First time incubator questions

[SuJo]

Hi everyone!
I bought a cheap incubator from China I think just to try incubation without spending too much. I ran it for over a week and obsessed over the temp and humidity until I was convinced all was well. I calibrated my thermometers and hygrometers, placed them carefully in varied locations, used mercury thermometer and instant read thermometers for back up (yes - 5 total!) monitored and logged everything. I heard the cheap incubators had difficulty maintaining consistent temps. Once it was running seems pretty stable. I put my eggs in on Saturday. It has been holding temp steady, but once eggs in, I had some difficulty with humidity. I couldn't seem to get the humidity below 70% for the first 3 days. Now it's around 50% pretty consistently with all three temp/hygrometers. I live in a very dry climate. Does anyone know if the first 3 days of high humidity will be lethal for my hatch? Also - there seems to be many opinions out there from all sorts of experts on the level of humidity! So confusing! Any thoughts?

 

[dekel18042]

Hi everyone!
I bought a cheap incubator from China I think just to try incubation without spending too much. I ran it for over a week and obsessed over the temp and humidity until I was convinced all was well. I calibrated my thermometers and hygrometers, placed them carefully in varied locations, used mercury thermometer and instant read thermometers for back up (yes - 5 total!) monitored and logged everything. I heard the cheap incubators had difficulty maintaining consistent temps. Once it was running seems pretty stable. I put my eggs in on Saturday. It has been holding temp steady, but once eggs in, I had some difficulty with humidity. I couldn't seem to get the humidity below 70% for the first 3 days. Now it's around 50% pretty consistently with all three temp/hygrometers. I live in a very dry climate. Does anyone know if the first 3 days of high humidity will be lethal for my hatch? Also - there seems to be many opinions out there from all sorts of experts on the level of humidity! So confusing! Any thoughts?

I often fight humidity the opposite direction but since you've corrected the problem you should be OK. I think it is more of a problem if it extends all the way through and the egg is retaining too much moisture within itself.

 

[SuJo]

Whew - thanks! I feel better already! Was sure I ruined the whole batch

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Hi everyone!
I bought a cheap incubator from China I think just to try incubation without spending too much. I ran it for over a week and obsessed over the temp and humidity until I was convinced all was well. I calibrated my thermometers and hygrometers, placed them carefully in varied locations, used mercury thermometer and instant read thermometers for back up (yes - 5 total!) monitored and logged everything. I heard the cheap incubators had difficulty maintaining consistent temps. Once it was running seems pretty stable. I put my eggs in on Saturday. It has been holding temp steady, but once eggs in, I had some difficulty with humidity. I couldn't seem to get the humidity below 70% for the first 3 days. Now it's around 50% pretty consistently with all three temp/hygrometers. I live in a very dry climate. Does anyone know if the first 3 days of high humidity will be lethal for my hatch? Also - there seems to be many opinions out there from all sorts of experts on the level of humidity! So confusing! Any thoughts?

Humidity only compromises the hatch as the average over the entire incubation. I'll share a link I think will help you understand humidity, it's importance, and how it can compromise your hatch.
http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity

 

[SuJo]

Thanks SO much!