does humidity go up when your bator is VERY full?

[chkinut]

i am hatching a new batch of eggs in my 1588 hovabator and my last hatch (about a week ago) turned out great! i had kept the humidity around 38-40% and then at around 58-60% during lockdown. most of the eggs hatched. anyway, i'm not doing anything different this time but my humidity is around 48-50%! i have only filled the center well just like always. the only thing that has changed is the amount of eggs. my bator is so full i had to take the turner out. i have 16 silkie eggs in a paper carton (could it be the paper carton causing this? it's not wet) and 12 EE eggs in a styrofoam carton. all the other eggs are laying on their sides and they include 7 bantams and 36 LF eggs. making a total of 71 eggs in my hovabator! i don't have any stacked on top of each other and i do have a fan. what's happening?

 

[FireTigeris]

It's the eggs- they are sweating, (really).

 

[chkinut]

no, not at all. could it still be the eggs if they arn't sweating?

 

[chkinut]

oh i read your question wrong. i thought you were asking me if they were sweating. lol. am i doing anything wrong to cause them to sweat?

 

[GosfieldAcres]

The Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks says that when you fill up the incubator all the way, it really tends to heat up at the end because of the developing embryos putting of heat as they mature.

 

[FireTigeris]

No- they lose water - if you have your temps right.

 

[GosfieldAcres]

I read this, of course, AFTER I already have all the turner trays completely full and I am ready to turn on the incubator...

 

[chkinut]

i wonder if this means i should stay at around 50% for lockdown? i'm worried that the higher humidity for the early days may mean that i shouldn't make it so high for lockdown? i haven't candled yet. maybe there's a few i can throw away when i do. i plan on candling on day 10. then after that, if i can get the humidity to stablize around 40% should i still go for a high 50 low 60 at lockdown?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

No- they lose water - if you have your temps right.

Each egg loses 10-13% weight through the course of incubation, it's all water. The more eggs the more vapor is coming from them. You can cover part of your water tray, say 1/3 of well covered with saran wrap or foil to lower the water surface area. This would lower your humidity by 10%.

 

[FireTigeris]

Each egg loses 10-13% weight through the course of incubation, it's all water. The more eggs the more vapor is coming from them. You can cover part of your water tray, say 1/3 of well covered with saran wrap or foil to lower the water surface area. This would lower your humidity by 10%.

Right, sorry I was unclear I had missing post for some reason