Simulated Natural Nest Incubation~Experiment #1 So it begins....

[marandazmail]

Bee,

I'm going to be using a still air LG incubator for my first hatch. I live in Kentucky, the infamous Ohio Valley, where we are known for pretty high humidity (and bad hair days all the time...hahaha

). I checked a weather application on the computer for our local news and right now we are at 50% humidity in the atmosphere. I know that adding heat in the incubator will make the air inside more arid, but i think i'm just going to watch the air cells like you and Pete are discussing and only intervene if i feel that too much has evaporated after candling on days 7 and 14. I just want to do with as close to what the chickens have and that's not much. They can't make it rain when they need humidity, they can't make it stop raining when the humidity is high...they just work it out on "momma instinct" by keeping the eggs close or rolling them out for a little while.

I just want to say, I LOVE THIS!! Can't wait to hatch my own little fuzzy butts and love them up!!

Good luck Bee and safe travels with the eggies!!

 

[TexasLisa]

Bee,

I'm going to be using a still air LG incubator for my first hatch. I live in Kentucky, the infamous Ohio Valley, where we are known for pretty high humidity (and bad hair days all the time...hahaha

). I checked a weather application on the computer for our local news and right now we are at 50% humidity in the atmosphere. I know that adding heat in the incubator will make the air inside more arid, but i think i'm just going to watch the air cells like you and Pete are discussing and only intervene if i feel that too much has evaporated after candling on days 7 and 14. I just want to do with as close to what the chickens have and that's not much. They can't make it rain when they need humidity, they can't make it stop raining when the humidity is high...they just work it out on "momma instinct" by keeping the eggs close or rolling them out for a little while.

I just want to say, I LOVE THIS!! Can't wait to hatch my own little fuzzy butts and love them up!!

Good luck Bee and safe travels with the eggies!!

You sound like you are from my neck of the woods. What part of Kentucky? I was born in New Albany, IN.

Lisa

 

[AVintageLife]

Good luck and blessings for this next attempt Bee. Appreciate you (and others) sharing your experience and knowledge on all things chicken, lol. This experiment will give flock owners another option if they don't have a broody or an incubator and this whole thread is captivating.

 

[Beekissed]

Good luck to you Bee and be careful not to let them bounce too much while on road trips.

Will do! I'll pack them in tight to the vehicle and apply their broody pillow on top of them and I think the nature of the nest itself will lend some stability. I drive sedately nowadays, so no Dukes of Hazzard rides any longer......

Bee,

I'm going to be using a still air LG incubator for my first hatch. I live in Kentucky, the infamous Ohio Valley, where we are known for pretty high humidity (and bad hair days all the time...hahaha

). I checked a weather application on the computer for our local news and right now we are at 50% humidity in the atmosphere. I know that adding heat in the incubator will make the air inside more arid, but i think i'm just going to watch the air cells like you and Pete are discussing and only intervene if i feel that too much has evaporated after candling on days 7 and 14. I just want to do with as close to what the chickens have and that's not much. They can't make it rain when they need humidity, they can't make it stop raining when the humidity is high...they just work it out on "momma instinct" by keeping the eggs close or rolling them out for a little while.

I just want to say, I LOVE THIS!! Can't wait to hatch my own little fuzzy butts and love them up!!

Good luck Bee and safe travels with the eggies!!

Thank you!!! Please keep us informed here about how your dry hatch does and how you feel it worked on the results of the hatch. I'm with you....live in the Ohio Valley where humidity is high and mold is our milieu. Last summer I left my windows open all spring and summer as per normal and my leather shoes in the closet turned green! First time in my life that ever happened and this is not a moldy type house, but the window in that room is so large and the humidity in the world has gotten so high, that mold abounds.

I think I drowned those eggs in the last nest and maybe even in the nests before, so this time I'm doing it differently. Wetting the soil a bit was my only nod to moisture for this nest and it will just have to be enough.

Good luck and blessings for this next attempt Bee. Appreciate you (and others) sharing your experience and knowledge on all things chicken, lol. This experiment will give flock owners another option if they don't have a broody or an incubator and this whole thread is captivating.

Thank you!

I'm praying for a much better turn out in this nest and then I can rest on experimentation with this method and can either use it in the future for serious hatching or not, depending upon the results.

 

[enola]

I use a LG and dry incubate at about 15/20% until lockdown and then I raise to 40/50%. My hatch rate is about 90%. I don't have problems with chicks not hatching after pipping. I do have some develope and then die after lockdown.

My incubator is still air and I hand turn 2 times a day.

 

[Beekissed]

I use a LG and dry incubate at about 15/20% until lockdown and then I raise to 40/50%. My hatch rate is about 90%. I don't have problems with chicks not hatching after pipping. I do have some develope and then die after lockdown.

My incubator is still air and I hand turn 2 times a day.

That's comforting to know! I was turning more often(x4) on that last nest but I think twice a day is just fine and will also simplify the process more. I've only got one edge of the nest that is cooler than the other eggs, so those eggs are getting shuffled into the interior of the clutch with each turning.

The nest is up to warmth this morning at 99.5* and I'm hoping it stays right there! This nest came up to temps faster than the previous nest and it could have something to do with the depth of the soil or the flatness of the surface of the nest. I'm counting today as Day 1.

I'm pretty excited about this nest...I think this is the one!

 

[lazy gardener]

My probe thermometer bit the dust about 2 hours ago. I'd had it less than 2 weeks, so they are sending out a new one priority mail, but, I feel like I'm incubating with blinders on without it. Especially since I had a minor temp spike last night and adjusted it, but have no accurate way to check and see if things are still good.

 

[aart]

Having a hard time following this thread today, lots going on here....... chicks eating each other, frikkin' ACA problems.......my brain is fried.

Is this correct:
...today is day one.
...... you're going to do a 'dry hatch'.

.......didn't you say yesterday that you put a quart of water in the dirt under the eggs....maybe you swapped that out for dry dirt?

Did you check your humidity?

Sorry for my confusion.

Good Luck!!

 

[Beekissed]

Having a hard time following this thread today, lots going on here....... chicks eating each other, frikkin' ACA problems.......my brain is fried.

Is this correct:
...today is day one.
...... you're going to do a 'dry hatch'.

.......didn't you say yesterday that you put a quart of water in the dirt under the eggs....maybe you swapped that out for dry dirt?

Did you check your humidity?

Sorry for my confusion.

Good Luck!!

Yep...I put a quart of water into that soil. From now on that's all the water that nest will get. No, I didn't check for humidity. Yes, today is the first day that the eggs are up to proper temps, as they were set late last evening and have taken during the night to heat up to 99.5*.

I will be monitoring air cells and will only adjust humidity upwards if the air cells are increasing too quickly for the appropriate staging.

 

[Beekissed]

My probe thermometer bit the dust about 2 hours ago. I'd had it less than 2 weeks, so they are sending out a new one priority mail, but, I feel like I'm incubating with blinders on without it. Especially since I had a minor temp spike last night and adjusted it, but have no accurate way to check and see if things are still good.

Can you place a meat thermometer in there until you get yours back?