Will any hatch at only 40% humidity from lockdown on?

[InsaneBreeder]

Up until day 18 I kept the humidity pretty consistently at 30%, and on day 18 I tried to get it up to 65%, but it would only go to 40%. All the water trays under the wire mesh are full and I've put other containers full of water in ever available space. Is there any chance that any of the eggs will still hatch?

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

could it be that your hygrometer is off?? Try another one. I hatched bantam eggs a couple of months ago at aprox. 40% humidity..not over 50% and got 18 out of 24. come to think of it, it was my best hatch. lol...good luck, but try another hgrometer.

 

[txmel]

i would also suggest you try another hygrometer. i had one that was off and the humidity was up in the 80's and my hygrometer only read in the low 50 upper 40's ended up drowning chicks because i kept trying to increase the humidity and when they internally pip the were greeted with a big gush of water.

 

[InsaneBreeder]

Okay, thanks for telling me! I will go find another one.

 

[ChooksChick]

Also, a wet paper towel flat on the wire floor of the incubator gives you twice the area in evaporative area, so you'll get a high humidity very quickly. Just put a paper towel down, move the eggs one at a time onto it, and then pour warm water over it, not the eggs. Works like a charm.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Are they your own hatching eggs or shipped hatching eggs? If they are from your own chickens then there shouldn't be a problem. I just had two chicks hatch from eggs I missed putting in the hatcher. They were still in the turner and at 26% humidity. Came out nice and clean.

 

[InsaneBreeder]

Thanks for the idea chookchicks.

The eggs are from my chickens.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

I think your hygrometer is off. I can't think that with all the wells full of water that the hygrometer would only read 40%--especially in Hawaii. It is humid there isn't it? That said, did you use that same hygrometer to measure the humidity during incubation the full 18 days?

If so, then it was most likely off too. I find that too high humidity is much worse than too little. I dry incubate (rarely add water the first 18 days and aim for about 30-40% tops) and then hatch at about 60%.

Being that they are your own eggs they will take alot more than a shipped egg could. When you candled before lockdown was their air cell nice and open? Did they lose enough moisture that they won't pip and drown?

 

[InsaneBreeder]

Quote:
Yes, I did use the same hydrometer throughout the hatch. I had the hydrometer resting on top of one of the bowls of water, and when I took out all the bowls and put the hydrometer on the incubator floor, it read 42%, so I think it either re-adjusted itself or is even more off. Yes, it is humid here, but we've been having a drought and it's been hot and dry, so I don't know if that would affect the humidity levels in the incubator. Was the air cell open? What do you mean? I could see the air cell, and it was maybe about a centimeter wide, maybe less, but I'm not sure what that means. On day 18 I candled and I saw the chicks moving inside the shells, so they're still alive, but would the drowning occur when they puncture the air sacs during lockdown? When I've opened the incubator during days 1-18 it did feel dry inside, although when I took the bowls of water out it felt markedly humid. I had the bowls of water in the incubator for only 24 hours, so do you think there is any chance that any of the eggs might hatch?

What is the best hydrometer to use? I am currently using one attached to an outdoor thermometer, but I'm not sure how reliable those are in general.

 

[InsaneBreeder]

I've had one pip so far and it's only day 20 and it's still alive

And there are two more eggs that are rocking and have tiny cracks! So maybe it will work despite the humidity fluctuations!