High humidity in an incubator

[aplynn]

Ok I am on day 7 and I have been fighting high humidity for 2 days now. It was at 60 but once I took all the water out I have only been able to get it down to 58 I have tried moving the incubator from one room to a room downstairs but it's not helping I even have a dehumidifier in the room with the incubator. So far they seem to be developing nicely but I am so afraid they will die. Anyone have any other ideas?

 

[GitaBooks]

Does the incubator have enough ventilation? How humid is it outside? How many eggs do you have in the incubator?

 

[aplynn]

I have 12 eggs in the incubator and it is a large incubator. I live in Maine so the humidity is very high this time of year so I put the incubator in a room with a high powered dehumidifier. The real only way of venting it is to open the top but I am afraid if I do that then the temp will drop. I did crank the dehumidifier last night and I have managed to get the humidity down to between 52% and 54% we have about 14 days left until hatch. I am so gonna cry if they all die LOL

 

[GitaBooks]

Could you just crack the lid very slightly? Heat is more important then humidity, so it is better to leave it closed if the heat escapes.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Try adding a few dry paper towels to the incubator. They should absorb some of the humidity in there. Just don't let them get wet, or they'll jack the humidity up.

Good luck

 

[Ugadano]

Try putting a bowl or cup that can't tip over with some salt in there. That or some other safe substance that is hygroscopic, draws dampness.

If you don't have that, I'm envisioning a cold bottle of catchup or something wrapped in a paper towel to keep it dry until you get it in there and unwrap, lid quickly shut, leaving it for maybe 10 minutes and removing it before the drips fall off and wiping it dry. You can reinsert if the humidity is still not down enough. If you have a view window, you can see when the condensation forms. If you can keep the cold item at the far end and only leave it in a short while, it shouldn't harm the chicks to have the temp come down briefly. You can put a warm dry towel over them to hold their heat if you try the cold object.

Let us know what you do and how it turns out.

 

[MeepBeep]

Try putting a bowl or cup that can't tip over with some salt in there.  That or some other safe substance that is hygroscopic, draws dampness

Rice works well...

Or go to your local 'Japanese' motorcycle dealer and see if you can talk them into giving you the large desiccant packets that are used in the crates the bikes come in to prevent rust, they are the same desiccant that is found in those little packets you see in medication or say beef jerky but a much larger pouch... And free...

Or purchase some 'flower drying powder' http://www.michaels.com/activa-flower-drying-art-silica-gel/10300251.html again the same stuff that is in the desiccant packets...

Or the same desiccant can also be found in 'crystal' cat litter, make sure it's unscented...

All the above can be 'recharged' if you slow bake them in the oven at 150-200°F for awhile to drive the water back out...

Just remove it before they hatch, non-toxic does not mean it's good to ingest...

Beyond that don't stress too much, high humidity is not the end all, a broody bird has little to no ability to lower humidity while sitting on eggs... Candle and watch for proper air sack formation that is what is important along with egg weight, but that requires a lot more logging...