Egg Weight Manipulation ?

[Anonymous]

Due to poor hatch rates and DIS I went a little more scientific with my last batch of 12 eggs 6 Dutch lavender bantams and 6 Lemon Orpington’s, Weighing the eggs on a 3 day basis I have adjusted the humidity up and down to maintain a steady 13% egg weight loss over the 21day incubation period weighing the eggs using a jewellery scale and plotting weights using excel. Initially starting at 45% humidity (37.5oc) and with advice from forum moderator on a previous thread I only raised the humidity to 65% on first piping rather than 3days before as I previously had.

This has resulted in a 100% success rate all 12 have hatched perfectly and doing fine, I just wondered how many other forum members manipulate their egg weights using humidity levels. ?

Obviously the weight loss was for average egg weight i.e. total weight divided by 6 and I understand that single egg manipulation is used for other species of rare bird i.e. parts, falcons etc. All of the eggs have been postal eggs and undoubtedly this must have an effect on hatching results even after fertility confirmed, but I am astonished at my recent results.... Is this down to manipulation? or just good look?

 

[E3lx]

I just put my eggs in, and off goes, i dont bother with egg weights, etc....

 

[chrismahon]

I read about this technique in an old poultry handbook from a time when humidity controllers were unavailable. The eggs were weighed to check that the correct reduction in weight was taking place over the given time span and then the figures extrapolated over the hatching period remaining to make sure that the final weight would be correct. What is mind boggling is the amount of research that must have gone in to hatching batches before the optimum hatching rates were achieved, whilst only having access to the crudest of equipment (no exel)! And now we just take all this for granted -except perhaps for you jpeg. I admire your patience.