NEWBIE - Day 22 - 22 chicks of the 38 eggs so far!

vdrsolo said:

First time incubating, we borrowed an older still air incubator, incubatation temp fluctuated around 100-102, humidity ranged between about 37-45% (I did not add any water).

Day 20 ends at 7pm tonight, we woke up this morning with 2 pips so far (we have 38 in there...all put in the same day)

I opened the 2 vents, temp is ranging 100-102, I put 2 stacked sponges under one of the vent holes and humidity is 66%, I can't get it any higher because the more water I add...it is coming out the bottom of the unit through the vent holes. Those 2 sponges are completely saturated.  I have shelf liner in there so I can't tell if the vent hole/sponges line up with the water channels or not. the other vent hole as an egg underneath so I can't put water there. (Lesson learned for next time...keep the area open with a sponge ready). I am just using a syringe to put heated water into the venthole to the sponge.

Question is...do I need to raise the humidity past 66%, the only way I can do it is to open the incubator and place another sponge on top of the two I have in there now. It's near the side so would only take a second to do so (my husband would just tilt and I would put it in there real quick). 

If I need to raise it...what to...I have read anywhere from 65-75%.


Thanks!!

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AmyLynn2374 said:

If you're not constantly opening the bator during hatch, 66% will work. Have you ever checked the accuracy of the hygrometer? Do you live in a real dry environment? With wells filled and sponges in there I would expect higher than 66%, especially with still air. Any condensation on the bator?

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vdrsolo said:

I double checked it against 2 other hygrometers we have, one of them being an electronic one. It is down in the basement which normally runs around 40-55% humidity. I did not fill the wells because I was using sponges under the vent hole, I wanted to be able to control the humidity by adding through the vent hole. My fear was if I filled the wells (which is only accessible by opening it on my unit) is that I would make the humidity too high. I was concerned with getting the humidirty too high because the air cells looked more like Day 14 then Day 18 air cells to me when I went on lockdown.

There is no condensation on the incubator windows. I have both vents open because I read it needs air circulation, do I need to close one to increase the humidity? Should I sneak in another sponge to add water to?

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AmyLynn2374 said:

If you have no water in the wells then I can understand that. I fill my wells and add a sponge, that way my humidity stays up and if it starts to decrease I rewet my sponge. If you are concerned about the air cell size then running on the low end of acceptable is probably better. If they start pipping and you see excess fluid at the pip or chicks blowing bubbles from their nose I would put some cut down cartons in there and hatch them upright. Yes, leave the vents open.
I open my bator frequently during hatch. As long as you keep humidity up don't worry about the need to open, especially in the basement where the air is going to be damp anyway. If you need to add a sponge or water, don't be scared.

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vdrsolo said:

What should my minimum humidity be? 

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AmyLynn2374 said:

I don't personally recommend less than 65%.

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vdrsolo said:

Snuck another sponge in and now at about 70-71% humidity.  The two eggs which got pipped are getting more. No other eggs have pips yet, hopefully this will happen overnight! I do hear some chirping but can't figure out where its coming from!

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