Thank you for your help, it is greatly appreciated, I have it set in the kitchen on the counter kinda close to the sink, if I don't add water it will drop majorly, add just a little water (using a dropper) and some times will spike to 67+/-, I just went and looked and found where there is a humidifier machine, Humidikit? living in the desert, I am wondering if it would be a good ideaIt's the average humidity that counts so don't panic yet but it shouldn't go below 25% to be on the safe side. Brief spikes won't do any damage though.
How is your incubator set up? Is it in a room that is air conditioned as that will create an environment that is too dry?
It's the surface area of water exposed to the air that creates the humidity so sponges that are half in, half poking out of the well of water can help to increase the humidity. Monitoring your air cells will let you know if you need to increase or decrease your humidity and its very individual for small, home incubators as so much depends on which spot in the house its in.
At this point you could try and keep the humidity up as long as you think your air cells look big enough and try not to disturb the eggs from this point. Make sure your vents are open too as hatching chicks need lots of fresh air.
Here are instructions on how to calibrate your hygrometer to ensure it is reading correctly:
https://www.mypetchicken.com/backya...lp/How-do-I-calibrate-my-hygrometer-H283.aspx
Hopefully you'll get a few cute chicks to expand your flock.
I've been using one of those bulb things and managing to squirt water through the vent. gives me a little more control.. tomorrow starts lock down, and then Weds is D-Day.. or is that H-Day..lol.. so we'll see. That humidikit will be in by the 26th. I've been trying to candle, they are dark brown eggs, a real challenge to see inside.That might be what you need. You could do a search on this site to try and find recommendations for how to incubate in the desert. In my little corner of the world its pretty temperate and usually relatively humid. But I do have to wonder if eggs laid in a dry environment might be more able to cope with drier air.
How do your air cells look? Here's a chart to compare to if you don't have one:
View attachment 1592466
Hopefully they are looking good and you can set them up for hatch time. Don't worry about the humidity shooting up as they need humidity to hatch out easily. As long as you aren't getting condensation inside the incubator (which generally happens when the room is too cold) the humidity will be fine. Some people put aquarium tubing through a vent hole so they can syringe in more water when needed and not have to open the incubator. Opening the incubator is only a problem when the eggs are pipping and the membrane is exposed as it can dry out quickly (it will look yellow or brown if it's getting dried out).
Thank you for the picture of where the air sac should be by days, I just put them on lock down, was able to candle and see it, they all look like it does on the 18th day, so I am crossing my fingers.That might be what you need. You could do a search on this site to try and find recommendations for how to incubate in the desert. In my little corner of the world its pretty temperate and usually relatively humid. But I do have to wonder if eggs laid in a dry environment might be more able to cope with drier air.
How do your air cells look? Here's a chart to compare to if you don't have one:
View attachment 1592466
Hopefully they are looking good and you can set them up for hatch time. Don't worry about the humidity shooting up as they need humidity to hatch out easily. As long as you aren't getting condensation inside the incubator (which generally happens when the room is too cold) the humidity will be fine. Some people put aquarium tubing through a vent hole so they can syringe in more water when needed and not have to open the incubator. Opening the incubator is only a problem when the eggs are pipping and the membrane is exposed as it can dry out quickly (it will look yellow or brown if it's getting dried out).
Congrats!
Thank you, there are now 2 little peepers, one yellow ( I don't know what 2 of my hens are nor the rooster) and then one that is pretty much black, I believe it is from my black sex links.
