Dry incubation humidity question

[StormyMoon]

Don't it get pretty humid in Ohio? I had a friend tell me it was awful humid where she was but I didn't ask her where in Ohio she was.

Right now my bed room is 43 % humidity but it just rained last night come tomorrow it will only be 20 - 30 % in my bed room.

I think it depends where you are and what it is like in your home. I never consider outside humidity only indoor humidity, and then it is finding what works for you.

Its a game of risk and error as people find what works for them.
For the first year I fought with humidity and filling up the wells from day 1 - 17 and i kept them even at 44 % , on hatch day I got it up to 60 % and the entire 42 eggs died when I opened them all they were dried to the bone, and under where the yolk was was not very good looked cooked my temps was only at 99.5 - 99.9 they dried up.

I had 2 thermometers in there reading the same temp, both were digital.

Now I spike the humidity and I dont have that problem any more. No more chicks getting stuck and nice fat air cells for them to pip from.

 

[minihorse927]

Ohio does get pretty humid at times. My house only runs 30-40% humidity and inside the incubator without the wood stove going I usually get 30% dry incubation. If the stove/heater is going 20%. I do have some duck eggs in one incubator right now and they are holding at 50% with just water in the trays. No extra towels or bowels. Just the trays and I think they are only half full right now. The fan also messes with the humidity. When they had no fans the humidity ran higher. The air moving all the time dries everything. I could not even tell you what the humidity is outside right now other than it is raining.....

 

[scbatz33]

Quote:
Gonna agree with Laree.....

OP, where do you live? Your area does effect humidity.

Also, LG's tend not to hold as easily and consistently as other incubators.

I used to drive myself crazy over humidity. Then I figured a few things out.......

Simply put, the more you muck around with it, the more it will get screwed up.

I dry incubate. No water, no hygrometer no worrying. I incubate in a 1588 with an auto turner. I candle on day 10 or so and then on day 18.

On day 18 they go in a preheated LG still air with a humidity range of 60-70 %. I fill the three center wells with warm water. On occasion, I may add a sopping wet wash cloth to bump it up...but that is generally during the winter when it's drier.

This year, so far, I have had 90 to 100% hatches with my pullets. Shipped eggs have been lower...but then they usually are. The last hatch I had and the next to go in the hatcher on the 6th are by far my worst hatches, but I deviated and used the LG to incubate and had to hand turn. I had too many eggs!

I won't make that mistake again. I'm gonna get a cabinet incubator! problem solved!

BTW, I live in N KY.

 

[Mahonri]

This has been a "learning" thread for me.

Over the past three years folks have walked me through dry hatches... for shipped eggs, it has worked OK for me.

This time I've got a lot of extra eggs stacked in my two bators. I'm doing the best I can to keep the humidity around 35%-38%.
On day 18 I put paper towels in the bottom of the bator and keep a straw so I can add warm water into the bator and I fuss to keep it between 62%-66%, I figure if a hen can get off of the nest to eat, drink and go poo... even when in lockdown, I shouldn't really have to worry that much.

Interestingly, I know of one BYC member who received 24 eggs all the way across the country from another BYCer.

He put his 24 eggs into a Brinsea Octogon advance, set it at 52% humidity and then didn't open the bator until ALL 24 chicks were hatched. These were shipped eggs mind you, he never candled once, he didn't up the humidity at day 18, he simply took the bator out of the turner on day 18.
100% hatch.

... and I would add... some folks just get REAL LUCKY.

 

[scbatz33]

REALLY LUCKY!

But, there maybe a method to his madness! LOL! he more humans thy to conquer and control nature, the more we screw it up!

And, I agree about the hen's roll in things. She gets up and eats and such, yet we fret over every minute change in temp or humidity.

That's why I've tried to be more hands off. I realized I was making things worse and driving myself crazy in the process. The less meddling I do, the better my hatches have been.

 

[sweeterdeeter42]

I am so glad I found you guys!!!! lol. I have a batch of turkey eggs in the bator on day 6 now, and I keep forgetting to put water in. I was trying to decide whether to forget about the entire hatching thing and throw them all out when I found this thread. Gonna give them a chance and pray that I remember to up the humidity for the last few days. I have an LG with a PC fan installed. I started off trying to do everything 100% correct, the right heat constant all of the time, trying to only turn them one way so they dont twist inside, keeping the humidity a constant percent at all times, and then I thought, if you think about it, a hen doesnt seem very moist, so I dont know how much humidity they get off of her sometimes, and they still hatch. plus, those eggs get rolled around and she gets off of them for periods of time, there is nothing very consistent about hatching in nature. I have gone from a very uptight egg setter to a very casual incubator watcher in only a few days. We will see how this goes.

 

[buckabucka]

Okay, I'm confused now. Some say 70% humidity at lockdown is necessary, some say it will drown the chicks.

I am using a Hovabator (1622?) with a fan. It is really dry in my house, since we have wood heat, although not quite so dry outdoors. The humidity has dropped a couple of times to 20% (or below, - 20 is the lowest mine reads), but generally, I've been able to keep it at 35%. If I add a teaspoon of water, it will come up to 35%, - it seems to take very little, so I'm thinking if I filled those channels, the humidity will be quite high.

I'm on day 8 now. Do you think it would be wiser for me to aim for 60 or 65% (as opposed to 70%) at lockdown? This is my first hatch, and I really don't want to screw it up!
I appreciate hearing any advice.

 

[StormyMoon]

Quote:
Hi Buckabucka the difference is some have the hovabator some have the LG incubator and some have something different.

For LG incubators all foam and that does not seal very well when closed, I use a higher humidity.

For people with incubators that are more reliable need to use a lower humidity.

You would have to judge for your self how well your incubator is closed, how well does it hold level temps and humidity?

For you , you may find it isn't necessary to use such high humidity.

Also depends on where you live and what your humidity is like inside your home.

It is really important that you determine what is best for your incubation cause what works for me here in Texas , may not work well for someone in NY, and visa versa.

 

[artathart]

We have had rain over the past couple of days and my humidity has been around 41% without adding water. So far, so good. Plus my Hygrometer is right out of the box so its not calibrated but it seems right.

 

[CCourson05]

Honestly, I don't think it matters as much as people say, just so long as you don't have an excessively high humidity throughout the entire incubation period... IMO