PLEASE!!! Tell me about dry hatching!!

[Goat_Walker]

I really want to try my hand at dry hatching but cant find any good info.

1. What should the temp be?
2. On what day do I add the steaming hot water?
3. What should the humidity be when I add the water and what humidity do I keep it at till after hatch?
4. What should the humidity be before adding the water?


And any other tips I need to know, PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

I've got to say, I've been doing this for decades, but I have never hear d of this method before, where did you hear of it at ??

 

[Goat_Walker]

Ive heard it from a few people on here, including Swheat, but I cant remember hte others. They say they got a higher hatch rats since they didnt have to bother with watching the humidity

 

[MuranoFarms]

I've done it with chickens. Post on the incubating board you'll get tons of replies!

I wouldn't try it with ducks though.

 

[FenDruadin]

I do a modified dry incubate with mine, but disclaimer first: I've only hatched three batches of ducks, and am working on my fourth & fifth (staggered hatches). I did the standard humidity for the first two and dry for the third, and got a higher hatch rate on the third. HOWEVER, that's also the same hatch where I stopped washing the eggs, so it's hard to say what the important change was.

What I do is this: I fill all the standard trays with water the first day. I then let them dry completely out over the next few days. When the humidity hits the teens, I fill all the trays and repeat. I raise the humidity as high as it will go the last few days during lockdown.

Here's the thing. Humidity is just a guide. The real measure is how well the air cell is developing. This part is counterintuitive--you would think the only thing that matters is the humidity INSIDE the incubator, but in fact the humidity OUTSIDE the incubator matters too, and that's why everyone has to play around with their own humidity to find the sweet spot. Because here's the thing--if the air outside the incubator is dry, then when it enters the incubator the eggs will give up more of their humidity than if the air entering the incubator is wet. Imagine two incubators sitting in different rooms, one room with a high humidity and the other with a low. Both incubators have the same humidity level *inside* the incubator, but in the dry room the eggs have had to contribute more humidity in order to help maintain that humidity than in the wet room.

So, anyway, you'll have to play around to find out what works for you. I keep an eye on the air cell and look for it to fill about a third of the egg at hatch time. If it's developing slowly, I let the incubator stay dry longer. If it's developing too quickly, I raise the humidity.

Have fun--

 

[CityChicker]

I'm sorry, but I have real doubts about whether or not "dry" hatching is a good choice for most people. I agree with curiositycat, you have to find what works for you. If you look to advice from all of the larger waterfowl breeders, they consistently recommend similar ranges for humidity (and while they might not be right about all things, I think I would trust them on something like this that strongly affects their bottom dollar).

I don't think anyone can really say that dry hatching would work anywhere and everywhere. In one place, your dry incubator may put you at 15% humidity. In another place, it might put you at 45%. You have to find what works for you personally. There are numerous things that directly affect what your correct humidity level will be including the porosity of the eggs (which changes greatly depending on where you are) and even more significant- whether or not they have been washed. It is all a matter of refining your hatches until you find what works for you.

I also kind of chuckle when I hear this thing about monitoring air cell size instead of humidity. Yes, I agree with this to a large extent, but you have to realize they are directly related. It is the air cell size (or the weight loss) that is most important, not the actual percentage number of the humidity. The humidity level though is what determines the weight loss of the egg and consequently the air cell size though! It is directly related. Find what works for you. When I start dropping my humidity here down to even below 35%, my hatch rates start dropping very significantly. If I did a dry hatch, I would not even get half that level.

 

[FenDruadin]

I completely agree with you CityChicker. Everyone has to find what works for them. I agree about air cell development too--what I'm trying to say is that the humidity that works for me may be different from the humidity that works for someone else, and the best way to tell during the incubation period whether the humidity is right is to monitor the air cell development and modify humidity accordingly. Of course, keeping good records will help you figure out what humidity works best for you over time.

Anyway--thanks for the clarification, CityChicker. What you say makes sense.

 

[yotetrapper]

This year I've been doing exactly as curiositycat does, except I only wait to the low 20s, not teens. My hatch rate has skyrocketted compared to the 50% humidity thing, but again, this is for chickens. I dont hatch many ducks, so really can't comment on that.

 

[CityChicker]

Well, yeah....chickens are a different ball game all together. 50% for chickens is too high.

 

[duckluck]

Quote:
I think what they're trying to say about monitoring air cell size instead of humidity is, paying attention more to the air cells rather than playing a "numbers game", because there are no magical numbers for every situation, and simply adjusting humidity according to what the air cells show they need, whether it is more or less humidity. That's how I read that one.