get a good hatch. I have some shipped eggs(Wellie and SLW's) in it along with some FBCM's, more OE's, and Silkies. Due to hatch Mar. 10.

 

[mohillbilly]

I have my hatcher around 30% humidity and chicks hatch fine. During hatching I do not open the door for at least 2 days or until all of the chicks are hatched.

Nate

it good that it works that way for you but i would not recommend it to anyone else and i also wont tell someone not to try it. i have tried it and had no luck went from a 99% hatch rate to a 30% hatch rate when i tried so i stick with what i get high hatch rates with.
oh and i agree with you about opening the door before they are all hatched

 

[wholewheatchicken]

My first hatch was my "learning" hatch, it was also an emergency hatch(lost my Br roo, and wanted to "set" some of his progeny b4 the hens went sterile). Started out in a homemade cooler incubator with an incandescent bulb. The eggs spent two weeks in it, then it went supernova, and I thought I cooked the babies. Rushed to TSC, grabbed an LG incubator. Kept humidity between 60 and 70% in both. Out of the twelve i started with, eight went into lockdown (two of those were unsure). Six hatched, two with assistance. Babies are half grown now, and doing well.
This time I tried the dry method. It was a huge FAIL. Five OE's. Used an auto turner, and bought another LG for strictly hatching. Humidity level in incubator stayed right around 30%, dropped to 25% at times. Moved them to the hatching 'bator for lockdown, at roughly 65% humidity. On hatch day, four stopped rocking. The day after hatch date, the 5th one stopped rocking. No pips at all. Eggtopsied the last egg to quit. Almost half the shell was empty space (upper half). Never pipped internally. I hope I increased the humidity level(roughly 55%) in this next batch in time to get a good hatch. I have some shipped eggs(Wellie and SLW's) in it along with some FBCM's, more OE's, and Silkies. Due to hatch Mar. 10.

This is pretty much what I experienced. My shells looked just like what you are describing with half the space empyt, but they hadn't been like that before lockdown. Now that I'm writing this I think maybe what we saw between full and half empty was the egg sac being absorbed? I thought for the next batch I am going to do I would keep the humidity between 40 - 45% with 60 - 65% during lockdown.
Mohillbilly, what range do you use?

 

[mohillbilly]

I usually run at 45 to 55% humidity to start and increase that to about 65% during lockdown....but i go by the eggs air sac come lockdown.

 

[ChickensInMyYard]

I'm curious if when you open the incubator at any time during your incubation period it feels kind of humid inside? Mine has always felt relatively dry. I have had the incubator going for the last three days waiting for my husband to hook my fan back up and the humidity has been in the upper 60s - there isn't anything in it right now - and it still feels dry in there when I put my hand in. Is that normal? I remember my dad incubating guinea eggs when I was young and when he opened the door to the incubator you could feel the warmth and humidity coming out. Nothing like that going on for me?????
So Chickensinmyyard you leave the vents open the entire 21 days? Does that work okay on getting the humidity up?
Your little buttercup is cute. I love to look on Craigsl ist to see what is selling anywhere six hours around me. I don't buy there, just like to look...and someone had these little guys for sale. They are so pretty when they're grown. How did you end up with just one?
And interesting info you posted on hatching. Do you use shipped eggs very often? That is why I'm trying to figure the incubator out so I can buy some hatching eggs, but I'm so terrible at this I think I might be better off to buy the chicks. I am thinking blue laced red wyandottes.