Humidity of an incubator

[nicky5]

When all else fails, follow the instructions.
IMHO, when one has a poor hatch rate, it is most likely temperature and not humidity.
Incubator thermometers/hygrometers are notoriously inaccurate. In fact, almost all thermometers are only supposed to be accurate to plus/minus 2F and are usually off by more than that. They need to be calibrated or buy one guaranteed accurate out of the box.
Were your hatchlings early or late?

The two that hatched were on day 21 the last, the other 3 died. One close to hatch and the two others a long while ago. I did not use an extra thermometer/hygrometer except now. I did do the salt test and looks like it is 5 off. The humidity was at 99.5 the whole time and that was accurate because I stuck another one in to check. I have bumped my temp to 100.

 

[nicky5]

Have you done the salt test to check the accuracy of your hygrometer? I'd do that first, then play with some other water options in the bator. Small dishes in the trough, sponges, etc. Also remember, things will change with eggs included, as opposed to empty, but you should be able to get some useful data with it empty too.
I did just read my salt test and looks like it is 5 off. It read 70%
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/incubation-humidity.73386/

 

[WVduckchick]

I just did it so now I will wait and see what it says!!! Does it matter if you put to much salt in or not enough or if the bowl is bigger or smaller? View attachment 1257224

The size of the container doesn't really matter. Coke bottle lid, shot glass, any small container is fine. But the amount of water added should just make a slurry. Enough to wet all the salt, but not enough to dissolve it.
So if your meter read 70%, that's pretty good. Humidity is more forgiving than temp, so you should be fine with that hygrometer. Just remember its may be a tad low, and that should work.

 

[nicky5]

The size of the container doesn't really matter. Coke bottle lid, shot glass, any small container is fine. But the amount of water added should just make a slurry. Enough to wet all the salt, but not enough to dissolve it.
So if your meter read 70%, that's pretty good. Humidity is more forgiving than temp, so you should be fine with that hygrometer. Just remember its may be a tad low, and that should work.

So the humidity needs to be between 30-40%

 

[WVduckchick]

So the humidity needs to be between 30-40%

That works for most of us here. If you live in an extremely dry area, you may need higher, or if your area is very humid, the lower may work better. But start there, and watch your air cells for proper growth.

 

[nicky5]

That works for most of us here. If you live in an extremely dry area, you may need higher, or if your area is very humid, the lower may work better. But start there, and watch your air cells for proper growth.

Well it is winter here, so more dry now, it is staying between 31-35

 

[AmazingRachel]

I've always heard 60% RH for days 1-18 and 75% RH for lockdown.

 

[WVduckchick]

Well it is winter here, so more dry now, it is staying between 31-35

That's a good place to start. Increasing humidity later is easier than lowering it, if they don't lose enough moisture early.

I've always heard 60% RH for days 1-18 and 75% RH for lockdown.

For "most" of us, that's extremely too high. The egg can't lose enough moisture, and the chick gets too big and can't hatch, or it drowns.
I'm not saying it can't work at all, it might in a very very dry environment.

See, if you check air cells along the way, day 7-10ish, and if humidity has been too low, and air cells are too large, increasing humidity will slow them down. But if they are too small from humidity being too high, it can be very difficult to speed it up later. So starting low is really the best bet.