Having trouble regulating temperature and humidity in incubator

[NewChicKMom2014]

Have a homemade incubator. Having trouble with temperature and humidity.

If I completely close lid it gets way to hot. If I crack open lid some temp is about 100 but humidity drops to 30-40.

If I remove lid humidity goes up to 50-60 but temp drops to about 80-85.

Just can't get right.

Help or advice anyone.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Have a homemade incubator. Having trouble with temperature and humidity.

If I completely close lid it gets way to hot. If I crack open lid some temp is about 100 but humidity drops to 30-40.

If I remove lid humidity goes up to 50-60 but temp drops to about 80-85.

Just can't get right.

Help or advice anyone.

Got any pictures? How close is your thermostat to your heat? Do you have a fan in it? What are you using for a heat source??????????????? You got to close the top so your humidity does not escape but you do need a small vent hole.

 

[NewChicKMom2014]

No pictures yet. We had a 40 watt bulb but replaced it with a 25 watt, temp is staying a bit more level now and humidity went up to 60. We had a small vent hole on opposite side the incubator from the light. Thermostat/Humidity Meter in the middle incubator on side wall. No fan. Wondering if should rig one up. Temperatures are dropping around here and we been having a lot storms, so we wondering if today's weather just been playing havoc, temp and humidity in house been bouncing all day too because of weather. Just worried, we have about 8 Duck and 6 Chicken eggs going into lock down.

 

[NewChicKMom2014]

Put a couple small holes in lid above light. Temp holding at 97-99. Humidity 55-60. Hope this is ok?

 

[PD-Riverman]

"I" would hook up a fan asap with the fan blowing towards the light bulb to cut down on it being so hot in the bulb area as well as it will increase the heat in the other areas. I feel you will see alot of difference. Good Luck in your future hatches.

Edited to add-----Your thermostat sensor should be a few inches from your bulb---on the opposite side of the bulb from the new fan will be good.

OOPS, just reread, your eggs are going into lock down------Did you put the duck eggs in the incubator a WEEK BEFORE the chicken eggs?? What day are you on? If its lock-down time, I would forget opening it to add a fan.

 

[NewChicKMom2014]

I've got ony 6 chicken eggs (but from looks of it I think may have lost two) that are due any day now (4th to the 7th)

I have 23 duck eggs, 7 of which due any day now(4th to the 7th), the rest are due any time between the 10th to the end of the month.

My husband set up a small fan just outside the incubator and has it aimed at a vent hole and it is pushing some cool air in. Temp seems to be staying level, the humidity however is bouncing around. It will jump between 40-70.

I hated to open it this morning but I was worried because did have a temp hike before added fan, so I candled them and all moving around. Except two of the chicken eggs, I couldn't see movement and they didn't have that pink/reddish glow....looked more green/gray? So I thinking late death because there was movement and had a nice color when candled a few days ago.

 

[NewChicKMom2014]

On added note. I am just getting frustrated on this temp and humidity thing. Every site I read says something different. I don't know if I got temp/humidity right or not.

Just peeked in window....I swear I saw one my duck eggs wiggle....but then again could be my old eyes playing tricks on me. Guess we will see what happens over next few days.

 

[PD-Riverman]

On added note. I am just getting frustrated on this temp and humidity thing. Every site I read says something different. I don't know if I got temp/humidity right or not.

Just peeked in window....I swear I saw one my duck eggs wiggle....but then again could be my old eyes playing tricks on me. Guess we will see what happens over next few days.

I sure wish you the best----I am going to be honest "I" would be so stressed if I had your set-up(if I am understanding it right--you just put eggs in it when you want/collect them). If you got all these eggs with so many different hatch dates in one incubator-----How are you going to increase the moisture for the eggs that are about to hatch and keep the moisture lower for the ones that are due in 2/3 weeks?? How are you going to keep turning the eggs daily when you need to keep the incubator "lock-down" for the last 3 days for the eggs that are due to hatch?

Let me tell you how I do it-----Sure I have different due dates for my eggs in my incubator, But I have a Hatcher----I set a batch of eggs once every week(all the eggs that I have collected/bought in the last week) and I take a batch out every week and put them in the hatcher. I put the good eggs in the hatcher on day 18 which has a higher humidity. They stay in the hatcher till day 22 unless they all hatch before then. I then shut down the hatcher---open it for the first time since the eggs were put in it-----remove chicks-----clean and set it back up for the next batch of eggs---and repeat weekly. I have a real high hatch rate doing it this way. If I can help, let me know!!

 

[NewChicKMom2014]

No I haven't just been taking them and putting them in incubator as they laid them. My duck hen had been laying them all over the place but not nesting so I 'was' putting them under my hen (had two hens but lost one to a preditor) who has been nesting on her own eggs. But there got to be way too many for her to handle, plus she most her own hatch and left the nest. So we made an incubator to try and save them. We didn't realize how many different stages they were all at until we candled them when placing in incubator.

 

[NewChicKMom2014]

I sure wish you the best----I am going to be honest "I" would be so stressed if I had your set-up(if I am understanding it right--you just put eggs in it when you want/collect them). If you got all these eggs with so many different hatch dates in one incubator-----How are you going to increase the moisture for the eggs that are about to hatch and keep the moisture lower for the ones that are due in 2/3 weeks?? How are you going to keep turning the eggs daily when you need to keep the incubator "lock-down" for the last 3 days for the eggs that are due to hatch?

Let me tell you how I do it-----Sure I have different due dates for my eggs in my incubator, But I have a Hatcher----I set a batch of eggs once every week(all the eggs that I have collected/bought in the last week) and I take a batch out every week and put them in the hatcher. I put the good eggs in the hatcher on day 18 which has a higher humidity. They stay in the hatcher till day 22 unless they all hatch before then. I then shut down the hatcher---open it for the first time since the eggs were put in it-----remove chicks-----clean and set it back up for the next batch of eggs---and repeat weekly. I have a real high hatch rate doing it this way. If I can help, let me know!!

No I haven't just been taking them and putting them in incubator as they laid them. My duck hen had been laying them all over the place but not nesting so I 'was' putting them under my hen (had two hens but lost one to a preditor) who has been nesting on her own eggs. But there got to be way too many for her to handle, plus she most her own hatch and left the nest. So we made an incubator to try and save them. We didn't realize how many different stages they were all at until we candled them when placing in incubator.