Simulated Natural Nest Incubation~Experiment #1 So it begins....

[AmyPaperlady]

It probably depends on what the ambient humidity is.

 

[Beekissed]

i u mean a fish scale that has a hook on the end ,u can use that ,putting all the eggs in a bag .

i'm lucky my hens eggs r generally all similar size ,but range would be about 58 to 65 grams each

don't worry too much about individual egg weight.
just weigh all eggs together in bag ,calculate 15%of that to get weight loss required for end weight
i'd weight again about day 14 to track

so say 20 eggs weight approx 1200 g ,15 % = 180 g - day 14 weight total approx 2/3 of weight loss required = 120 g ,so total weight for 20 eggs day 14 = approx 1080g

egg cell size visually is simplest way to gauge ,egg weight is just another tool

Yeah...I think I'll just watch the air cells.

Not so good with math and the older I get, the more math leaves my mind.

 

[LightningTFarm]

Well, she is in Nevada where the air is MUCH dryer than where you live. That right there would make a huge difference.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I know people who live in the humid south and they don't do a completely dry hatch. If you re-read Pete's posts, he doesn't say he adds no humidity. He talks about a 30% humidity in his posts. It's called "dry hatch" because it is less than the recommended 50% humidity. It's a dumb name. They should come up with another title for it because it makes people think there is NO water added. I did the same thing. Sorry to confuse you Bee but you do need some humidity. If you calibrate that hygrometer the way someone suggested, you can keep track of it and be fine if you can keep it around 30%.

Oops, went back to try and find it and found it was someone else who said 30% and no I don't use still air.

 

[aussie pete]

sorry for any confusion, i stated i use 45% humidity rite thru.

yes i have some water but don't adjust-unless egg air cell is getting too big,

ambient relative humidity in room is usually around 36 % unless high rain fall or u live in a dry environment

given bee's location i wouldn't consider RH too be a problem

given Bee said she had added some water at setup i don't think any adjustments would be required unless air cell size is getting too big

in my experience any humidity is ok ,consistent temp being the most important element

 

[perchie.girl]

Okay....officially confused. Pete adds no humidity to his hatches and they come out fine, but Lacy says no humidity caused too much egg weight loss and would have resulted in a loss of the hatch. Tell me a true thing here, guys....can I do the entire hatch without adding humidity or not?

Lacy, are you doing still air incubation? I'm assuming that is what Pete is doing with his dry hatch?

Ambient humidity plays a big role in incubation.... When I incubated I had to add water almost every other day because our relative humidity is close to 15 percent most of the year.
Though my broodies had no issues with it.... LOL Always shepherding a bizillian peeps about. got to love those little mixed breed barnyard bantams for baby duty...

deb

 

[Beekissed]

Seeing as this is a still air incubation, this room is very far from the heat source in the house (wood heat, no forced air fan), has a very large (almost the whole wall) window in the room, the room stays relatively cool day and night and I have added a significant amount of water into already damp soils, I'm figuring the humidity will be just fine~ but I'll be checking air cells for staging on the appropriate days.

As was mentioned, even in arid climates, broody hens seem to be doing just fine on hatching, as do pheasants and grouse in those locales....maybe they have heavy nighttime humidity/dew there? Broodies in a barn setting, in nests up off the soil/ground, also are not adding significant amounts of humidity to their eggs, though I'm thinking their bodies are keeping the eggs from losing too much humidity.

Maybe the incubators with the whole space heated and the fans circulating the air really need to add humidity to that setting to insure a proper hatch?

This experiment is so very different from a closed incubator with fans and high ambient heat that I really can't try to tailor it to fit into that method of control, can I? It's going to have to mimic a broody hen as much as possible and that was the original goal and I had lost sight of that along the way as I listened to advice from all the different sources.

I'm going to play it by ear and stop trying to keep humidity levels up all through the hatch and then drowning the eggs by misting when they are hatching, which is what I was doing all that day. The initial humidity has been added to the soils and there is where it stands. I'll watch air cells per Pete's advice and just see how things play out...should be interesting!

 

[aussie pete]

sounds good to me, Bee

hope all goes well

Pete

 

[Beekissed]

sounds good to me, Bee

hope all goes well

Pete

Thanks, Pete!

I have a good feeling about this nest....I'm learning more with each attempt and maybe this one will be the game changer.

And this time, when I travel, that nest box is going right along with me...not letting these eggs out of my sight for longer than a day.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Good luck to you Bee and be careful not to let them bounce too much while on road trips.