Can't reduce humidity

[Glenda Sue]

I have two cayuga eggs in a bator and can't reduce the humidity. There is no water in the bator at all. I live in Texas and the humidity is high all the time. It fluctuates between mid 40s and mid 50s. They seem to be doing ok but if it gets too high near hatch time couldn't they drown? This is my first try at hatching eggs and I forgot to write down the day I put them in. I think I put them in around 7/20.

 

[Orca5094]

40-50% humidity is just right for incubating duck eggs, so I wouldn't worry. That last 3 days of incubation is when they need it a little higher, around 55-60%, so that's when you can add a little water. They really only "drown" during hatching when the humidity has been too high for the entire incubation period and the air cells are too small at hatching.

The best way to monitor if the humidity is correct for your particular eggs and humidity conditions is to monitor air cell size. This is a good chart that shows how big the air cells should be during development of a duck egg:



Do your air cells look about right according to this chart?

 

[Glenda Sue]

The eggs are on about day 22 and the air cells look small like between days 10 and 18. how do i fix it? Or will i have to wait and see.

 

[Orca5094]

It sounds counter-intuitive, but misting the eggs twice a day will actually help pull out some of the moisture inside the eggs and help the air cells grow a bit bigger for you.