Farm innovations 4250 incubator

[carpe09diem]

I just filled it. I haven't added any eggs yet. Is 78% ok for the whole incubation process? I was always told 45% until a few days before hatch days and then 65%
78% just seems super high

 

[abbevilleoz]

I just filled it. I haven't added any eggs yet. Is 78% ok for the whole incubation process? I was always told 45% until a few days before hatch days and then 65%
78% just seems super high

78% is too high. 45% may be too high as well. Try filling the center tray only. I think it was designed this way. Start out with the center tray full until day 18 (for chickens). At day 18 fill the center and outside trays. To keep the humidity up to at least 65% during the last three days (lockdown) you'll likely have to add water surface area. We use small square Ocello sponges soaked in water.
All of this depends on the environmental conditions where you live, though. Like where I live the humidity is usually 30% or higher so I have friends who don't even add water until lockdown. The dynamics of your incubation will change when you add your eggs, too. It was smart of you to conduct the test run.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I just filled it. I haven't added any eggs yet. Is 78% ok for the whole incubation process? I was always told 45% until a few days before hatch days and then 65%
78% just seems super high

You will most likely drown the chicks at 78% if that reading is accurate. I suggest running the incubator dry and seeing what the humidity is w/o water before adding water. I hatch incubate at 30% and go dry if I can, if not I add a wet sponge and Imonitor the air cells. Then I run 70-75% at hatch. I use this method and highly recommend it especially for styro bators unless the hatcher is in a high elevation.
http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity

 

[Grandma Buswalk]

I live in western Washington. Our humidity in the house runs fairly constant at 50%. Under these conditions I added very little water the first 18 days. The humidity in the incubator was 40-43%. Then at lockdown I added a wet sponge and the humidity has been at 75-80%. Half of the eggs have hatched in the last three days. They are healthy. I was concerned because the eggs were dirty. I know the remaining eggs have chicks in them and expect them to hatch well too. This is so much fun!! My husband was a chicken farmer for 20 years and grew fryers for the fresh meat market. We have not however tried to hatch eggs until three weeks ago. I am hooked! Thank you to all the wonderful people who have given us newbie's information on what to do and what not to do. This has been a great experience!

 

[carpe09diem]

So I just dumped all the water out and turned it back on and as it stands it's reading 65% which is still crazy high so I'm going to let it run for a little and see if it goes down. In the mean time where can I get a moisture/humidity thermometer?

 

[abbevilleoz]

So I just dumped all the water out and turned it back on and as it stands it's reading 65% which is still crazy high so I'm going to let it run for a little and see if it goes down. In the mean time where can I get a moisture/humidity thermometer?

Did you take the red plugs out?

 

[AmyLynn2374]

So I just dumped all the water out and turned it back on and as it stands it's reading 65% which is still crazy high so I'm going to let it run for a little and see if it goes down. In the mean time where can I get a moisture/humidity thermometer?

Are you going by the gage on the incubator and are you using a little giant 9300 or 10300?

Lots of people pick up hygrometers right from the pet stores, reptile sections. You can get them online. Many people buy the accurite temp/hygro combo. You can always check whatever hygrometer you buy with the salt test for accuracy.

 

[Grandma Buswalk]

I bought mine from Amazon. It's one that's small and used by cigar users. It can be calibrated for the humidity.

 

[carpe09diem]

Ok so it's a farm innovations 4250. And after the water was dumped out and it was left alone for a few hours the humidity level is now 28% on the digital. I did pick up a humidity gauge from petco and it is registering 25% should I add a little water and get it in the 35% range before adding eggs? Opinions?

 

[abbevilleoz]

Ok so it's a farm innovations 4250. And after the water was dumped out and it was left alone for a few hours the humidity level is now 28% on the digital. I did pick up a humidity gauge from petco and it is registering 25% should I add a little water and get it in the 35% range before adding eggs? Opinions?

My opinion: I use the same model. That sounds better now. I would shoot for 30-35% range with large fowl eggs. Are you planing to candle and mark air sac development? That's what we do because that's the recommended method of accurately determining where your humidity needs to be. How many eggs are you setting? What kind? I hope you have a great hatch!