Quitters in the lock down?

[Peafowlssssssss]

This year i'm having many quitters, some of them die just a day before lockdown and most of them die at first day on lock down, could it be lack of oxygen in the hatcher? I decreased the ventilation holes to the half in the hatcher to get the humidity higher to 70%or 72%, if i will leave them open at all the humidity will be only 65%.


I'm hatching peafowl eggs, i will start the incubating in my Brinsea 380 cabinet incubator with 50 to 55% humidity for the first 25 days, then i move the eggs for lock down to my second incubator(Brinsea 190 cabinet) which i'm using as a hatcher, i'm turning off the auto turner in this incubator and using two trays of the four trays to hatch the eggs, the first two trays i'm putting bowls with water on them to increase the humidity, otherwise it will not get up to 70%.

By the way i'm having 100% hatch rate with fertile chicken eggs in this method.

I'm thinking of two things, the humidity and the ventilation. I'm thinking my humidity for the first 25 days is low for my area(i live in Kuwait, our climate is so hot and dry in summer), some of the eggs have big air sac in lock down, i read somewhere this means you need to add more humidity, is that right? Or could it be the ventilation? In my main incubator i'm openning all the ventilation holes completely, but in the hatcher i'm decreasing the holes to the half.

Usually only half the eggs that reached lockdown will hatch.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

This year i'm having many quitters, some of them die just a day before lockdown and most of them die at first day on lock down, could it be lack of oxygen in the hatcher? I decreased the ventilation holes to the half in the hatcher to get the humidity higher to 70%or 72%, if i will leave them open at all the humidity will be only 65%.


I'm hatching peafowl eggs, i will start the incubating in my Brinsea 380 cabinet incubator with 50 to 55% humidity for the first 25 days, then i move the eggs for lock down to my second incubator(Brinsea 190 cabinet) which i'm using as a hatcher, i'm turning off the auto turner in this incubator and using two trays of the four trays to hatch the eggs, the first two trays i'm putting bowls with water on them to increase the humidity, otherwise it will not get up to 70%.

By the way i'm having 100% hatch rate with fertile chicken eggs in this method.

I'm thinking of two things, the humidity and the ventilation. I'm thinking my humidity for the first 25 days is low for my area(i live in Kuwait, our climate is so hot and dry in summer), some of the eggs have big air sac in lock down, i read somewhere this means you need to add more humidity, is that right? Or could it be the ventilation? In my main incubator i'm openning all the ventilation holes completely, but in the hatcher i'm decreasing the holes to the half.

Usually only half the eggs that reached lockdown will hatch.

Any help will be appreciated.

Personally I would have all ventilation open and add a couple wet sponges if there is room in the incubator. I am in NY, so I run a low humidity method, (until lockdown, of course, when I go up to 75%) but with you being there and still having overly large air cells, yes, that's a sign of too low humidity if they are too big. Big air cells-increase humidity to slow down the loss of moisture from the egg.

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

Personally I would have all ventilation open and add a couple wet sponges if there is room in the incubator. I am in NY, so I run a low humidity method, (until lockdown, of course, when I go up to 75%) but with you being there and still having overly large air cells, yes, that's a sign of too low humidity if they are too big. Big air cells-increase humidity to slow down the loss of moisture from the egg.

Thank you for your response, I will have all the ventilation open for the next hatch, do you think a many malpositioned chicks means the humidity is low during incubating?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you for your response, I will have all the ventilation open for the next hatch, do you think a many malpositioned chicks means the humidity is low during incubating?

I've never done peafowl. I'm not sure the difference in recommended hatch factors, but I run a low humidity method for my chicks with no problems of malepositioning. (An odd occasion here and there.)
Our assited hatch thread lists these as the most common reasons for malpositioning:

Common reasons of Malpositions are:
Eggs are set with small end up.
Advancing breeder hen age and shell quality problems.
Egg turning frequency and angle are not adequate.
Inadequate % humidity loss of eggs in the setter.
Inadequate air cell development, improper temperature and humidity regulation, and insufficient ventilation in the incubator or hatcher.
Imbalanced feeds, elevated levels of mycotoxins, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Lower than recommended temperatures in the last stage of incubation.​

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

Finally i found this thread, thanks Amy my hatch rate a little better after i increased the humidity, but i have another question, do you think its better to not open the incubator at all at lockdown? So i don't lose the humidity, i can add the water by a small aquarium hose through one of the vents.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Finally i found this thread, thanks Amy my hatch rate a little better after i increased the humidity, but i have another question, do you think its better to not open the incubator at all at lockdown? So i don't lose the humidity, i can add the water by a small aquarium hose through one of the vents.

Many people feel it is and are totally hands off. I have only done chicks, so I am unexperienced where other fowl/poultry are concerned, but I am a meddler. I keep my humidity 75% + so it doesn't effect my eggs when I open. If you are more comfortable or have a harder time keeping the humidity up, then yes, you should go with what you are comfortable and what works best and if that's not opening, then that's what you should do. (Just don't be afraid to open if it's neccessary if your humidity is up.) Lots of hatchers use a hose or syringe through the vents and have a sponge under the vent to make it easier.

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

Many people feel it is and are totally hands off. I have only done chicks, so I am unexperienced where other fowl/poultry are concerned, but I am a meddler. I keep my humidity 75% + so it doesn't effect my eggs when I open. If you are more comfortable or have a harder time keeping the humidity up, then yes, you should go with what you are comfortable and what works best and if that's not opening, then that's what you should do. (Just don't be afraid to open if it's neccessary if your humidity is up.) Lots of hatchers use a hose or syringe through the vents and have a sponge under the vent to make it easier.

I can't have my humidity up to 70% or more, mine stays between 66%-69%, i'm adding more water in the incubator and sponges as much as i can and this the highest humidity i could get, i'm keeping all the vents open because when i closed one of them before to add more humidity i think i lost many chicks due to lack of air.

When i open my incubator even for a few seconds my humidity will drop in the 30's, that's too bad right?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I can't have my humidity up to 70% or more, mine stays between 66%-69%, i'm adding more water in the incubator and sponges as much as i can and this the highest humidity i could get, i'm keeping all the vents open because when i closed one of them before to add more humidity i think i lost many chicks due to lack of air.

When i open my incubator even for a few seconds my humidity will drop in the 30's, that's too bad right?

In that case I would open as little as possible. I have both of mine out as well. You're in Kuwait. Dry and lots of sandstorms this time of year right? I stink at geography...lol I think I would definitely try to add water through the vents and only open if it's really neccessary.

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

In that case I would open as little as possible. I have both of mine out as well. You're in Kuwait. Dry and lots of sandstorms this time of year right? I stink at geography...lol I think I would definitely try to add water through the vents and only open if it's really neccessary.

Yeah, humidity outside is %8 now, i keep my incubator inside, but its still the humidity is around 20% inside, i can keep it closed until the last day of lockdown.