First time, having trouble understanding humidity

[Apocalypse]

So I’m incubating eggs for the first time.
I have an incubator and while I’ve read the manual, I have trouble wrapping my head around humidity.
It’s talking about wet bulbs and dry bulbs and a chart... I have no idea what any if it means. I’ve read several sources on it, and they’re all speaking the same Greek.
My incubator has a number for temperature and another for humidity.
So this humidity value isn’t the actual humidity? I have to run it across some chart or something?
So lost...

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Don't feel like the lone ranger. To complicate matters more is that not all eggs require the same humidity because they vary in porosity. In the end, you want a certain amount of weight loss and humidity affects that.
There are digital and analog hygrometers(the device that measures the humidity you are reading). They aren't always very accurate. Don't trust one without calibrating. Same goes for thermometers.
I have a thermometer/hygrometer unit and the humidity always reads 18% no matter what it actually is. A year ago it always read 98%. Did I say not to trust them? I only keep it because the thermometer is close.

Evaporation causes cooling. So a thermometer with a wick wrapped around it and one end is in water, that is called a wet bulb. So as the water wrapped around the bulb of the thermometer evaporates, it will lower the temperature reading of the thermometer. Dry bulb is the actual temperature. Wet bulb is the temperature reading with a wet wick that will relate to humidity. That is a fairly accurate way of reading humidity.

You can go to a cigar humidor site and find fairly accurate hygrometers for not a lot of money.

To simplify things, you can just weigh the eggs. Regardless of what humidity is needed by the eggs, they all need to lose about 0.65% weight per egg each day(for eggs with a 21 day incubation period). If they do that, the humidity is correct.
I threw away all my hygrometers because they would stay calibrated for more than a day or two. I have two pocket digital gram scales and have been very successful just going by weight.

 

[aart]

Yes, test your therms and hygros:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

I adjust my humidity by tracing air cells and using this chart.

This was my first candling experience:
First Hatch - I candled on day 7-10-14-18.

Day 7 - didn't see much but the air cells, which I outlined with a pencil every time I candled, maybe some veining and lumps..maybe moving...I was very disappointed.

Day 10 - could definitely see veins and some movement...maybe some clears and blood rings.

Day 14 - saw much more definition of shape, movement and realized what I had seen the previous times. Clears and blood ring more obvious.

Day 18 - pulled the now very obvious clears and blood rings. Viable chicks almost filled egg and wasn't as much movement.


Knew much better what to look for the next time I incubated. It just takes some practice and experience.

Candle well after sunset or in a dark windowless room, I used a cardboard template with a hole cut to fit into a utility light shade with a 60watt bulb. Also used a very bright flashlight and just my hand in a windowless room after I got better at it.