can humidity be too high?

[Rorie]

I am on day 18, so i have just stopped the incubator from turning, taken out infertile eggs, put water in both pans and blocked both air holes.

The user guide for my incubator says to do this, but also says:

1. Caution: excessive humidity can cause problems!
   The air pocket in the egg should occupy between a quarter and a third of the egg at time of hatching. If humidity is too high, chicks will be wet and sticky and the air pocket too small leading to death 24 to 48 hours before hatching

So i am a little confused - can i have too high humidity? is 100% going to cause issues? I have kept humidity stable until now, but not totally sure of keeping 'high' humidity but not 'too high'

 

[sumi]

60%-70% is enough. 100% is too high! Why should you block the air holes??

 

[Rorie]

It says that there are two pans and two air holes. For 50% humidity fill one tray and block one hole. For last 3 days fill both trays and both air holes.

I'll see what humidity it settles at with the combination they specify, and if its too high i can unblock one of the two holes.

 

[yinepu]

I am on day 18, so i have just stopped the incubator from turning, taken out infertile eggs, put water in both pans and blocked both air holes.

The user guide for my incubator says to do this, but also says:

1. Caution: excessive humidity can cause problems!
   The air pocket in the egg should occupy between a quarter and a third of the egg at time of hatching. If humidity is too high, chicks will be wet and sticky and the air pocket too small leading to death 24 to 48 hours before hatching

So i am a little confused - can i have too high humidity? is 100% going to cause issues? I have kept humidity stable until now, but not totally sure of keeping 'high' humidity but not 'too high'

your humidity can be too high during incubation.. by monitoring the air cells you will be able to tell if the humidity is too high or not

NEVER block the air holes.. that is a sure way to lose chicks to carbon dioxide poisoning
it always amazes me that the incubator manufacturers would suggest closing the vents during any part of incubation let alone hatch..

ever notice that people post on here that they had chicks alive just up until hatch.. then had a bunch of dead chicks in the shells that never even pipped.. yet their humidity was fine and the air cells were perfect?... chances are they had the vents closed and lost the chicks to carbon dioxide poisoning

 

[Rorie]

Thanks for the reply.

I had left both air holes blocked over night and the humidity settled at exactly 70%. Perfect. But as suggested, i have now unblocked one of the air holes. I expect my humidity will drop - what is acceptable? And if its too low, how can i raise it without blocking air holes?

Thanks

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

You can set another try of water in the incubator and unblock an airhole. I find it odd that they say to block them. I've had a store bought incubator in the past and it said to block ONE hair hole during day 18 til hatch begins. When hatch begins to unblock BOTH airholes.
The eggs need air, and when chicks start to hatch they need to be able to breath.

 

[hdowden]

. chances are they had the vents closed and lost the chicks to carbon dioxide poisoning

ive had this happen and no vents or anything was closed/blocked so this maybe true for some but not all

 

[yinepu]

ive had this happen and no vents or anything was closed/blocked so this maybe true for some but not all

which is why I stated "chances are"

there are several things that can cause late day death of embryos
but assuming the air cells have grown to the correct size it's USUALLY a lack of oxygen that will cause the chick to die

just a few of the other things that can cause late day death would be... improper turning of the eggs (including bumping and jarring), bacteria, nutritional deficiencies of the parent stock, temp swings.. high humidity during incubation (which would cause the air cells to be too small), placement of the fan in the bator (shrink wrapped and sticky chicks), and "dead air" in the room where the bator is being operated

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I soooooooooo totally agree with you here! I have repeated so many times - - OPEN THE VENTS ! ! !
Manufacturers really should mention this in their instructions.

I never block my vents. As a matter of fact, I don't even know where the plugs are (I probably threw them away).

I have had chicks hatch in the incubator, without ever being moved into the hatcher (where the humidity is MAX of 60% for me). The first 18 days I don't even add water. I will say, my preference (for my area) is 30% until day 18.

Good luck with your hatch.

 

[Rorie]

Thanks for the replies. What range of humidity should i aim for during this time? 70%... but +/- what?