HELP! Incubation confusion

[Adil_Ali]

Hey everyone, it’s my first time hatching eggs, and when I bought the incubator I was told to set the temp at 37.7 C and 55 % humidity. And that’s all I had to do. However I added multiple batches at different times. Will I still have to turn up the humidity to 70 % at the last 3 days? Do I have to stop turning them. I can just take the individual rollers out, that isn’t a big deal. But do I have to increase the humidity?

Cheers
Adil

 

[Tonyroo]

Do you have a second incubator?

Candle the eggs to make sure there still alive before lockdown.
During lockdown of the eggs that's ready, will need the humidity at 65 to 70%. There's no way around it.

 

[Lizzy733]

Hey everyone, it’s my first time hatching eggs, and when I bought the incubator I was told to set the temp at 37.7 C and 55 % humidity. And that’s all I had to do. However I added multiple batches at different times. Will I still have to turn up the humidity to 70 % at the last 3 days? Do I have to stop turning them. I can just take the individual rollers out, that isn’t a big deal. But do I have to increase the humidity?

Cheers
Adil

Would probably be better to arrange a separate incubator for hatch so you don't have to mess with the settings for the first. - just needs warmth and humidity without any turning. Keeping turners in after day 3 and the chicks may not orientate correctly for hatch and end up malpositioned.

Ideally, you would check the sensors for accuracy and set all eggs in the incubator at the same time to prevent issues.

While the temp won't be detrimental, the humidity increase may prevent the other eggs from losing enough water for hatch.

Conversely, too low a humidity at hatch will cause the internal membranes to dry out and may lead to hatch issues.

 

[Adil_Ali]

Would probably be better to arrange a separate incubator for hatch so you don't have to mess with the settings for the first. - just needs warmth and humidity without any turning. Keeping turners in after day 3 and the chicks may not orientate correctly for hatch and end up malpositioned.

Ideally, you would check the sensors for accuracy and set all eggs in the incubator at the same time to prevent issues.

While the temp won't be detrimental, the humidity increase may prevent the other eggs from losing enough water for hatch.

Conversely, too low a humidity at hatch will cause the internal membranes to dry out and may lead to hatch issues.

What’s the minimum humidity percentage for eggs hatching?

 

[Lizzy733]

What’s the minimum humidity percentage for eggs hatching?

For hatching, 60-70, I believe. It's all about keeping the internal membrane moist, so once they've pipped, you can generally tell by the look of it at that point - a dry membrane will be white and papery. Moist will be transparent or slightly opaque and fleshy.

Humidity gauges can be way off, by the way. Mine is off by about 20%, so keeping an eye on the air cell size over time for you will be beneficial for you to find the right balance.