how to control humidity?

[silverfern]

How do you control humidity in a incubator (home-made ones), just put a pan of water inside? but how do you know how much to put?

 

[stampntam]

do you have a hygrometer? That is the best was to know what it is at, get a good one from a pet store in the reptile section.

 

[silverfern]

but i thought hygrometer only monitors the humidity, not control them

 

[Heidi]

I use an Acurite which shows temp and humidity. I've found they are pretty reliable. You can pick them up at Lowe's. Duh - re-read this thread. I put in a small cup w/ cotton balls that are sopping wet. During lock down I also add a wet wash cloth. My humidity stays pretty good thru day 21.

 

[SpringChickens]

You can put a wet sponge or a pan of water in the incubator. If it raises too high, you can vent the incubator some (can drill some small holes which can be plugged if you don't want them to vent).

I like the sponge because if the humidity is too high, you can squeeze it out some and if its too low, you can add a second sponge.

Good luck!

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
Yes, that is correct. The best thing to do is to do a "dry run" (no pun intended) of the incubator before you set any eggs. This allows you to find out what size bowl of water you need to get the correct level of humidity. Keep in mind that the depth of the water is not nearly as important as the surface area. Some people use a maxi-pad or towel to maintain a more consistent humidity. The hygrometer will tell you what your humidity is, and you can adjust it from there. If too high, try less surface area in your container. If not high enough, add another bowl, or use the maxi-pad/towel etc. Once you know what WILL work, you can set your eggs, and keep the hygrometer in there so that you know when to add water (if the bowl dries up).

I also have a home-made incubator. I drilled a hole in the side that is the size of a piece of aquarium tubing. I fed the tubing into my water bowl and when the humidity started to drop, I was able to add water via the tubing without opening the incubator.

 

[aprophet]

I either cover the water pan with tin foil or add sponges to the water pans on my homemade incys