[robbiegrant]

HI Graham.
Did think it might be due to the " duck yolk suspension system " ( Its called chalaza i think ).

Ive been spraying everyday too tho now twice or thrice a day ( tonight, friday, is their 3rd week for the A team )

weighings for A team ( clutch A ) for 7th sept
A2 - 48g
A3 - 51.9g
A4 - 46.4g
A5 - 49
A6 - 47.2

havent had time to plot them on a graph but one thing i learn today that 14% weight loss was an ideal and it was over 25 days NOT 28/28.5 days

need to plot a chart and will get back to you....

[graham-j]

Hi,Robbi out of interest what incy are you using and what humidity are you running it at.


Graham.

[robbiegrant]

Yes Graham. I can see a lot of sense in what you are saying.

...and yes when i look back at the DATA they RH was too low... At somepoint I had taken the advise of a lady who had freeeked when I said my RH started at 55% OH NO! she said no more than 45% and cited printed documents to support her statement so I adjusted it back down to 45%

From our recent failure we now know it should have been higher
Hind site is a wonderful thing... 1 out of 6 ( A Team ) ain't a good result.

I can see the value of misting the incy after you have visited because it gets the ambient RH back to its normal level quicker ( I was misting the eggs daily ). However its the average steady RH over longer sections of the incubation that is really what matters. IMHO. ( like i said, hind site... Doh )

Anyhooooo.. lots has been learned. I been rooting about on the net ( as ewe do ) and i found this chart i thought it might be of interest... looks like the loss should be linear as you suggested. or ideally linear!

Oh its a Brinsea polyhatch with a small fan inside.... temp 37.5 degrees by the way

Mind you i dont trust my digital hygrometer or the thermometer either. going to buy a couple of clinical mercury in glass items tomorrow and check my other thermometers calibrations. Then plan to modify one to wet bulb and use them as a pair in the incubator.

Anyway. Onwards and upwards.

Robbie


 

[graham-j]

Hi Robbie,is that weight loss chart yours or is it an example as it looks pretty good to me.
I think you need to forget all this as it is over complicated,try the the method I have said above it has worked for me.I'm still convinced turning the eggs end over end by hand is what improved my hatches.
I would trust a mercury type thermometer over a digital one any day.

Graham.

[robbiegrant]

Orite Graham?

The chart was from poplar farm cottage website FAQ...  , specific to IR's. very good article!
http://www.poplarfarmcottage.com/faq.html

This article from university of california was also excellent http://www.poplarfarmcottage.com/FAQimages/incubation%20problems.pdf

The tinyest eggs hatched this morning 
The largest of all is rocking but no cracks yet
Lucky Ducky is doing incredibly well.

I have ordered a calibrated Russell Scientific Mercury-in-glass thermometer Range  is 36.6° to 39.4C
 x 0.05°. Model 1100/ASTM 28C... I can use it to calibrate the others. Digital is ok for quick checks if there is a accurate reference available, but i wouldn'y trust a brood to one alone.

Anyway... Next batch arrives this week so things will get busy....

Be well

Robbie