Did you adjust the temperature in your Hovabator 1588?

[huckleberryfarm]

I just set some eggs for hatching in my Hovabator. I did a hatch last week and wasn't really pleased with the results but I feel like it's a humidity issue. I didn't have a way to track the humidity and I think I overadjusted and killed a bunch of them. Now I have a thermometer/hygrometer in there. The temp says 99.1 and the humidity is 70. I realize that's probably a little high but I don't know how to get it down without dropping the temp and the eggs are already in there. Boy, I'm on a big learning curve! The instructions say that it is preprogrammed at 100 degrees. What to believe? I should have done a test hatch but ended up getting this incubator because my other two were full and I overbought eggs. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[pawtraitart]

I adjusted one of my 1588 down one notch so that the four is off and the three is on. It was going up to 102 for short periods and I didn't like that. Now it stays an average of 99.6. I didn't do anything to the other ones and they read 99.5 to 100.5. (I have four) Which tray did you fill with water for humidity? You can safely take the plug out to lower the humidity. If that doesn't help, get a syringe and draw out the water in the tray until it goes down and then add water again slowly over the day until you get a feel for how much you need in there to have your humidity right. I snake down some aquarium tubing though the vent hole to add water so I'm not letting humidity out.

Also, you should check the accuracy of your hygrometer. Every one of mine is off by about 5%.

 

[huckleberryfarm]

That's what I was thinking... the hygrometer might be wrong. How do you check the accuracy? Hmmm....

 

[FOGELLY]

Here is how I checked mine.http://cmfarm.us/HygrometerCalibration.html
I used the plain salt method, worked great. Mine read 73% after six hours.
Goodluck.

 

[Suechick]

70% is really high for setting eggs, even if you're off by 5%. I think it would be dangerous to leave it like that long term, but if you can get the humidity down within a few hours I don't think it will damage the eggs. You could try to absorb some of the water from the tray with paper towels just to get it out of there. 99.1 is a fine temp for incubating, remember that it will fluctuate some, I don't worry about my eggs unless the temp dips down below 98 or up above 102.

 

[juliette2009]

Quote:
Suzanne, I agree with 70% being too high. I usually keep mine at 50%, then up it to 65-70% after lockdown. I also use paper towels to soak up water if the humidity is too high.

I have adjusted the temperature on my Genesis 1588 as well...If you want the temp to be higher, just unplug the unit, turn off the current switch and turn on the switch immediately to it's right side. Plug it back in, then monitor the temp if you have a hatch going on. I usually keep it about 99.6-100 for my seramas.

Juliette

 

[BayChicks]

Did you get the humidity down? Humidity depends on the surface area of the water, so covering part of the water tray with foil (won't affect temp) works great.