Humidity 85-90 hatching now!

[wewcz5]

I have 5 chicks drying in the incubator and 2 more hatching and waiting on 8. The humidity keeps spiking up to 85-90 and I can't seem to get it down unless I open the incubator. I don't want to drown the chicks! What do I do?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Leave it alone. That's perfectly normal when they start to hatch and add their moisture to the incubator.

 

[wewcz5]

Thank you!

 

[yakelymj]

How long does it normally take for the chicks to dry. I am on my first hatch and my humidity is very high. Lots of condensation on the inside of the incubator. First chick hatched around 8 am. Others have hatched throughout the day. The chicks still appear to be wet. Should I be concerned about the chicks not drying?

 

[wewcz5]

No, ours didnt dry all the way until we put them in the brooder. They didn't fully fluff up until the day after hatching.

 

[aidensmomma]

I actually came up with a system...once they hatched I let them chill for a while, an hour or two, in the incubator .then I run the dryer for a few minutes, then I put the babies in my "fluffing" box into the dryer while it's still super warm, about 102 and let them sit in there. because the room is so warm the temp only gradually drops to about 96 and by that time I can take them out and set them on top of the dryer with a light on them. That expedites the fluffing process by a lot! Once they are running around I put them in the brooder.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How long it takes depends on the humidity inside the incubator.

You don’t need to be concerned with the chicks not drying as long as they are warm. They are not going to chill while in the incubator. But make sure your brooder is up to temperature before you move them there and set them near the heat so they won’t chill there.

Depending on how far it is from your incubator to the brooder, you might need to keep them in a closed box or such to try to not expose them to a breeze. My brooder is in the coop a few hundred feet from the house and incubator so I have to be a bit more careful if they are still damp. If your brooder is in your house, it’s probably not a big deal.

 

[LTygress]

Just one added bit to what everyone else has said... you can move them if they are still wet and the brooder has a spot that is around 102.

But DO NOT move them if they are still struggling to move around at all (unable to turn themselves back over, for instance), or if their bellies are still very soft, like the yolk is still being absorbed. With soft bellies, you can actually pop the yolk with your hands by accident while moving them and kill them (takes about an hour or two for their stomachs to firm up a bit). And if they can't move around very easily - even just kinda scooting - then they can't move in and out of the warmth of the heat lamp as needed. They may fall into a warmer spot and kinda cook themselves, or they may accidentally roll into a cooler spot, and the wetness can make them too cold. So at least make sure they can scoot around, even in a wobbly way, before moving them.

Both of these issues only take an hour or two to pass. Otherwise, you're good to go.