What should humidity be for dry hatch?

[KZ]

From what I read regarding a dry hatch I was thinking humidity should be 35% days 1-18 give or take, then 65% the last three days. Does this sound right? My incubator keeps the humidity right around 42% (as long as I add water) and as long as I put in a wick it will bump up to 65% for those last three days. But I wonder if I should try to get the humidity down to 35%. Also, I live in a very dry area... very dry! My ambient humidity is about 10%. Does this make a difference? My incubator holds the temp and humidity almost perfect, so as long as I know what I want that humidity to be, I will be in business. Most of my eggs are Marans so it's really difficult to check the air sac.

I am open to hearing everyone's opinion. I don't often see people from really dry climates discussing incubation humidity.

<---------------- I will be waiting by the computer to hear from all you experts. I just put in a lot of eggs Saturday and if I need to change my approach, I can do it now.

 

[juliechick]

I have heard that you should keep the humidity at around 45% for the first 18 days. So, I would think there would be not reason for you to try to lower it.

 

[CANDLE98]

I am not sure what a dry hatch is, but i also live in an arid dry place with a 10% humidity and it is really hard for me to keep my bator at 35% it likes to run at 30% and then hatching is around 60%. I don't know if this qualifys for a dry hatch or not....my chickies are also not hatching very good. I think I need to up the humidity at the end by keeping a sponge in there or something!

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

I think the OP means a still air hatch if you were doing a dry hatch it would be just that dry 0% humidity. and I dont think thats possible. 40-45 is nice if you can reach that. and around 60 for hatch time.

 

[KZ]

Quote:
Hmm, I don't have a still air. Maybe that is why I am not finding the info I was looking for. I read that article regarding dry hatches, and it does seem to be geared toward the styrofoam incubators. I have a Sportsman.

 

[youngbiddy]

KZ, I've got a fan in my LG and I ran my humidity between 30-35% right up until the last few days. I had great air cells and so far the hatch seems to be going well. I'm in the humid South, I just didn't add any water and it stayed where I wanted it.

I was worried at the end that they'd been too dry, but so far it looks great.

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Quote:
Hmm, I don't have a still air. Maybe that is why I am not finding the info I was looking for. I read that article regarding dry hatches, and it does seem to be geared toward the styrofoam incubators. I have a Sportsman.

if you have a sportsman it should hatch naturally for you just keep water in the tray and add the sportsman wick before on day 18

 

[Gypsy07]

Only place you'd get 0% humidity would be somewhere like the Kalahari desert or Death Valley. A dry hatch just means no added water, so your humidity is determined by the atmospheric hunidity in the area where you live. I'd imagine that a dry hatch in Death Valley wouldn't be too successful! I've done dry hatches before, and 30% seems to be (for me anyway!) the minimum acceptable humidity; below that and my eggs dry out too much and die. 35% sounds good to me. I live in the west of Scotland though, which is about the furthest from a dry climate as you can get!

From what I've read on here, folk with still air styrofoam bators seem to do particularly well with dry hatches...

 

[Badbaby05]

I'm also trying a dry hatch and the articiles I have been reading say to go for 40% and let it drop to 30 or lower for about 12-18 hrs. Then at day 18 raise to 60% for duration of lockdown.