Humidity is extremely important especially at hatch time. Opinions differ on days 1-17 about humidity, some people (myself included now) have gone with a "dry incubation" method in which the first 17 days you don't (unless you are in a very dry area that humidity is naturally less than 20%) add water and just keep an eye on the air cell (or egg weight if you choose that method) to make sure that you are loosing enough moisture from the egg, but not TOO much. On day 18, when you stop turning the eggs and you go into lockdown you need to make sure the humidity is upped to 65% +. You use a hygrometer (you can buy online or in stores) to messure the % of humidity. If you do not have enough humidity during the process the chick can become shrink wrapped and die if you have too much humidty the egg doesn't loose enough moisture and they can drown. So, yes, humidity is important. (The non dry method for days 1-17 most try to keep it between 40-55 I believe.)
So, I need to:
I recommend both a hygrometer AND a psychrometer. If you only have one get the psychrometer It measures relative humidity better and it is harder to read but it is more accurate for use in an incubator than the horse hair driven hygrometer.
I have the Little Giant 9300 and I just put a little water in the trays. I didn't fill them completely up, I would say I keep them about 1/3 full. The 9300 has a reading for humidity, and it's been staying around 45%-55%. If you have the trays full, then you might have too much humidity. When I need to remove some of the water, I roll a paper towel up into a small point, and stick it through the holes on the floor tray, and let it soak up some of the water. Good luck!
Yes. And it was not an incorrect move if you are going to go with the normal incubation method, though I would pay very close attention to the eggs air cells especially w/o a hygrometer in there because you need to make sure the eggs are loosing the proper amount of humidity. I'm putting a link to the hatching page here on BYC I highly recommend giving it a read. It explains pretty much everything you need to know. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101
If you have a forced air incubator your temps should average 99.5 through duration. If you have a still air (regardless of manufactor instructions) your bator should maintain 101-102 degrees.
