HELP! Day 17 small air sac

[SCRaveness]

Ok, I’ve kept humidity between generally 35-50%, sometimes dipping to 25% the whole time. It’s day 17 and these air sacs look too small to me. This is my first hatch, so maybe I’m wrong but I’m worried about my peepers! If they are too small, what can I do to save them? Am I too late? Should I not bump up lockdown humidity? If so, what humidity should I aim for when I lock them down tomorrow night? Please help!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

They do look a little small but nothing alarming. I would keep humidity low longer and perhaps not up it until you see pips. At least, that's what I would do but I am not a beginner so it's easier for me to make decisions like that. I know first hatches are nerve wracking.

 

[SCRaveness]

They do look a little small but nothing alarming. I would keep humidity low longer and perhaps not up it until you see pips. At least, that's what I would do but I am not a beginner so it's easier for me to make decisions like that. I know first hatches are nerve wracking.

So should I still aim for 70% once I see pips? And should I do that as soon as I see my first pip or wait until the majority have pipped?

 

[lazy gardener]

I would run it dry until you hear the first internal pip. Don't wait till you see an external pip. When you hear a chick faintly chirping, then kick the humidity up to 65 - 70%. You'll know that next time, you should run even dryer until lock down. I run 30 - 40%, and constantly monitor air cell size, so that I can start making final adjustments around day 14.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

^ Same here. 30-40 (no water, usually) is my normal incubating humidity.

 

[SCRaveness]

The humidity in my house is around 50% but with no water in the bator it got down to 10% and that just seemed too low. Even about a teaspoon of water bumped up humidity to 50%. I have had a real difficult time regulating humidity in this thing. I really don’t like stressing over these things..... so I bought a Brinsea ovation EX 56 for my future hatches. I suppose I can still use this other one but will do completely dry till lockdown. Hopefully these little guys are still going to make it. Thank you all for your help!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

What gauge were you using for your humidity reading?

 

[Laodicia]

The humidity in my house is around 50% but with no water in the bator it got down to 10% and that just seemed too low. Even about a teaspoon of water bumped up humidity to 50%. I have had a real difficult time regulating humidity in this thing. I really don’t like stressing over these things..... so I bought a Brinsea ovation EX 56 for my future hatches. I suppose I can still use this other one but will do completely dry till lockdown. Hopefully these little guys are still going to make it. Thank you all for your help!

I run dry 10% -12% for the first 18 days. and have some aircells that are too small for my liking. It all depends on how it runs in your area. everyones local humidity is different. What you have for aircell size looks a little small but it's not that bad. I've had smaller that have hatched. I personally would leave the humidity low for a day or 2 more, and like lazy gardener said when you hear chirps before external pips up the humidity.

 

[SCRaveness]

What gauge were you using for your humidity reading?

I have a bunch of new highly rated hygrometers that I initially put together to see which where most consistent with each other and decided that the ones that agreed the most must be most accurate. This week I took a trip to the lab of our family business and borrowed a calibrated industrial hygrometer. Turns out, mine were still reading about 5% higher than they should. Live and learn.