Hovabator genesis humidity pump required?

[nirvanamike06]

I'm putting the cart before the horse here but my hens should start laying any day now and I've got 40 of them so I'm gonna have a surplus of eggs and quite a few people have asked me to hatch them some chick's when I get extras.

I've pretty much decided on the hovabator 1588 genesis I can get it for under $200 with the auto turner. The only other I looked at was the eBay Chinese ones.

When I was looking at the hovabator it suggested I order a humidity pump with it. How mandatory is one? I've read quite a bit of threads on here and only seen a few people using one. Most just add water to the tray in the incubator as humidity is needed.

I have a humidity meter in my house and living on the Gulf Coast my humidity indoors rarely goes under 45% normally hovers around 50%. It seems like there's a huge range for ideal humidity I read between 25 and 75% in the incubator.

 

[FridayYet]

You will probably be fine without one. Me on the other hand, bought the humidity pimp to go with my Brinsea because I live in the high desert and humidity can get into the single digits for days at a time. It's been a lifesaver for me.

A friend on the Gulf Coast (LA) sometimes incubates with no water added at all until lockdown. All depends on where you live and the climate where your incubator is kept. Heaters running in winter can dry out the air in your house pretty quickly.

Good luck with your hatching adventures!

 

[Tabasco Jack]

I'm putting the cart before the horse here but my hens should start laying any day now and I've got 40 of them so I'm gonna have a surplus of eggs and quite a few people have asked me to hatch them some chick's when I get extras.

I've pretty much decided on the hovabator 1588 genesis I can get it for under $200 with the auto turner. The only other I looked at was the eBay Chinese ones.

When I was looking at the hovabator it suggested I order a humidity pump with it. How mandatory is one? I've read quite a bit of threads on here and only seen a few people using one. Most just add water to the tray in the incubator as humidity is needed.

I have a humidity meter in my house and living on the Gulf Coast my humidity indoors rarely goes under 45% normally hovers around 50%. It seems like there's a huge range for ideal humidity I read between 25 and 75% in the incubator.

The hovabator genesis is an excellent incubator. I've got 2 that I use.

Get a hygrometer like this one: http://incubatorwarehouse.com/incubator-remote-thermometer-hygrometer.html and check the calibration of the humidity with the salt in a bag method. The thermometer-hygrometer that is built-in on the incubator is not a good indicator of what's at egg level since the instruments are at the top of the incubator.

When I start the incubating season I set up the incubator with the egg turner running and bring it up to temperature. Record the relative humidity in the room and in the incubator with no water. Then I'll fill one water reservoir, let it come back to temperature and record the humidity. I'll fill each reservoir individually and then all combinations (1 & 2, 1& 3, 1 & 4, 1,2 & 3, etc.

I record each of these and make a little chart of the possibilities.

I live in N. GA and often have to cover part of the reservoirs with foil to get humidity low enough. I usually incubate at around 35% and then up it to 55-60% for hatching. Plus the type of eggs you're incubating may require different humidity.

Good luck with it.