First time hatching, humidity questions

[calicokat]

Morning all! I've set my first batch of eggs in our Styrofoam incubator with a fan and an automatic turner. Thought all was going well enough.

Today I found a big problem - at the start, I filled the wrong well with water! What now? They are already at day 9

And how do I monitor the humidity?

Thanks for your help!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Morning all! I've set my first batch of eggs in our Styrofoam incubator with a fan and an automatic turner. Thought all was going well enough.

Today I found a big problem - at the start, I filled the wrong well with water! What now? They are already at day 9

And how do I monitor the humidity?

Thanks for your help!

What do you mean the wrong well?? If you are not in a high elevation I highly recommend this method for humidity control/understanding humidity and air cell monitoring: http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity

You have a hygrometer?

 

[calicokat]

I do not have a hygrometer, does it need to be ordered online, or can I find it at a store?

I have a Hovabator, and the plastic liner-thing has two shallow troughs for water, one is narrow and one is wide. The wide is supposed to be filled at lockdown in addition to the narrow. The narrow is to be used during incubation I have filled the wide one

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I do not have a hygrometer, does it need to be ordered online, or can I find it at a store?

I have a Hovabator, and the plastic liner-thing has two shallow troughs for water, one is narrow and one is wide. The wide is supposed to be filled at lockdown in addition to the narrow. The narrow is to be used during incubation I have filled the wide one

Depending on where you live, you can find them in stores. Lots of the digital thermometers have the hygrometer too.Just look in the thermometer sections of the stores. I don't believe in following the instructions to begin with, because they are generic and do not take many factors into consideration that effect humidity. At this point I would candle and check air cells and compare them to the chart. I have a feeling that they could probably use a little growth if you had extra humidity in there. I would remove the water and run dry, (unless the air cells tell you otherwise) and get a hygrometer, (there's threads on here how to check hygrometers for accuracy before you use them) and if the bator holds above 25% run dry the remainder of the first 17 days incubation, letting the air cells guide you. If you have to add humidity before lockdown I would use a wet sponge. At lockdown up the humidity between 65-75% (depending on your hatching philosophies) by filling all wells and adding sponges if necessary.

 

[calicokat]

Thank you so much for the info!

I will candle tonight and check the air cells. And I've looked up Hygrometers, and will get that going too. Thanks so much for helping me, this is our first hatch and though I thought I knew what I was doing, it looks like there's going to be a learning curve on this, lol!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you so much for the info!

I will candle tonight and check the air cells. And I've looked up Hygrometers, and will get that going too. Thanks so much for helping me, this is our first hatch and though I thought I knew what I was doing, it looks like there's going to be a learning curve on this, lol!

Oh, unbelievable learning curve!! lol And different things work for different people because there's so many different variables among hatchers that it really is a matter of finding what works for you. I wish you the best of luck!