Ringneck Pheasant hatch ratio

[tank21sea]

Hello there all you hatchers. I have a question regarding hatch yields and am hoping some of you can shed some light on my problem(s).

I have done 6 hatches the last 3 years with a success rate of about 40%, as high as 60%, and it seems like I should be doing better? I am using the IncuView incubator from Incubator Warehouse and the only thing I can think of is the humidity. I try like all get out to keep it at 40-50% during the incubation period, ramping it up to 80-90% the last 3 days. The humidity is very difficult to maintain according to the hydrometer in the lid. I use a piece of tape in place of the black vent plug on the lid to regulate the venting. It bounces all over during the days and nights but is usually at a max high of 60% and a low of 28% (but sometimes like 10% in the mornings after a sleep) but mostly right in the window of 40-50%. I'd say it's in the wheelhouse 70% of the time. If I do err on a side, I go with a bit higher humidity. (because of the dang loss overnight). Every hatch I have a few eggs that are peeping but they just can't make it out. Some that just don't make it out at all. Is there a rule of thumb of what should be considered a good hatch? 90%? 80%? I used to take them out as they were hatching to give the others more room to hatch, but realized after the first year that it just wrecks the heat and humidity inside, so I don't do that anymore.

Other tidbits...
I don't candle them, so I don't really know how many are growing, but It just seems best to keep the temp at 99.5 with consistent humidity as much as possible.
The egg turner is set to go 6 times a day.
The eggs I get are from a friend and she collects them over about a week, keeps them in her garage until there is enough to fill the incubator up. 44 eggs.
I used to have the eggs placed end to end but they rotate all over no matter what, so I increased the amount in there to get more birds.
I feel really good that they are fertilized.

What do you think?
1. It's just a hobby incubator and you get what you get?
2. Should get an auto humidifier?
3. I have too many eggs in there?
4. Lower the egg turner to 4 or?
5. It's just fine and the yields are good?

Here is the link for incubator....
https://incubatorwarehouse.com/incu...MI-YjYy5-z8AIVVyCtBh2sBgBkEAAYASAAEgJhn_D_BwE

Thank you for anything you might be able to teach me or clue me in on.

 

[muddy75]

Hello there all you hatchers. I have a question regarding hatch yields and am hoping some of you can shed some light on my problem(s).

I have done 6 hatches the last 3 years with a success rate of about 40%, as high as 60%, and it seems like I should be doing better? I am using the IncuView incubator from Incubator Warehouse and the only thing I can think of is the humidity. I try like all get out to keep it at 40-50% during the incubation period, ramping it up to 80-90% the last 3 days. The humidity is very difficult to maintain according to the hydrometer in the lid. I use a piece of tape in place of the black vent plug on the lid to regulate the venting. It bounces all over during the days and nights but is usually at a max high of 60% and a low of 28% (but sometimes like 10% in the mornings after a sleep) but mostly right in the window of 40-50%. I'd say it's in the wheelhouse 70% of the time. If I do err on a side, I go with a bit higher humidity. (because of the dang loss overnight). Every hatch I have a few eggs that are peeping but they just can't make it out. Some that just don't make it out at all. Is there a rule of thumb of what should be considered a good hatch? 90%? 80%? I used to take them out as they were hatching to give the others more room to hatch, but realized after the first year that it just wrecks the heat and humidity inside, so I don't do that anymore.

Other tidbits...
I don't candle them, so I don't really know how many are growing, but It just seems best to keep the temp at 99.5 with consistent humidity as much as possible.
The egg turner is set to go 6 times a day.
The eggs I get are from a friend and she collects them over about a week, keeps them in her garage until there is enough to fill the incubator up. 44 eggs.
I used to have the eggs placed end to end but they rotate all over no matter what, so I increased the amount in there to get more birds.
I feel really good that they are fertilized.

What do you think?
1. It's just a hobby incubator and you get what you get?
2. Should get an auto humidifier?
3. I have too many eggs in there?
4. Lower the egg turner to 4 or?
5. It's just fine and the yields are good?

Here is the link for incubator....
https://incubatorwarehouse.com/incu...MI-YjYy5-z8AIVVyCtBh2sBgBkEAAYASAAEgJhn_D_BwE

Thank you for anything you might be able to teach me or clue me in on.

Do you have additional thermometers/hygrometer in your incubator? Have you compared the incubator hygrometer to a salt-tested one for accuracy. In general if accurate humidity during incubation should be around 30-45% and raised to around 60-65% at lockdown. It’s also a good idea to check temp in several areas of your incubator to check for hot or cold spots. Candling is always a good idea to check fertility and can be done easily with incubrite candler or bright flashlight. I just hatched 4/6 of my first pheasant eggs of the season in my janoelle 12 (cheap incubator) using these parameters.

 

[muddy75]

Do you have additional thermometers/hygrometer in your incubator? Have you compared the incubator hygrometer to a salt-tested one for accuracy. In general if accurate humidity during incubation should be around 30-45% and raised to around 60-65% at lockdown. It’s also a good idea to check temp in several areas of your incubator to check for hot or cold spots. Candling is always a good idea to check fertility and can be done easily with incubrite candler or bright flashlight. I just hatched 4/6 of my first pheasant eggs of the season in my janoelle 12 (cheap incubator) using these parameters.

You can add/subtract pieces of wet sponge to help stabilize your humidity but it sounds like yours is actually too high vs too low.

 

[tank21sea]

Thank you for the replies. I have not put in any other measuring means except what it came with. That is a very good idea, and I will do that. I bet there are problems there. Also, I have the incubator on our dryer, as it has been the most convenient place to put it. Where I/we walk by it all the time. Maybe the slight vibration(when the dyer is going) is affecting it too? Don't think additional heat is there.

 

[muddy75]

Thank you for the replies. I have not put in any other measuring means except what it came with. That is a very good idea, and I will do that. I bet there are problems there. Also, I have the incubator on our dryer, as it has been the most convenient place to put it. Where I/we walk by it all the time. Maybe the slight vibration(when the dyer is going) is affecting it too? Don't think additional heat is there.

I’m not sure about vibration, but you may want to put a hygrometer outside the incubator as it could be contributing to unstable humidity?????

 

[007Sean]

The vibrations from the dryer running isn't good for the developing embryos.

You need to get a couple of independent thermometers and hygrometers and calibrate them....built-in sensors are notorious for giving false readings, even with 'high dollar' units.

Your description of them pipping but unable to zip, is characteristic of too high humidity. Too high humidity causes what's known as 'stuck chick' syndrome. The high moisture content acts as a lubricant, every time the chick tries to turn, it slips back to the original position, thus exhausting it's self and dies in the shell.
I run my bators at 100°F and humidity @ 43%, upping to 55 - 60% for the last 2 or 3 days of incubation. I have humidifiers hooked up to a ZooMed regulator, keeps the %Rh constant.