Humidity Levels in Styrofoam Incubators

[latebloomer]

i was just reading another post that said
humidity levels should be kept lower in styrofoam incubators
is that correct?

i have a hovabator 1602N and have the humidity in the fifties
is that too high?

i read that for the first 20 days the humidity should be 58-60 percent
then raise it to 65-70 percent for lockdown
this is from the u minnesota extension website
they're not calling out any different readings
depending on what material the incubator is made of

the instructions that came with the incubator don't call out
a specific humidity level

what are other folks with 1602N's shooting for in terms of humidity levels?

this is a great thread but doesn't say anything about if there
are different desired humidity levels based on the composition
of the incubator: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=438720&p=14

 

[rebel yell]

I have an older havabator which I think is this same model, I run mine at 25-35% & on day 18 I raise it to 65-75%.

 

[happyhens44]

I run mine 25%-40 %

then

60%- 70

 

[aprophet]

Quote:

 

[latebloomer]

the answers here show a pretty large range of humidity levels

is this something i should worry about?

 

[happyhens44]

Quote:
personally id drop it (Atleast) 10%

 

[latebloomer]

if i take off the two red vent covers
on the top of the unit
will the humidity drop?

it's day three and i'm running about 55%

 

[aprophet]

most of the hatches I have I leave one red plug out the whole hatch for a good exchange of air. I just keep enough of the water wells full to give me 50-60% RH ,again I hatch mostly quail with an occasional chicken hatch I also hatch the eggs upright in egg cartons during lock down

 

[dee34491]

I had good Luck At 55 then if it dropped 5 or raised five I was safe. Hatch rate 100 o/o Good luck!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I use a Little giant styro bator. I switched to the dry incubation method and my bator holds about 40% dry and then I up mine to 75% at lockdown for the remainder. I personally feel 60% for the first 17 days is too high. To really tell though you need to check the air cells on the eggs. That is the best judge for knowing if you need to decrease or increase your humidity. As long as the air cells are growing at the right rate, your humidity is good, If your air cells are small for their amount of gestation days you need to decrease the humidity. If you have overly large air cells for the gestation day then you need to increase your humidity. I also leave my plugs out for the whole hatch.