I was able to bring down the humidity to 35% using a very strong dehumidifier and a closed room. To bring it back up for lockdown, I loaded the incubator with water. If it helps, from my own experience I've eliminated humidity as a potential stumbling block.
My experience is weird because my first hatch, I actually had 5 out of 10 hatch. Which isn't too bad. Though I think I may have "rescued" one or two of them.
This was with Way Too High humidity, and a 99.5 degree still air incubator.
Unfortunately, I had three of the 5 die within a day or two, which was SUPER frustrating.
Then with my second hatch, I tried 20 eggs, and didn't put any water in during the incubation period until close to the end when my daughter's boyfriend added a bunch of water.
In that case, our hatch was even worse! I only ended up with 7, at least half of which I had to help out of their shells. (And 2 of which I rescued but had terrible inward-turned feet due to humidity and had to be culled.)
I learned my lesson was batch 2, though, and was very careful not to let any of the hatched chicks die unless I chose to cull them. The trick, I learned, was to check on them every 5 minutes, dunk their heads in the water, and basically rouse back to consciousness any chicks trying to escape life. LOL. In retrospect, I may have been too quick to toss out the dead on my first hatch. At least one of them may have only been "mostly dead." I might have been able to revive one or two. And they likely died of dehydration.
So this time, I'm only trying to hatch 10 again. I figure maybe this incubator does better when there is more space between the eggs? I also added a dehumidifier, though my humidity varies from one side of the incubator to the other. I've got hygrometers going outside the set up. Oh, and I turned up the heat to 100 degrees. I may increase it to 100.5, if I'm feeling daring.
Lockdown is Friday, so I have my fingers crossed!
What I have learned this far is:
1. It's okay to rescue chicks from their eggs, so long as they have mostly cut there way out already. I've killed one on a rescue attempt, but saved at least 4 others.
2. The trick to keeping them alive after birth is to not let them die. Force them to drink water and eat food. I have to check the temperature as often as possible, and dry them as fast as possible. And if one looks dead, I pick it up and dunk it's head in the water bowl, then the food bowl. I think my early ones died of dehydration, as I didn't realize how much quail need to be taught to drink water. For 48 hours, they need near constant supervision.
Anyway...dont know if any of this is helpful to you. We'll see what happens this weekend!
for a better hatch this time around.
