Humidty Too High During Days 1-18

Are you sure your hydrometers are acurate? I'm surprised with such a dry climate in Arizona that the humidity is at 40% with no water.

Quote:

Originally Posted by timbuck2mom 

This is my 1st hatch.  Following directions, I kept the hygrometer at 50-60%.  After finding this forum, I have learned that can cause real issues.

 

Forum member phoenix 912 was kind enought to tell me about a thread called Update. The Great Debate: Is it the incubator or the egg?

 

In this thread they suggested that you try a dry lock down if your humidity has been too high during Days 1-18.  So that is where I'm at right now.  I removed the eggs from the egg turner (Day 18), have no added water and the hygrometer is reading 40%.  I'm not sure how to get it to lower more.  (I live in Arizona.  The incubator is in my laundry room.)

 

Out of 10 eggs, we have seen 9 moving which is very exciting for us but what should I do now?

 

From what I've read, it looks like they could drown even though they made it to this point.

 

Thanks for any help you can offer.

just leave it as is and keep a close eye on the chicks.. if they start to hatch be on the look out for sticky chicks and be prepared to give them a warm bath (under a running faucet) if needed... as I said in the other thread normally a dry hatch is something that the average person would not want to attempt.. it is an experiment to see if the chicks can dry out enough in those last few days to allow the air cell to become larger.. and as the chicks hatch the humidity will rise on it's own.. however sticky chicks are almost a certainty since there would be too much albumen in the egg already

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmfarm 

Are you sure your hydrometers are acurate? I'm surprised with such a dry climate in Arizona that the humidity is at 40% with no water.

you're forgetting that not all parts of Arizona are a desert.. plus other things can influence humidity in a home.. if the bator is in a bathroom then the humidity is liable to be higher.. also if the home has any water features (aquariums, fountains and so on) it will also be higher.

I'm in Texas and everyone assumes we have higher humidity .. during the summer I'm lucky if the humidity gets as high as 16%.. yet people who live in Austin seem to have a lot more humidity (probably because of the lake...) and they are just an hour's drive away from me. They can usually run a dry incubation during the summer (most of the people I know there do).. yet I have to add water every few days just to keep the humidity within an acceptable level.

Time of year also plays a part.. This spring has been very wet (for us).. right now our humidity is at 78%.. so I am running the bators dry (not something I normally do) and am also running dry hatches just because it's too humid here. My hatches are also running at 90-100% hatch rates.. so like I have said many times before.. what works for me may not work for you.. and also that you have to see what works for you in YOUR home with YOUR bators.

Quote:

Originally Posted by timbuck2mom 

I do have the incubator in the laundry room but I have been keeping the door open and the window cracked just to keep it ventilated  and the humidity levels as low as possible.  The thing I find perplexing is that they all made it this far alive.

 

I do have a still-air incubator, if that makes any difference.

 

 

I had no idea that hygrometers were so volatile and that you were to check them with each hatch.  So, I have not tested this hygrometer. I agree that 40% seems high.

just like a scales.. a hygrometer needs to be calibrated to make sure it's accurate.. and just like a scales it can change over time

did you monitor the size of the air cells?

Quote:

Originally Posted by timbuck2mom 

No, I didn't monitor the air cells.  Is that something you do when you candle the egg?

sure do.. hopefully this will help

when you candle.. if the air cell is too small you lower the humidity.. if it's too large you increase the humidity

Quote:

Originally Posted by timbuck2mom 

Thanks for your patience.  I have more questions!  The directions that came with the incubator are deceptively simple.  There's a lot to hatching your own eggs!

 

1.  How will I know if the chick is sticky?

 

2.  You're not supposed to open the incubator while the chicks are hatching, correct?

 

3.  If the chick is sticky, do I try to get it out of there as quick as possible for the safety of the other eggs hatching?

 

4.  When I remove the sticky chick, do I carry it in a cloth so that it doesn't get chilled between the incubator and the sink?

 

I appreciate all the advice.

if the chick is wet sticky it will be covered with a pale amber fluid.. almost looks like you dipped the little guy in a thin (or thick if you found him too late) syrup.. this is the type of sticky you will really have to look out for if your humidity was way too high during incubation.. if left alone the albumen will eventually harden trapping the chick much like a bug in amber.

dry sticky is when the chick starts to stick to the membrane but isn't covered in the goo.. .. kind of like having a band-aid stuck to you

both scenarios are bad (wet sticky being the worst) since as the chick struggles it begins to weaken then eventually die

the "don't ever open the bator during lockdown" is a newbie rule.. simply because if the bator is open for too long while the chicks are hatching it can cause the humidity to suddenly drop too low and cause chicks to shrink wrap.. some people will move the bator into the bathroom with the shower turned on (to make the room humid) then open the bator and do whatever it is they need to do. I've been hatching out birds all my life.. so I don't worry about it.. I know how much time I have to do whatever I need to and am not distracted doing other things .. pretty much follow the rule but also know that if you do need to open it to pull out a sticky chick or a fluffed one to get the humidity up again as fast as possible.

the sticky chick may or may not be stuck to the shell.. so use caution if he's stuck in case his yolk isn't fully absorbed. Otherwise just take him in to the sink and get a nice warm stream of water going.. then while holding his body under the water wash him as gently as you can (be careful of the tender belly and don't get water into his nostrils or mouth). You shouldn't need the cloth to keep him warm from the bator to the sink unless your home is cold .. you'll have to decide that one based on your home temperature..  While he's getting washed he should be nice and warm.. but as soon as you get him out of the water he will begin to cool down.. so get him wrapped up in paper towels or a washcloth (removing the excess water..) then either put him back into the bator to dry (preferred) or into a brooder. There would be less of a chance of him getting chilled by a cool draft if he's in the bator. You'll have to make that judgement call if the need arises since you'll have a better idea as to how warm your brooder feels compared to the bator..

if you don't get most of the gunk off the chick will end up feeling like it's been varnished.. stiff, hard fluff and a tired miserable chick