Humidity fluctuating for Runner Ducks

[jvls1942]

no, nothing is damaged..
duck eggs can stand more humidity than chicken eggs..
if you can maintain 40% to 45% you are good to go.
raise humidity to 60% to 65% during the last 2 days of lock down.
now sit back, take a deep breath and relax.
you are doing fine..
you probably will get conflicting advice.
one to stay away from are the people who advocate "dry incubation" . that is a misleading title..
do NOT use two different thermometers and average their readings. use just ONE thermometer and put all your faith in IT...
in the mean time, learn how to calibrate a thermometer.. Once you get a thermometer that you can trust, guard it with your life ..
there is a way to use a thermometer that is incorrect. I can explain it to you if you like.
I have been at this hatching game for over 50 years.. I know a few tricks..
.....jiminwisc.....

 

[RunnerDucks1221]

Nah, a few days won't hurt them. Humidity isn't really a set number, lots of factors to consider, as you'll see in the article



If on mobile, you usually have to turn your phone sideways to see folks signature lines. But here it is >> https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/incubation-humidity.73386/

Thankyou, your link was very informative! So you say to keep it between 30%-40% day 1-25 and then increase to 65%-75% the last 3 days on lock down?

 

[WVduckchick]

This makes me feel so much better! I’ve oprned both air vents and humidity is slowly lowering, it’s at 61% right now. I also oprned the bottom #1 filling hole and placed a rolled up paper towel to soak up some water? Do you recommend any other way to remove water or reduce humidity without opening up incubator?

Remember, a hen gets off eggs every day, and when manually turning eggs, we open the incubator lots of times. So there is no harm in opening it long enough to carefully remove the eggs and quickly pour out the water. Or you can try different ways of siphoning it out. But usually its just quicker to remove the eggs and get it over with.

 

[WVduckchick]

Thankyou, your link was very informative! So you say to keep it between 30%-40% day 1-25 and then increase to 65%-75% the last 3 days on lock down?

Is it very humid where you live? Or dry?

 

[RunnerDucks1221]

no, nothing is damaged..
duck eggs can stand more humidity than chicken eggs..
if you can maintain 40% to 45% you are good to go.
raise humidity to 60% to 65% during the last 2 days of lock down.
now sit back, take a deep breath and relax.
you are doing fine..
you probably will get conflicting advice.
one to stay away from are the people who advocate "dry incubation" . that is a misleading title..
do NOT use two different thermometers and average their readings. use just ONE thermometer and put all your faith in IT...
in the mean time, learn how to calibrate a thermometer.. Once you get a thermometer that you can trust, guard it with your life ..
there is a way to use a thermometer that is incorrect. I can explain it to you if you like.
I have been at this hatching game for over 50 years.. I know a few tricks..
.....jiminwisc.....

You have no idea how much relief you just gave me! I have been worrying so much thinking that they don’t make it, or that I’m doing something wrong! Which technically I was... it’s overwhelming reading all different types of sites about different humidity percentages and then not knowing which one is right for your ducklings! I am watching the incubator right now and it’s slowly lowering the humidity. It’s at 60% now which is good, it’ll take a couple hours maybe to reach between 40-40% and then after that I’ll make sure to maintain it at that. I don’t have a hygrometer right now, I’m just relying on the incubator reading. I’ll pick up a hygrometer tonight at Walmart or Canadian tire... where do you suggest I place the hygrometer? Of course, inside the incubator but where exactly? I have the automatic egg turners and have a lot of empty egg racks as I’m only incubating 12 duck eggs... and yes, I would appreciate any help I can get in how to calibrate it! Thankyou so much for all your help, I really appreciate having someone whose done thing for a long time help me!

 

[RunnerDucks1221]

Remember, a hen gets off eggs every day, and when manually turning eggs, we open the incubator lots of times. So there is no harm in opening it long enough to carefully remove the eggs and quickly pour out the water. Or you can try different ways of siphoning it out. But usually its just quicker to remove the eggs and get it over with.

Okay Thankyou very much, you’re right that when manually turning the eggs you’re opening up the incubator, I will try and open it and remove the water to lower it faster and have the RH between 40-45%!!

 

[RunnerDucks1221]

Is it very humid where you live? Or dry?

It’s not exactly humid. I’m in Ontario, Canada. The last two days were rainy but the temperature in the house is consistent. The incubator temp fluctuates from 99-99.5 but is relatively always at 99.5 it’s just the humidity I was having constant fluctuations. So I’ll be removing the water manually to lower the RH faster to 40-45% as indicated

 

[WVduckchick]

It’s not exactly humid. I’m in Ontario, Canada. The last two days were rainy but the temperature in the house is consistent. The incubator temp fluctuates from 99-99.5 but is relatively always at 99.5 it’s just the humidity I was having constant fluctuations. So I’ll be removing the water manually to lower the RH faster to 40-45% as indicated

Sounds good. Its super humid where I live, so I have to incubate at around 30-35%, or my eggs just won't lose enough moisture. But 40-45% sounds like it should be fine for you. Just keep an eye on the air cells over the next couple of weeks to make sure they are growing sufficiently.

And good luck! I hope you have a great hatch!!

 

[RunnerDucks1221]

Sounds good. Its super humid where I live, so I have to incubate at around 30-35%, or my eggs just won't lose enough moisture. But 40-45% sounds like it should be fine for you. Just keep an eye on the air cells over the next couple of weeks to make sure they are growing sufficiently.

And good luck! I hope you have a great hatch!!

Thankyou! I just opened the incubator quick and soaked up all the water with a pale towel, the humidity is now reading 36% and going up slowly. There’s no water in the incubator at all right now, if it stays in range of RH 40-45% with no water then I guess I’ll just wave it as is till day 25 correct? I shouldn’t add any water?

 

[WVduckchick]

Thankyou! I just opened the incubator quick and soaked up all the water with a pale towel, the humidity is now reading 36% and going up slowly. There’s no water in the incubator at all right now, if it stays in range of RH 40-45% with no water then I guess I’ll just wave it as is till day 25 correct? I shouldn’t add any water?

It will likely dry out a little more over the next several hours. I wouldn't let it drop below 30%. You can always pop in a wet sponge if it gets too low. But I suspect it will be fine.