Can’t regulate humidity

[Midlandchick]

Hi! I am incubating chicken eggs for the first time. (From a barnyard mixed flock, mostly orpington).
I borrowed a friends, Farm innovator model 4200 incubator. The thermometer doesn’t work on it anymore so I put in my own thermometer and humidity reader. I had it perfectly regulated for 24 hours before I put the eggs in. (31 eggs went in on April 4th) The humidity was staying right at 55%. When I put the eggs in it stayed that way for about two days then dropped to 35%. I added a little water and it jumped to 70%. I vented it and it quickly dropped again. I added only a tiny bit of water and it jumped right back up. For two days now It’s been going back and forth. Between 70%

and low 40’s. I can’t seem to get it to stay in the 50’s.
the temperature has stayed perfect 99.5-100
Am I hurting the chances of hatching by not getting the humidity balanced? How do I get it to balance?!

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

When you added the eggs it added the eggs moisture to the humidity levels. Then you added to much water and the humidity went back up. Just add small amounts of water at a time do you can regulate humidity better.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

If the humidity was at 35% I would have left it there. Too much humidity can drown the chicks, especially in Styrofoam incubators trust me.

 

[JaeG]

It will shoot up when you add water because you generally get a few drips where they shouldn't be (I know I do) so until those evaporate it will stay higher. If the wells are too big you can empty and dry them, then add a smaller container to hold some water and see how that goes. It's the surface area that affects humidity so a larger surface area will create a higher humidity and vice versa.

Keeping an eye on the air cell and comparing it to an egg air cell chart (just search google images) is the best indicator of whether you've got your humidity right. Don't worry if there's a bit of variation between your eggs - as long as on average most are looking pretty accurate they'll be fine. It's a good idea to rearrange the eggs in the incubator every now and then as well because all incubators seem to have warmer and colder spots, so this helps to even it out so your hatch doesn't stretch out with early birds (from the warmer spots) and late comers (from the cooler ones).

At this early stage don't stress too much and just play around until you've got it all evened out. It will settle down soon and a bit of variation isn't going to hurt your eggs. It's good your temperature is stable as that's the key element that needs to be accurate. With humidity it can fluctuate from one extreme to the other as long as on average, over the course of the whole of incubation, your eggs have lost the right amount of moisture.

Good luck with your hatch and let us know how you get on.

 

[Punkybrewster]

I aim to keep humidity between 30%-50% and monitor the air cell size.