Humidity level during lockdown

[charcharbinx]

I've seen answers all over the place about what humidity should be during lockdown. I'm using a farm innovators still air incubator. I haven't played with the humidity this far (Day 10) because it's rather humid right now where I'm at (Western KY), so I've ran it completely dry so far. (45-50%). What should my humidity be? Do I adjust it on Day 17 so that I'm not fooling with it during lockdown? Help! I read the eggtopsy thread and now I'm terrified I won't get it right.

 

[kuchchicks]

Have you candled your eggs to see what your air cells look like? For me that is a little high for days 1-17; I like mine at 25%-35%. But if you are not adding water there is not a lot you can do about it. I would make sure that your hygrometer is correct. If it is and your air cells look small, you could try adding a cup of dry rice or dry sponges to pull some of that humidity out of the air. You could also try to put in a room with a dehumidifier if you have one. Regardless though of what your hygrometer says, your best bet is to go with what your air cells are telling you. For lock down I would still raise your humidity. At that point they do need the higher humidity so the membranes do not dry out. I usually raise mine to about 75%. If your air cells do end up being small, once you stop turning your eggs and get ready for lock down maybe consider hatching in an egg carton with the air cells upwards. There was a post on here not too long back about hatching in Hawaii and they were having the same issues. You might try searching that thread out.

 

[kuchchicks]

Meant to post this. This will help to determine if your air cells are on their marks.

 

[charcharbinx]

my air cells seem to be fine so far. I'm going to pick up a digital hygrometer today.

 

[Coop77]

A lot of academic institutes print material that says that they suggest keeping the humidity around 60% for the first 18 days. I tried to keep mine around 45%, but it seems like so many people post different numbers.

 

[kuchchicks]

When I first started hatching I did what the directions said and kept mine at 55% for days 1-17. My hatch rates were terrible. Fully developed chicks that never made it out alive. After looking on this site I decided to dry incubate. Almost immediately my hatch rate climbed. Now runnin 25%-35% on days 1-17 and then up to 75% at lock down my average hatch rate is 94%. But honestly if you just monitor your air cells, it should tell you if you need to increase or decrease your humidity. Your air cells really are your best indicator.

 

[Coop77]

I've never tried dry incubation, but it seems like it worth a try.

 

[Coop77]

I candled and checked air cells at day 10 and they appeared to be the right size. I don't like to handle the eggs too much, so I haven't candled since then. I'm currently at day 20 and have increased the humidity to 67% for lockdown. Do you know of any other signs of too much humidity other than air cell size. Just wondering if it may delay the hatch, as I haven't seen any pipping out of this group yet.

 

[jlashaw]

I've never tried dry incubation, but it seems like it worth a try.

I only recommend it if you live in a climate that's wet right now. I get away with it (I think) because the humidity in my house is usually between 35-40% right now. Good luck!!

 

[Coop77]

Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks