SEPTEMBER HATCH-A-LONG!!!

[john_wrightson2003]

@john_wrightson2003 what is a mutt?

A mutt is a mixed breed chick or chicken.

 

[john_wrightson2003]

BTW everyone, im sorry that i havent said anything in a while, i missed the last 30 or so msgs, thats why you havent heard from me. Sorry again.

 

[wolfwalker]

I read 13% from set to pip??? Not to Lockdown?

yeah, that is my mistake, my brain said one thing my fingers typed another.

Edited

But it seems my fingers were correct from several of the studies I re-referenced just now. Because when an egg goes into lockdown, you should not be opening the incubator up again to weigh eggs or disturb them

 

[Maiahr]

yeah, that is my mistake, my brain said one thing my fingers typed another

Right, but once you lockdown, the humidity is at least 2 times higher and they start losing less %, right? So shouldn't the aim be to lose 12% from set to lockdown and then only 1% for the last 3 days during lockdown when the humidity is double %?

 

[Maiahr]

Say an egg is 60 grams on set day. By lockdown the egg would be losing an AVERAGE of 0.42grams/day and it will be 52.79 grams, or 12% less. Then you do lockdown and increase the humidity to 60%. By pip the egg will be 52.20 grams, i.e. the last 3 days would be losing an average of 0.20 grams/day (kind of twice less than during the incubation period).

 

[Maiahr]

But it seems my fingers were correct from several of the studies I re-referenced just now. Because when an egg goes into lockdown, you should not be opening the incubator up again to weigh eggs or disturb them

Ha, we wrote kind of the same thing at the same time

 

[wolfwalker]

Right, but once you lockdown, the humidity is at least 2 times higher and they start losing less %, right? So shouldn't the aim be to lose 12% from set to lockdown and then only 1% for the last 3 days during lockdown when the humidity is double %?

unless you are dry incubating, the humidity should never double but only go up maybe 20% if you run your humidity level at 50% during the first 18 days.

An interesting chart I am referencing from an article from the Mississippi State University for meat bird hatcheries states that at 100 degree temps humidity should be 85 percent and during lockdown raised to 90 percent.

Even in the desert I think my chicks would be swimming at those numbers. But then again I am not hatching near a million chicks a week either

 

[Maiahr]

@shaila how did your quail hatch?

 

[Maiahr]

unless you are dry incubating, the humidity should never double but only go up maybe 20% if you run your humidity level at 50% during the first 18 days.
An interesting chart I am referencing from an article from the Mississippi State University for meat bird hatcheries states that at 100 degree temps humidity should be 85 percent and during lockdown raised to 90 percent.

I started with 40-50% humidity the first 18 days, but the eggs were not losing enough weight so I went dry in the middle of the incubation and reached room % - 30%. Now, with 30% humidity I am losing enough weight.. well, the eggs not me
I think in nature you will never get 80-90% humidity for 22 days.

 

[wolfwalker]

I started with 40-50% humidity the first 18 days, but the eggs were not losing enough weight so I went dry in the middle of the incubation and reached room % - 30%. Now, with 30% humidity I am losing enough weight.. well, the eggs not me
I think in nature you will never get 80-90% humidity for 22 days.

And that right there proves that there is no universal one step recipe for incubation. I doubt I could ever dry incubate, not with our normal humidity in the low teens. Everyone's climate is different which will effect how you incubate. Hence the reason why I am once again keeping meticulous daily records to re-learn hatching in my new climate after moving from the east coast to the desert southwest in Arizona. that way I can come up with a chart so to speak for my new climate to reference when needed.