Bator humidity WAY to high! Help!

[FloDoe]

I don’t even know where to start.. I have kept my incubator at 38 C. For 8 days.... eggs were developing fine (I think this is my first try) every two days I added 100ml of water LIKE THE DIRECTIONS SAID! Well today I check the humidity it’s sitting at 74% Cant get it down and don’t know what to do... I’ve removed water... added a sponge. I live in Florida so maybe I shouldn’t even have added water? I candled my eggs which I reallllly didn’t wanna do until right before lock down ...and I do not see a blood ring... I can still see veins but one side of my eggs have become darker on the inside. They are silkie eggs. Any advice or help? Do my eggs sound dunzo

 

[JaeG]

See what the humidity is without water in the incubator and just add a small container or shot glass of water if you need to up it a bit (it's surface area, not volume, that increases humidity). It shouldn't be below 25%. It will take awhile to stabilize so just wait a few hours and see where you are at.

Your eggs sound fine - normal for this stage of development. Just candle to see how your air cells are tracking which is quite important to do regularly. If they are looking too small go with lower humidity. Too large, add humidity. But I think you'll be just fine. You've still got lots of time to adjust if necessary. Eggs can be amazingly adaptable.

 

[FloDoe]

How will I know if my air cells are too large or small? Thank you for replying!

 

[JaeG]

There's a little chart and here's a fantastic website where you can follow along each day of incubation. There's heaps of information and a candling photo of each day and what you should be seeing (it's linked to day 1 but just follow it through to find the day you are on - it's fascinating to know what's happening/growing each day too).
https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/incubation-day-1.html

Good luck with your silkies - they are so adorable.

 

[FloDoe]

Thank you I appreciate all your help! They sure are I love my fluff balls

 

[FloDoe]

My electric went out for about 2 hours today. My incubator was hooked up in my husbands vehicle. When I went to get it out it was at almost 45 c. I candled the eggs and seen a couple moving but what is the likely good that may have done major damage? Some I couldn’t tell.... someone told me to float test but I feel it is way to early for that... lockdown is tomorrow.

 

[JaeG]

Oh dear! The float test won't tell you much and certainly no more than candling would. Eggs can go into stasis if the temperature drops and at this stage its unlikely to interfere with any important developmental milestones. It takes a lot longer for the internal temperature of the egg to drop enough to kill the embryo so I don't think 2 hours would be enough to do that. Fingers crossed.

 

[FloDoe]

Four out of five definitely have movement so fingers crossed!!

 

[aart]

When I went to get it out it was at almost 45 c.

45C = 113F
Was it a faulty power converter or in a closed car in the sun?
Where in the world are you located?

 

[FloDoe]

I’m in Florida. I honestly have such a hard time keeping the temp with this incubator because when it is inside the temp stays good but the humidity gets too high when I leave it outside the humidity stays good but temp fluctuates. I was told add 100ml water every other day BUT then the humidity skyrockets. I let it dry out and now the humidity stays around 50%. This is my first go at this. I started with 6 eggs but one I tossed due to a crack and oozing and now I’m down to 5.