Dry incubation humidity question

[scbatz33]

I use a 1588 for incubating and I use no water......hence "dry" incubation.

If you are adding water to the incubator and registering humidity any more than the ambient humidity, I can't see how that can be considered "dry".

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

I use a Sportsman and run at 20% then pop it up to 50 - 55% and have great hatches. When those eggs hatch I shut the humidity down, by shutting off the water supply, until day 18 for the next hatch. This Spring's 4th batch hatching out right now.

20% is not too low for my area.

 

[bucket04]

Well.... I found out how to tell when a chick 'drowns' in an incubator.

Pipped yesterday, zipped sometime during the night, drowned this morning.

I think I have to do dry incubation from this point on.... I can't stand knowing my babies are not making it because I've kept the humidity up too high... Very sad.

So far, out of 35 eggs, I have 5 chicks.... and I don't think I'm going to get anymore if today's drowning is any indication.

 

[artathart]

I am attempting a dry incubation right now. I have a LG still air and on day one I added water in the center ring because I hadnt yet learned about dry incubation. I am on day 8 and have not added any water since. I couldnt even tell you if there was still water in the bottom. I wont add any water until day 18. I live on the east coast and even without water, My meter reads 42%.

 

[bucket04]

My normal household humidity is 20%.... will that be too low for dry incubation? I assume that after the heat is on for a while in the incubator, that number will go down? Or will it stay the same or go up because of general egg moisture?
I am using a home made incubator, about 18 inch cubed, pretty well sealed all around. Sides, top and bottom are all 1 inch thick foam with a window on top. Heat is a 25w lightbulb on a dimmer switch.

 

[pruitt514]

I think that I going to try dry incubation.

 

[dretd]

Question for all those who dry incubate their hatches. Do you have a forced air or still air or does it make a difference? I am wondering because when its windy outside the plants dry out faster and I sure seem to need more water. So does the blowing air dry out the eggs faster and do you need to run a higher humidity because of the 'wind' in the incubator?

 

[scbatz33]

1588 is a forced air incubator. I've never had problems due to equipment. Operator error is a totally different story!

 

[buckabucka]

This is my first hatching attempt, and I don't know if you would call it "dry incubation" technically speaking. I am trying to keep the humidity around 35%, but it frequently drops to 20% or below. I add about a teaspoon of water, which started out as once a day, but it dries out so quickly I now do twice a day. My incubator does have a fan.
I guess I assumed it was dry incubation because I am not aiming for the 45% that most people seem to use. I suppose I am trying to strike a compromise between dry incubation and wet incubation.

I will be very excited if anything hatches at all!

 

[HollywoodHillsHens]

Hi there! This is my first incubation experiment outside of a childhood home hatch, in homemade bator, in Ohio in the 1980s (100% hatch!)

I'd love to do dry incubation, but I live in Southern California (Los Angeles) and am concerned that our ambient humidity is too low already???

Running 2 bators: Brinsea Eco Advance (with one chamber half full of water) and a Little Giant still air bator with auto-turner.
Have been adding a little bit of water to both bators (currently day 8) and my Petco Hydrometer in the Little Giant shows about a 40-45% humidity level (otherwise around 30%). Is that too much? I know I need to bump it during the hatch, but what happens if the humidity is too low during the initial incubation phase?

ALSO...is 99.5-100 at the top and bottom of the eggs (i take readings at both) OK for a still air bator?

THANKS!!!