HELP! HUMIDITY!

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

If you have a proportional thermostat, it automatically compensates for changes in temp. I noticed that in my 72F room, the element runs in the high 50% range to maintain a constant temp. If I remove the lid and allow cool air inside the unit, the element will crank up as high as 100% to reheat the air, and gradually wind down as it approaches the target temp. I really like this feature compared to on/off thermostats. I'm certainly not an expert on incubators, but I can only imagine that constant cycling on and off leaves a lot of room for temp fluctuations. All the research I've done on thermostats seem to point out the advantage of using proportional thermostats over bi-metal thermostats. If any adjustments need to be made, it's as easy as pressing a couple of buttons. No turning screws and hoping for the best. Just wanted to throw that in... lol!

I discussed temp differences in my incubator with the folks at Incubator Warehouse. They told me it's normal for it to be warmer in the corners because air doesn't circulate as well in those areas. Since most turner motors are located in a corner, that could account for the higher temp. The only way to confirm it is by checking all the corners.My incubator runs about 2 degrees higher in each corner even without the turner running, so if I fill the incubator, I'm afraid I'll have to "meddle" a little more than I prefer due to shifting eggs around so none get cooked.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

If you have a proportional thermostat, it automatically compensates for changes in temp. I noticed that in my 72F room, the element runs in the high 50% range to maintain a constant temp. If I remove the lid and allow cool air inside the unit, the element will crank up as high as 100% to reheat the air, and gradually wind down as it approaches the target temp. I really like this feature compared to on/off thermostats. I'm certainly not an expert on incubators, but I can only imagine that constant cycling on and off leaves a lot of room for temp fluctuations. All the research I've done on thermostats seem to point out the advantage of using proportional thermostats over bi-metal thermostats. If any adjustments need to be made, it's as easy as pressing a couple of buttons. No turning screws and hoping for the best. Just wanted to throw that in... lol!

I discussed temp differences in my incubator with the folks at Incubator Warehouse. They told me it's normal for it to be warmer in the corners because air doesn't circulate as well in those areas. Since most turner motors are located in a corner, that could account for the higher temp. The only way to confirm it is by checking all the corners.My incubator runs about 2 degrees higher in each corner even without the turner running, so if I fill the incubator, I'm afraid I'll have to "meddle" a little more than I prefer due to shifting eggs around so none get cooked.

The joy of having a bator with temp control....lol I do it the hard way, I have an old little giant 9200. There is no temp control and just a tiny move of the adjustment can send you into a temp spike. The only cornersignificantly hotter in mine is the corner with the turner motor. The outside edges and the middle are cooler. My heating element runs around the top of the incubator. I do a regular spot check, moving my therms around the bator to local hot/cool spots to give my eggs the best chance. I try to locate my eggs directly under the heating elements as that's the hottest point of the bator, that way I can monitor the warmest areas and know that as long as those areas don't spike, the rest should be just fine. Of course I run slightly warmer over the majority because as long as it stays above 99 and below 102 I don't try to adjust. My hatches usually start mid-late day 19 and are done by late 20 early 21 at most. My last hatch 20/20 hatched and the first pip actually happened late day 18 with hatching day 19 but I had a couple that hatched very early day 21. They just had to be on time. Did not have a single health issue, no leg problems and not a single post hatch death. It was the first time I used pullet eggs as well. All were out w/in 48 hours of the first hatch.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

The joy of having a bator with temp control....lol I do it the hard way, I have an old little giant 9200. There is no temp control and just a tiny move of the adjustment can send you into a temp spike. The only cornersignificantly hotter in mine is the corner with the turner motor. The outside edges and the middle are cooler. My heating element runs around the top of the incubator. I do a regular spot check, moving my therms around the bator to local hot/cool spots to give my eggs the best chance. I try to locate my eggs directly under the heating elements as that's the hottest point of the bator, that way I can monitor the warmest areas and know that as long as those areas don't spike, the rest should be just fine. Of course I run slightly warmer over the majority because as long as it stays above 99 and below 102 I don't try to adjust. My hatches usually start mid-late day 19 and are done by late 20 early 21 at most. My last hatch 20/20 hatched and the first pip actually happened late day 18 with hatching day 19 but I had a couple that hatched very early day 21. They just had to be on time. Did not have a single health issue, no leg problems and not a single post hatch death. It was the first time I used pullet eggs as well. All were out w/in 48 hours of the first hatch.

Wow... that's awesome! 100% hatch rate? Not bad for an older model LG. The 9300 has digital control, and I think there's an optional circulation fan that can be added to it. I seriously considered a foam incubator, but after reading the pros and cons of them, I decided that plastic would be more sanitary, and hopefully sturdier in the long run. I bought mine from IW, and looking at how they graded their lineup, the Incuveiw fell between the Hovabator 1602N and the Brinsea incubators. The 9300 was the lowest ranked, and the HB 1602 was ranked best seller. Incuveiw was ranked higher and labeled best value. I'm all about best value, I jumped on it. It's only been around since early 2014, but the reviews are mostly positive. Some of the reviewers owned LG and/or HB, and they said they liked the Incuveiw better, which is what I wanted... side-by-side comparisons. From what I've seen during the time I was breaking it in and learning to operate it, if I don't get a successful hatch, it'll most likely be due to operator error. From what I've learned so far, early hatches are due to temps being a bit too high. High temp, early hatch... low temp, late hatch. Then again, most of these articles also point out lower hatch rates in either of these situations, but it obviously didn't affect your hatch rate. 100%? That's awesome...

PS: I can buy two Incuveiws for the price of one Brinsea Octagon 20 Advance... which holds 3 eggs less!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Wow... that's awesome! 100% hatch rate? Not bad for an older model LG. The 9300 has digital control, and I think there's an optional circulation fan that can be added to it. I seriously considered a foam incubator, but after reading the pros and cons of them, I decided that plastic would be more sanitary, and hopefully sturdier in the long run. I bought mine from IW, and looking at how they graded their lineup, the Incuveiw fell between the Hovabator 1602N and the Brinsea incubators. The 9300 was the lowest ranked, and the HB 1602 was ranked best seller. Incuveiw was ranked higher and labeled best value. I'm all about best value, I jumped on it. It's only been around since early 2014, but the reviews are mostly positive. Some of the reviewers owned LG and/or HB, and they said they liked the Incuveiw better, which is what I wanted... side-by-side comparisons. From what I've seen during the time I was breaking it in and learning to operate it, if I don't get a successful hatch, it'll most likely be due to operator error. From what I've learned so far, early hatches are due to temps being a bit too high. High temp, early hatch... low temp, late hatch. Then again, most of these articles also point out lower hatch rates in either of these situations, but it obviously didn't affect your hatch rate. 100%? That's awesome...

PS: I can buy two Incuveiws for the price of one Brinsea Octagon 20 Advance... which holds 3 eggs less!

Yup. My first 100%. Yes, early hatchers are generally from slightly high temps, which my LG does hold. I average more around 100-101 rather than 99.5-100. The LG 9300 is awful..most people that buy them regret it. I've only heard a couple people say they didn't mind theirs. The thermostat is off. Almost everyone I know has to set it 1-3 degrees higher to get it right inside. I'm looking to get a HB next spring. I want the "picture window"....lol I'll probably go with the 1583 rather than the 1588. I don't need digital controls as long as the bator maintains temps. Brinseas are great, but they break the bank and you get half the capacity. R-Coms have awesome reviews too.

I've only ever had one bad hatch and that was my very first. All of my hatches pretty much at least have pips by day 19. I (knock on wood) have never had problems with my chicks health or post hatch deaths. So I'm not inclined to adjust down with the already high hatch rates. While spikes will kill chicks faster than dips in temps, I think a slightly faster development holds less issues than a slightly slower development (rate/speed).

 

[Goatmama123]

I am trying the dry incubation method- I went out and got a hygrometer since the bator itself was going bananas with humidity readings- and it is readying 30-35% consistently now. Is this too low for a dry hatch should I add some water? The temp fluctuates between 97 and 102 for some reason- I really haven't been opening it...both plugs were out so I put one back in to warm it up and it seems to be holding. Would it be better to be slightly too cold or too hot? I candled Friday at day 7 and everyone looked good lots of vein developing only a few saddle shaped from shipping. 2 with blood rings. I have 11 eggs in total inside. I did not remove the blood ring ones since this is my first time I thought I would wait until day 14 candle to be absolutely sure. Air cells didn't look too huge or too small.

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

I am trying the dry incubation method- I went out and got a hygrometer since the bator itself was going bananas with humidity readings- and it is readying 30-35% consistently now. Is this too low for a dry hatch should I add some water? The temp fluctuates between 97 and 102 for some reason- I really haven't been opening it...both plugs were out so I put one back in to warm it up and it seems to be holding. Would it be better to be slightly too cold or too hot? I candled Friday at day 7 and everyone looked good lots of vein developing only a few saddle shaped from shipping. 2 with blood rings. I have 11 eggs in total inside. I did not remove the blood ring ones since this is my first time I thought I would wait until day 14 candle to be absolutely sure. Air cells didn't look too huge or too small.

I wouldn't think 30-35% is too low for "dry incubation". Below 25% would be detrimental. Dry incubation is an oxymoron... it should be called "low-humidity incubation". If you haven't already done so, after this round of incubation ends, I highly recommend you test your hygrometers and thermometers for accuracy. Ice water test your thermometers, and do the salt test for your hygrometers. Otherwise, it's just a guess as to which instrument is the accurate one... or if any of them are. You might get lucky and they're spot on, or more likely to be surprised at how much they are off. By testing them, you can make note of how much they are off, and compensate for each.

As far as too hot or too cold, neither is really good. However, high temps do seem to be worse than low temps for the developing chicks. While many people have had successful hatches using low humidity, I feel I should share an article written by a well-known, long time breeder on the topic of humidity during incubation, which was the deciding factor for me to use the "standard" method of incubation rather than dry: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/623070/standard-of-perfection (posts #4 & 5). I feel his 92 years of experience in poultry science, genetics, show judging, and breeding practices made him quite an authority on the subject...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I am trying the dry incubation method- I went out and got a hygrometer since the bator itself was going bananas with humidity readings- and it is readying 30-35% consistently now. Is this too low for a dry hatch should I add some water? The temp fluctuates between 97 and 102 for some reason- I really haven't been opening it...both plugs were out so I put one back in to warm it up and it seems to be holding. Would it be better to be slightly too cold or too hot? I candled Friday at day 7 and everyone looked good lots of vein developing only a few saddle shaped from shipping. 2 with blood rings. I have 11 eggs in total inside. I did not remove the blood ring ones since this is my first time I thought I would wait until day 14 candle to be absolutely sure. Air cells didn't look too huge or too small.

30-35% is perfect in my opinion. That is the range I incubate at. I would be happy with humidity, but very concerned with temps dropping below 99. I personally would rather have it a tad high (no higher than 101 in a forced air- 100 is better), than under 99. 101-102 is perfect for still air. Keep an eye on the "blood rings" if they really are quitters you have the potential for bacteria infection in the egg that can cause eggsplosions.

 

[Goatmama123]

My problem is that I can never get it too sit dinbetween its either 98ish or 102

 

[Ur-ur-ur-urrr]

My problem is that I can never get it too sit dinbetween its either 98ish or 102

It will only be a problem if it stays at one extreme or the other for an extended period of time. If it changes temp frequently, the eggs should be okay since their internal temp changes at a far lower rate than the air surrounding them. If my incubator was fluctuating temps, I would have bought an Egg-o-meter. It's supposed to simulate what the inside of an actual egg is experiencing, but I don't know how accurate they are. Even if the temp wasn't spot on, it does allow you to check the high and low temps after an extended amount of time. At least you would be able to know if there are changes internally, as well as how much of a change there is. Remember, a setting hen will get off her eggs to go eat and poop, and eggs regularly go through a cooling down and heating up process. I have a IncuTherm Plus thermometer/hygrometer that I purchased with my incubator ($19.99). I've checked it, and the temp reads .2F high, and the humidity reads 3% low. In other words, it's fairly accurate. It also has a memory that records highest and lowest temps, which can be handy if you want to keep a check on those. The Egg-o-Meter has the same feature, as well as an alarm that can be set for a temperature of your choosing. It's around $25.

I suppose I got lucky and my incubator stopped working before I set my first eggs. Did I just say that??? As a matter of fact, I did. The time that I've spent waiting on the replacement power supply has made me realize that I need to check everything before I start incubation. I know the incubator holds a steady temp, but I didn't know for certain if it was the right temp. Turns out it wasn't, since the IncuTherm Plus was reading 102.2... and it's been verified to only be off .2. I would have cooked my first batch of eggs. The hygrometer on the incubator has an "Incubation Period" and a "Hatching Period" scale (no %), which would have drowned any chicks that didn't get cooked. The middle of the "Incubation Period" turned out to be a tad over 75% RH. Both the thermometer and hygrometer on my new incubator were off. A faulty power supply saved me from ruining some perfectly good eggs... and it's a lesson that I won't soon forget. Check, and double-check everything before proceeding. Once you've done that, make sure you have enough "extras" to keep a check on things if one of the others fail. Redundancy is a term that I'm familiar with, and I almost started incubating without setting up my means of redundancy. Lesson learned...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

It will only be a problem if it stays at one extreme or the other for an extended period of time. If it changes temp frequently, the eggs should be okay since their internal temp changes at a far lower rate than the air surrounding them. If my incubator was fluctuating temps, I would have bought an Egg-o-meter. It's supposed to simulate what the inside of an actual egg is experiencing, but I don't know how accurate they are. Even if the temp wasn't spot on, it does allow you to check the high and low temps after an extended amount of time. At least you would be able to know if there are changes internally, as well as how much of a change there is. Remember, a setting hen will get off her eggs to go eat and poop, and eggs regularly go through a cooling down and heating up process. I have a IncuTherm Plus thermometer/hygrometer that I purchased with my incubator ($19.99). I've checked it, and the temp reads .2F high, and the humidity reads 3% low. In other words, it's fairly accurate. It also has a memory that records highest and lowest temps, which can be handy if you want to keep a check on those. The Egg-o-Meter has the same feature, as well as an alarm that can be set for a temperature of your choosing. It's around $25.

I suppose I got lucky and my incubator stopped working before I set my first eggs. Did I just say that??? As a matter of fact, I did. The time that I've spent waiting on the replacement power supply has made me realize that I need to check everything before I start incubation. I know the incubator holds a steady temp, but I didn't know for certain if it was the right temp. Turns out it wasn't, since the IncuTherm Plus was reading 102.2... and it's been verified to only be off .2. I would have cooked my first batch of eggs. The hygrometer on the incubator has an "Incubation Period" and a "Hatching Period" scale (no %), which would have drowned any chicks that didn't get cooked. The middle of the "Incubation Period" turned out to be a tad over 75% RH. Both the thermometer and hygrometer on my new incubator were off. A faulty power supply saved me from ruining some perfectly good eggs... and it's a lesson that I won't soon forget. Check, and double-check everything before proceeding. Once you've done that, make sure you have enough "extras" to keep a check on things if one of the others fail. Redundancy is a term that I'm familiar with, and I almost started incubating without setting up my means of redundancy. Lesson learned...

My very first hatch was compromised because my new thermometer-yup- brand new- was 6 degrees off. I thought my temps were good at 99-100 the entire incubation when in fact it was 93-94F. I never thought that a new thermometer would be that far off. Lesson learned and why I preach so hard to new people to check every gage you use. And every time you use them. Of course, I was also using a guide for humidity that promoted 60-65% for incubation period and 70%+ for hatch, so on top of them not getting the heat they needed they most likely were not getting the moisture loss either. 17 live and moving at lockdown. One hatcher that survived and one that didn't make it 24 hours. So dissapointing. I did much more research and bought 3 new thermometers and a new hygrometer and have not had a bad hatch since. It's so important to know that your readings are accurate or how off they are so you can adjust.