Help w/ Humidity on Lyon Turn X6

[adalau]

Hey All,

I need some help! I have a new Lyon Turn X6, I do not have the auto turner attachment. First attempt at hatching chickens. I have 18 eggs in the incubator, this is day 2.

I cannot get the wet bulb reading to go below 87f. Yesterday evening had crept up to 92f. I used a paper towel to soak up some of the water, put the thing back together & went to bed assuming it would take care of itself. Checked in the morning, still 92f! Took it apart again & soaked up most of the water, left just a little in the first chamber, mainly because I thought it needed to be there in order for the wet bulb to work right? I do have the bottle nut screwed all the way down in the lowest position. So now it is at least 6 hours later & wet bulb is still reading around 87f. I even cracked the bottom of the incubator open about three hours ago to try to decrease the humidity. The dry bulb has been holding steady at around 100f even with the incubator cracked open.

What do I do now?!?

I was going to run it at a lower humidity (maybe around 25%?) for 12 hours to compensate for the 12 hours that it was too high (around 75-80%). But I’m having

To make a long story even more boring,I did run the incubator for about a week to play with it before I put eggs in it. I got the dry bulb temperature dialed in perfectly. The wet bulb didn’t fluctuate much until the water got really low & then the wet bulb temp actually went UP to 110f. I turned the nut on the water bottle maybe one turn & wet bulb went back down to 86f. That’s where it was at when I put eggs in. I knew the eggs might impact the humidity once I put them in, and indeed after the first day or so the wet bulb reading started to creep down below the 86f I was shooting for. So I turned the nut & moved the bottle up. Obviously I over compensated. And now I’m having a hard time getting it back under control. I do not have a hygrometer. I just ordered a Zoomed one on amazon so it will be here in a few days.

Thank you incubating wise ones! I hope to have a Father’s Day weekend hatch with your help

 

[casportpony]

Have you found a solution yet?

 

[adalau]

Meh. Not really. I’m just waiting for the hygrometer to arrive. I’ve been taking the eggs out in the AM & PM & physically looking at the water level in the incubator. But I don’t really know what the “right” amount should be. There is still a little condensation on the top of the incubator so I assume it is still running high? But maybe it is still there from when there was definitely too much water in it? The way the incubator is designed it cannot drip down on the eggs. There is only water in the 1st chamber of the incubator right now & I’m letting it get down to almost gone before I refill it.

I don’t really understand the wet bulb. I feel like there’s some sort of physics that’s escaping me.

I guess today is day 5 & I could try candling the eggs to look at air space, but again I have no experience doing that. So I’m just looking at pictures on the internet & taking my best guess.

My kids (& I) are going to be super disappointed if we don’t hatch anything or if we only hatch mushy or deformed chicks that die.

 

[Uff Da]

Regardless of what incubator you have, what its instructions are, or what humidity level you *think* it needs to be at, you still must measure the effects of the humidity level on your eggs, either by weighing or measuring the air cell. Since you are already on day 5, you won't have a base weight so weighing is out. You will want to candle on day 7, 14, and 18, and many people candle in day 10 as well. If your air cells are growing too fast, raise the humidity. If they are growing too slow, lower the humidity. Here is a good incubating guide that has an illustration showing what the air cells should look like. If you still aren't sure if they look right or not, post some pics here on BYC and we'll help!

Scroll down for the section on humidity: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...lly-sunshine-shipped-eggs-no-problem.1046313/

 

[adalau]

Thank you. That makes perfect sense. That article was helpful too. I didn’t know about weighing the eggs. I am in So Cal and it is dry here.

I would still be interested in hearing from someone who has experience with this particular incubator as well.

 

[adalau]

Regardless of what incubator you have, what its instructions are, or what humidity level you *think* it needs to be at, you still must measure the effects of the humidity level on your eggs, either by weighing or measuring the air cell. Since you are already on day 5, you won't have a base weight so weighing is out. You will want to candle on day 7, 14, and 18, and many people candle in day 10 as well. If your air cells are growing too fast, raise the humidity. If they are growing too slow, lower the humidity. Here is a good incubating guide that has an illustration showing what the air cells should look like. If you still aren't sure if they look right or not, post some pics here on BYC and we'll help!

Scroll down for the section on humidity: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...lly-sunshine-shipped-eggs-no-problem.1046313/

Ok, I weighed 3 eggs tonight (I have 3 breeds in the incubator so one of each.) Is there an average number of grams per day of loss perhaps? I understand it is a percentage of the pre-incubation weight that is expected to be lost, buuuut I just wondered. I also candled the 3 I weighed & I think they all had air cells, one is a BCM so that one was hard to tell.

 

[Uff Da]

Ok, I weighed 3 eggs tonight (I have 3 breeds in the incubator so one of each.) Is there an average number of grams per day of loss perhaps? I understand it is a percentage of the pre-incubation weight that is expected to be lost, buuuut I just wondered. I also candled the 3 I weighed & I think they all had air cells, one is a BCM so that one was hard to tell.

No. Eggs come in too many different sizes/weights for there to be an average.

All eggs will have an air cell. What you are wanting to check is the size of the air cell. Trace it with a pencil or marker. For the BCM, you may have to get a stronger light, or lay it on the floor and use two or more lights aimed inside to illuminate it.

 

[adalau]

I did trace the air cell on the 3 eggs I weighed. After I read your first post and understood what I was aiming for with humidity I figured some sort of measurement to track change from would be helpful even if it wasn’t my pre-incubation baseline. I will candle & weigh them again on day 7. Hopefully the hygrometer will come today. I think/hope I will feel better with a little more information.

 

[adalau]

Well... I think I killed all my eggs. I got the ZooMed hygrometer/thermometer today. The humidity was right at about 35% in spite of what the wet bulb/dry bulb readings were. But, it said the temp was 107 The dry bulb thermometer was at 99. So at this point I am thinking & feeling that both thermometers in this incubator were way off. I will candle & look for any veins or development before I call it quits on this batch. I am so so sad. I did not double check the dry bulb thermometer before I put eggs in. I tried & my digital thermometer wasn’t working. I can’t just run to the store because global pandemic & I live in LA County. So I decided to just trust the thermometer.

Thankfully I got my eggs semi-locally & I can get more. But still.
I guess I know what to do better next time.