Beginner at Incubating and Worried About Humidity

[Sunshine009]

This is my first time incubating eggs (chickens) and it all happened in a bit of a rush - I had initially had bought fertilized eggs for my broody hen who promptly decided she was done with motherhood and left me with a bunch of eggs to raise!

So I quickly bought the best incubator I could find (Borotto Lumia 16) and set them in it and I've made it to the first fully day of lockdown, doing research all the while.

I've set the eggs on the hatching grid as instructed, and because the plastic was fairly slippery, included a semi-permeable rubber shelf liner as per recommendations online.

Now I'm starting to worry about the circulation of humidity in the incubator. It is set up do that there is a fan and heat source at the top and two water reservoirs at the bottom underneath the hatching grid. But because of the rubber mat, I've introduced an extra layer between the fan and the water chambers that make me worry the humidity won't be sufficient due to poor circulation.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize in time that many people install their own humidity sensors to confirm the humidity is correct. I also know that too low humidity can cause the chicks to die when they hatch. And that I REALLY shouldn't be making any changes now that the eggs are in lockdown. So you may understand why I'm starting to worry!

So my question is, essentially, does anyone have opinions on what my next steps should be? Do I even need to worry about humidity circulation? Should I "intervene" to add a humidity gauge, or perhaps cut away some of the mat lying over top of the water reservoirs to improve circulation?

Thank you all in advance.

 

[mcdze]

imo lockdown is too late to play with it, you dont want to be making major changes at this point .. at most id add a wadded up rag or sponge, wetted with warm water to raise it up a bit, but quickly, just crack it open place it, done ..

 

[Sunshine009]

imo lockdown is too late to play with it, you dont want to be making major changes at this point .. at most id add a wadded up rag or sponge, wetted with warm water to raise it up a bit, but quickly, just crack it open place it, done ..

Thanks for the take. I think you're right. I'm considering adding a humidifier to the exterior of the incubator (I happen to have one hanging around for the plants) which can be set to a certain humitidy level just to add in any lacking humidity through the airflow drawn in by the fan. But I haven't decided fully yet.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

In my experience, moisture permeates everything no matter what you put in its way. If there's the tiniest gap, moisture gets through and will even itself out. The purpose of the fan is really to circulate air and keep temperatures even and consistent, but isn't really needed to circulate humidity. Your incubator should have a hygrometer installed - what is the reading? If it's holding 60-70% humidity, it's fine. If you're still worried, you can do like @mcdze suggested and add a moistened sponge or wadded up paper towel or rag on top of the floor. But if that spikes the humidity over 70%, it's too much.

 

[Sunshine009]

In my experience, moisture permeates everything no matter what you put in its way. If there's the tiniest gap, moisture gets through and will even itself out. The purpose of the fan is really to circulate air and keep temperatures even and consistent, but isn't really needed to circulate humidity. Your incubator should have a hygrometer installed - what is the reading? If it's holding 60-70% humidity, it's fine. If you're still worried, you can do like @mcdze suggested and add a moistened sponge or wadded up paper towel or rag on top of the floor. But if that spikes the humidity over 70%, it's too much.

That's great to hear and really puts me at ease - thank you. No, I don't have a hygrometer. I actually did more research in the intervening time and found the company that makes the incubator specifies to not put any hygrometer in their setup. They said the whole incubator is extremely carefully calibrated and a hygrometer giving a false reading could mess with the hatch. Basically just let it be. So I think I'm just going to not touch it and keep my fingers crossed! Thanks again

 

[Sunshine009]

Update!

First one has hatched, so far so good

 

[Sunshine009]

Up to 7 of 14 hatched and all have been successful except for 1 which seems to have a mild case of omphalitis. Hopefully it'll pull through. Rest look great - so excited!