Cant Get Stable Humidity!!

[tim21]

We are only on day 2 of our first hatch and for the life of me i cant keep the humidity stable!! I put a little bit of water in and it gets to high, and i take some out and it barely does anything! Any suggestions for getting and keeping a steady humidity!??

 

[AmyLynn2374]

We are only on day 2 of our first hatch and for the life of me i cant keep the humidity stable!! I put a little bit of water in and it gets to high, and i take some out and it barely does anything! Any suggestions for getting and keeping a steady humidity!??

What are you considering "too high" and "too low"?

 

[BobMcDuff]

How are you "taking water out". If you are still using the same container for humidity the depth doesnt matter, it is the surface area of the exposed water. If using a store bought bator you might possibly switch between days with and without water, or emptying all the water and using a small bowl or similar to get the desired range.

 

[tim21]

Well the humidity was at a steady 62% the whole first night, and then it went down to like %30 or something so i added a bit of water and how its backup at like 63%! And i took out as much water as i could! It doesnt even seem like there is any left! I put a little container of rice in there to see if that brings i down some.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Well the humidity was at a steady 62% the whole first night, and then it went down to like %30 or something so i added a bit of water and how its backup at like 63%! And i took out as much water as i could! It doesnt even seem like there is any left! I put a little container of rice in there to see if that brings i down some.

I incubate at 30% for the first 17 days and check the air cell for growth. (I use the dry incubation/low humidity method) If my bator doesn't stay above 25% completely dry then I add a damp sponge to bring it up around the 30% mark (30-40% is where I try to keep it.) I don't mess with the water wells until lockdown. Here's the method I use: http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity Doesn't mean it will work for everyone, it's just what I recommend trying.

 

[tim21]

So i should just let the humidy go all the way down to like 30-40%? Does it matter that i started them at like 50-60%? Or higher? Isnt that bad for the eggs though? Dont they dry out to much?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

So i should just let the humidy go all the way down to like 30-40%? Does it matter that i started them at like 50-60%? Or higher? Isnt that bad for the eggs though? Dont they dry out to much?

Nope, that's why you monitor the air cells (at least day 7&14) and you'll know wether it needs to be highered or lowered. The link I shared explains it more, but humidity is based on the average of incubation, not what it is at any given time. We control humidity to control the amount of moisture an egg looses. We can alter this amount through the incubation period to make sure that the eggs are loosing the proper amount of humidity, causing the air cell to grow at the right rate. If your air cell isn't growing big enough you drop humidity, if it is growing too big too fast, you increase humidity.