Cabinet Incubator owners, humidity question

[FowlDelights]

The top/popular 3 cabinets seem to be GQF, Dickey, and Brinsea. What I'm interested in is the impact of ambient humidity when you go from incubation mode to hatching mode.

Since there is a big difference between humidity in the south/east coast verses the dryer west coast, what do you have to do to bring up the humidity?. Is it just a simple matter of closing/adjusting a vent? How long does it take to get to your optimum level? And is the transition consistant? Do you have any tricks or procedures to help it along? And most improtant, are there any problems getting there?

I'm considering one of the above and am trying to identify the pro and cons of each. From a temperature point of view, turning and volume of eggs all seem to be extremely reliable. I've read a lot of the "what is the best incubator" threads. No one seems to address the operation of humidity control.

Thanks, Ron

 

[DANNY]

The humidity does get tricky. I live in the southeast and i have had to remove the water pans from the setters because the eggs are telling me my humidity has gotten too high. I had to keep water in it up to about 3 weeks ago. The dickey or the gqf is fine. But remember they all have little thing you have to learn as you go because there are a lot of variables like the weather and where the incubator is located.

 

[Buster's Banties]

Hi! How did the eggs tell you it was too humid?

I'm hatching chicks for the first time and all seems to be going well - as per candling in the closet with a flashlight

I'm down to the last 4 days and my friend told me to crank up the humidity here at the end. It's been at 44% but I've gotten it up as high as 70% this afternoon. From what I'm reading that's too much...so....how will the eggs tell me?

 

[DANNY]

Some were drowning in the egg and the ones that hatched did not absorb the yolk properly and others had bloody navels.

 

[FowlDelights]

Danny,

I'm somewhat confused by your reply. What Cabinet model were you using? Wouldn't you have to just close down a vent to increase humitity? If GQF and Dickey is fine, were you using a Brinsea? Are you saying when go from the incubating stage to the hatching stage that you need to remove your water pan in your area of the country? And I'm wondering how long does it take to go to your desired humity level?

Sorry, I'm just trying to get a handle on how the cabinets are controll in various environments. Lots of questions, no knowledge.

And please forgive me for this but since your eggs talk to you, are you an egg whisperer?: lol:

Thanks, Ron

 

[DANNY]

Maybe i used the wrong terminology. I go by what happens when the eggs hatch. I don't have a brinsea i have a dickey and 2 gqf's. I wasn't discussing increasing the humidity. I was talking about too much humidity. I had to remove the ater pans in the incubator but still use water and the spray bottle in the hatcher. You might try paying more attention to the posts and save the wise cracks. I am trying to help.

 

[hinkjc]

I've used the Brinsea Ova Easy and GQF Sportsman and find the GQF holds steadier humidity. The Brinsea seemed to dry out almost daily, where the GQF I fill the water pan once or twice a week. I cover a 1/4 of the humidity pan on the GQF during incubation and uncover it at hatch to increase humidity. I never touch the vents on my incubators.

I also use GQF Genesis bators for hatchers. I just fill the 2 troughs per the instructions and if I keep my hands off, I have 100% hatches.

I find that most problems with hatches, I have caused myself. I either flush the hatcher with water (and it wasn't necessary) and made the hatch soggy or I open the bator too soon. Through those learning experiences, I can say most eggs will hatch if we just leave them be at hatch time.

I also used to monitor my eggs through incubation to see how the air cells are evaporating. You can usually tell if they are not changing properly to allow for optimum hatch results. Drowing in eggs is a sure sign of too high humidity during incubation - the air cell stays too small and doesn't give the chick enough air until they can emerge and they suffocate.

Over the years, I don't think I've found too many tricks. Know your instruments and what they mean and how they work. Don't watch too much, but keep an eye to make sure nothing has gone crazy. I find hands off has resulted in much better hatch results. Pay attention to your hatch results and timing of hatches - this tells you a lot and can help you adjust to improve your success rate.

 

[Grillo]

I have a GQF and I just fill the water pan during incubation for 45-50% humidity. I have to add additional water holders to increase the water surface and bring up humidity to 65% for hatching. I do live in a very dry area, namely, the desert. Once the humidity sets, it will hold fine as long as the water surface area is kept. Good luck.

 

[FowlDelights]

My apologies Danny. There was no real intent to be sarcastic. I honestly thought your comments sincere but got unintentionally twisted which I found humorus. I do appreciate your response. Everybody make mistakes with words and I can personally vouch for that. And if I have insulted you, again I do sincerly apologize.

 

[DANNY]

I guess in a way it does sound crazy but is very affective for me. But with all the inaccurate thermo/hygro's out there it's hard to tell what adjustments to make. One thing is a fact and that's what happens at hatching time will always tell the tale. I will take your comments in good humor.