Setting Shipped Eggs

[RubyNala97]

I had the humidity about 60, and then increased to 65/70 for lockdown. I was trying to get it a little lower for day 1-18 but I just couldn't keep it at 55....it either plummeted quickly or rose and stablised at the 60 mark so I left it. The trials of a newbie hatcher, eh?!

I had much better hatches using low humidity. 35% days 1-18. IMO, 60% is really high. The chicks don't loose enough moisture (the air cell doesn't grow enough) and the chicks gets to big to pip the egg and/or drowns on excess moisture in the egg. Did you eggtopsy the eggs that didn't hatch? And what incubator are you using?

 

[GreenRunner]

I had much better hatches using low humidity. 35% days 1-18. IMO, 60% is really high. The chicks don't loose enough moisture (the air cell doesn't grow enough) and the chicks gets to big to pip the egg and/or drowns on excess moisture in the egg. Did you eggtopsy the eggs that didn't hatch? And what incubator are you using?

Yeah, I tried the float test to start with and they all bobbed happily. However, when I then candled them I found that most were infertile, with a lot of the air sacs weird shapes etc; I guess they were detached in transport. I've bought some more eggs - picking six up tomorrow and having the other six shipped. But now I know the techniques, I have higher hopes.

I might try that lower humidity too. The only reason I went with that is because that's what the incubator booklet mentioned. I'm really not sure the incubator manufacturer....it's a 12 egg with automatic turner, a bright yellow top and perspex sides - not Brinsea though.

 

[RubyNala97]

Yeah, I tried the float test to start with and they all bobbed happily. However, when I then candled them I found that most were infertile, with a lot of the air sacs weird shapes etc; I guess they were detached in transport. I've bought some more eggs - picking six up tomorrow and having the other six shipped. But now I know the techniques, I have higher hopes. 

I might try that lower humidity too. The only reason I went with that is because that's what the incubator booklet mentioned. I'm really not sure the incubator manufacturer....it's a 12 egg with automatic turner, a bright yellow top and perspex sides - not Brinsea though. 

I love Brinsea! (Im sure yours is good too ) Lol. When I first starting hatching another BYC member gave me this article. I thought about it after reading your post because the title is "throw away your incubator manuals"... read this, it's really good! Good luck with the new set!
http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity

 

[GreenRunner]

What a brilliant article. The more I read, the more I realise I did SO MUCH wrong during this hatch. I followed the manual and got a poor hatch rate. Definitely going to drop the humidity this time around - I have the incubator running now in prep for the eggs. Am trying to get the humidity down - it's so hard; I only have one channel filled and at the moment it's at 70%!!!! I might remove all water and see what it drops too.

 

[RubyNala97]

What a brilliant article. The more I read, the more I realise I did SO MUCH wrong during this hatch. I followed the manual and got a poor hatch rate. Definitely going to drop the humidity this time around - I have the incubator running now in prep for the eggs. Am trying to get the humidity down - it's so hard; I only have one channel filled and at the moment it's at 70%!!!! I might remove all water and see what it drops too.

Good! I'm glad you liked it. I'm in NY state and I've been running dry (no water) and my humidity was staying 50-55%! Way to high for me. My air cells look horrible! I found this stuff at the dollar store for moisture control, it's carbon & charcoal. I put a little cup in my incubator and it brought it down to 25%. I usually don't run that low but I need over compensate for it being so high. Now my air cells are starting to look good. (I'm super happy plus it only cost a buck!). I know when it was colder and dryer out, my humidity was still to high with one well filled. So I actually found that a bottle cap filled with water and put into well #1, brought me to 35%. So you have to play around with it. Did you calibrate your hygrometer? Try going dry and see where your humidity is. Even though you didn't have an amazing hatch rate your first time, you still gained valuable first hand experience, that's priceless. I can't wait to see how good you do this time!!

 

[Dramaqueen21888]

This whole post is exactly what I needed. I was just planning on purchasing some fertilized eggs so now I have some extra suggestions to hopefully keep my success rate up. Thanks

 

[GreenRunner]

So I removed all the water and the humidity plummeted to 29, so I'm basically adding trickle's of water and then sliding lid of slightly to keep the humidity around 45/50 for the coming days. It's right next to my desk so I can keep a close eye on it.