Day 19 and stuck at 56% humidity

[McChickenNugget]

Hi, this is our first attempt at hatching eggs with our genesis incubator. We put in 17 eggs and only two were clearly infertile but all the rest look great. We followed the instructions that came with it and the humidity was around 48-52 for the first 18 days. Yesterday we took the egg turner out, Filled three of the four trays with water and put down a layer of paper towels. I can't seem to get the humidity to go any higher, even with all that water in there and the vent plug in. I took some of the paper towels out yesterday afternoon so now only like 3/4 of the screen is covered. Should I just leave it alone or maybe risk it and take out more paper towels? Any info would be greatly appreciated. I'd hate to screw it up when they're so close to hatching lol

 

[Aphrael]

Have you calibrated your hygrometer? If you have checked it and know it to be correct, then you could try putting a sponge in there so that it sits in the water but sticks out of it. The sponge will absorb some water and give a larger surface area of moisture to the air.

 

[McChickenNugget]

I'm just going by the digital screen on the incubator. I know I should have another thermometer in there but I just never got around to it lol I took another piece of paper towel out and it seems to be holding steady at 62% is that a good number to stay at? I just hope they don't make too much of a mess in there lol

 

[Aphrael]

62% should be just fine. The humidity should rise on its own even more once chicks start hatching. You should never take it on faith that the readouts included with the incubator are accurate. Sometimes they can be, but sometimes they can be WAY off. You should always check them against a known accurate thermometer. Not sure how you would test a built in hygrometer. Maybe put the entire lid (or whatever it is in) inside a bag with the wet salt?

 

[McChickenNugget]

They started hatching yesterday and we're waiting on the last egg. I can't believe all of them made it :O out of the 17 eggs two weren't fertile and 14 out if the 15 remaining eggs have hatched lol the last little guy finally poked a hole in the egg and as soon as he's done then we can finally move them to the brooder. The first one hatched almost 24 hours ago so I'm hoping the last one hurries up. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Aphrael]

That is wonderful! Congrats!

 

[dorpersheep]

Awesome news - congrats!!! You obviously did everything close enough to right!
BTW I also had trouble getting humidity to come up at the end of our first hatch last week - I ended up putting in a tall bowl (so new hatchlings couldn't fall in!) into the incubator with some water in it, that did the trick.

 

[Dewolf]

Congrats! We just bought the Genesis as we attempted a hatch last year with a still air (not so great). We have 18 eggs on their 2nd day but we can't seam to get the humidity up. it was at 48-50% all day yesterday and today keeps dropping to 31%. If I add water of course it comes up but last time I tried it shot up to 60%. Says it should only have to be done 1 to 2 times a week but we are on the 2nd day and 3rd refill.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[McChickenNugget]

Congrats! We just bought the Genesis as we attempted a hatch last year with a still air (not so great). We have 18 eggs on their 2nd day but we can't seam to get the humidity up. it was at 48-50% all day yesterday and today keeps dropping to 31%. If I add water of course it comes up but last time I tried it shot up to 60%. Says it should only have to be done 1 to 2 times a week but we are on the 2nd day and 3rd refill.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

For the first 18 days I just filled the number one slot all the way with water and kept the vent plug in the whole time. We also kept the incubator in a bedroom with no heat turned on and the door closed. We have a wood stove and it dries out everything in the house so I think having the door closed helped a lot

 

[McChickenNugget]

Thanks for all the congrats everyone. All 15 are running around in the brooder and eating fine. Most of them are going to their new homes on Monday