Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Sclark73]

Cool and thanks! We were segueing over the white one, if it is a too or not since we didn't find any eggs yet.
So where in the hall were you at the swap?

I was between door and Edgewood Acres, I only had a tote if BLRW, EE and SS chicks.

 

[erinnoie]

Will chickens eat strange eggs? Mom went to let the chickens out and the 2 white eggs we left for the silkie are missing.

 

[Huntress78]

good morning, if this hatch is going to stretch out for 3 days, I am going to have to set up a chick TV ..there are a couple more chicks in the hatching tray,, and the ones in the brooder area are getting restless and crawling out and crawling around under the shelf on the floor.. I guess I will have to modify that shelf, next.. it never ends..

hmmm,, I just had an idea how to modify all the hatching trays, so maybe I won't need covers over them.. I guess I just found my project for the day..

huntress,,I just want to go on record against the dry method..
dry incubating is a mis understood label..

If you have enough humidity in your surrounding air, then you might be able to pull it off..
You still have to have humidity in the incubator.. either from the surrounding air, or by adding water.

make sure your hygrometer is reading correctly..

I do not want to hear anything about shrink wrapped chicks 3 weeks from now.. you will get no sympathy from me..

my humidity in the hatcher is 56% roght now,, and I am enjoying watching the chicks hatch with no problems rather than sitting at the edge of my chair and wondering if they are going to get stuck..

This is only my third year incubating so I know I have things to learn. The reason I'm trying something new is that my hatch rates have only been 50%. I'm shooting for 75%, more would be nice. What's a typical hatch rate for you?

The hygrometers were calibrated last year...do I have to do it every year?

My understanding of 'dry' incubating is to not let the humidity go below 25% for the first 18 days and then up it to 60-70% for hatching. One incubator is at day 10, candled last night (I only candle once) and it's at 35% humidity. Incubator #2 is at day 5, 60% humidity. I'll start incubator #3 tonight. Room humidity is 56%...I have not yet added any water to either incubator.

Tell me what I'm doing wrong...I don't want sympathy from anyone for my mistakes. I just try to learn from them and adjust.

 

[bigzio]

Just a minute to spare...jennie sent me this to share for the kind hearts....

 

[jvls1942]

Quote: the norm has always been,, 40% humidity and 99.5*F .

any deviations from this is experimental ..

IMHO, newbies should not try anything different until they are knowledgeable comfortable with incubating a few batches of eggs..

I am comfortable with 75% to 80% success.. the most common excuse for a poor hatch is fertility of the eggs..

If you have not set up your bator prior to setting eggs, and the temp spikes high.. that is human error.. It is preventable .. but many people resist tinkering with their machines and refuse to deviate from the mfgrs instructions.. big mistake, IMHO ..

I cannot understand why one of your humidities is so high compared to the other one..
different kinds of bators ?? different hygrometers ?
water added in one bator and not the other one ?

unless you tell us what each one is set at, and what you have done to them we cannot get a handle on it..

 

[Huntress78]

Jim
I'm just using the cheapo Styrofoam bators...I have 4...2 are very old and 2 are the newer style with the plastic on the outside. All have fans and turners. I always set up 5-8 hours ahead of putting the eggs in. Temps hold well at 99.5
In the past when I tried to keep the humidity up to 40% half the chicks would die between day 18 and hatch...most of them pipped internally. So that's why I thought I'd try the lower humidity this year.

The incubator at 35% humidity is on day 10 so the eggs have already lost some moisture. The one at 60% is only just finishing day 5 so the air space is still quite small. That's why they are so different.

You're right this is an experiment...I felt I had to try something different due to my poor hatch rate. These three bators are probably not the best candidates for a test as most of the eggs in them are 'shipped eggs' but we'll see what happens.

 

[delisha]

Jim
I'm just using the cheapo Styrofoam bators...I have 4...2 are very old and 2 are the newer style with the plastic on the outside. All have fans and turners. I always set up 5-8 hours ahead of putting the eggs in. Temps hold well at 99.5
In the past when I tried to keep the humidity up to 40% half the chicks would die between day 18 and hatch...most of them pipped internally. So that's why I thought I'd try the lower humidity this year.

The incubator at 35% humidity is on day 10 so the eggs have already lost some moisture. The one at 60% is only just finishing day 5 so the air space is still quite small. That's why they are so different.

You're right this is an experiment...I felt I had to try something different due to my poor hatch rate. These three bators are probably not the best candidates for a test as most of the eggs in them are 'shipped eggs' but we'll see what happens.

50% hatch rate for shipped eggs is wonderful. If they are fresh you can get higher. Age and health of the hens is also a determining factor.

you are spot on for your instincts about the loss after internal pip..to many use the *lock down* in days instead of internal pip. Some chicks internally pip on day 19-20. Your humidity levels have to reflect the moisture loss in the eggs. Shipped eggs get saddle air cells from dry hatching so try to keep humidity levels a little higher for those as you progress and loose internal moisture. I dry hatch..but adjust for moisture loss and find for shipped eggs I need a little higher humidity the week of hatch. I do not use high humidity until the chick are internally pipped. Do not open the incubator for any reason until all your eggs are hatched once they are internally pipped. That is where all the problems comes to play. You will get better hatch rates..

Jim made a great suggestion about sticking to basics..

Shipped eggs is not so different other than the fact you have no control over the PO and the egg condition. You can get a better idea of that with prep work when the eggs arrive.
Let them come to your hatching room temperature and humidity levels. it takes 12-24 hours to let air cells settle. Some never will ..
Your incubator should be running for 24 hours before you set them and running perfectly for 12 hours.
Check air cells and porosity before you set them..take good notes and mark ones you are concerned about. Ask the breeder about your concerns.
Fresh eggs should have very little air cells.



If you are experimenting, get an egg scale and weigh the same few eggs every 4 days to measure moisture loss. 10% a week and no more. If it is more ...your humidity level is too low. It will give you an idea your own home humidity levels and how it effects your incubation.

Vicki

 

[chikenscratch]

Vicki- how did you come out of the storm?

 

[momgille]

Going into the broody hen business with a half dozen Turkey eggs tomorrow night, wish me and Goldie luck she is going into the Maternity ward. What do i need to look out for? She will have private quarters and the nest box is almost at floor level. I will put some spongy shelf liner in the box and top with chopped straw. Her feed should be? Chick starter if she has stopped laying? Thanks all for the advise and Jim any more talk about not being around and I will have to drive up there and put you over my knee GRRR (whoops sounding like my broody LOL)

 

[chikenscratch]

Poor Theo

I feel bad that he is outside in this weather. He is wet, really wet. Jim-I've never had an animal that preferred to be out in the weather. Is there a point at which I should worry? I just don't want him to get sick.