Humidity problem on Little Giant 9300 incubator

[clr1216]

I had 10 eggs that I tried hatching and set them all up according to the instructions. I placed the thermometer attached to the plastic on top of the eggs and the reading was at 99.5 and the humidity stayed between 35-40%. I was trying to bring up the humidity because the manual says 60% is where it should be so I added sponges and was only able to get it to 53%. I left it and the day before lockdown, I noticed condensation on the windows so I went out and bought a humidity thermometer (accurite) and upon placing it in the incubator, it read the humidity to be at 76% and the temp to be 85. I was in shock. Had it been at 76% this whole time and 85 degrees? That is a huge difference in readings. Well, I adjusted the thermostat to 102 and my accurite thermometer was reading 97 degrees with 75% humidity so I left it at that. Day 21 passed and no chicks. On day 24, one chick piped and died trying to get out of the shell. She didn't even try to zip around the shell. She died trying to push out of the hole she had started with. She managed to get one foot out and by the time I decided to help, it was too late. The other eggs look fully formed inside but never hatched. I candled and the air sacs looked a little large on some. No movement. It didn't make sense because I read that late hatches and larger air sacs was due to low humidity. The other problem was that I had the thermometer on top of the eggs and had set the temp at 102 before lockdown which only read 97 on the accurite thermometer. When the chick was trying to hatch, she knocked the thermometer off the eggs and on to the floor, and the temperature ended up reading 104 on top of the eggs when I put it back. Had I known the reading would be two degrees lower on the bottom of the eggs, I would have adjusted the thermostat. I am thinking I will put the thermometer on the bottom of the eggs next time and strive for a 100.5 reading instead of on top where it can get knocked off when chicks start to hatch but I don't know what to do about the humidity problem. I am so confused. I don't know which thermometer to trust. My windows stayed fogged up a little all the way to the end. I want to put another batch in this weekend but was wondering if anyone else had this problem with the LG still air incubator.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I had 10 eggs that I tried hatching and set them all up according to the instructions. I placed the thermometer attached to the plastic on top of the eggs and the reading was at 99.5 and the humidity stayed between 35-40%. I was trying to bring up the humidity because the manual says 60% is where it should be so I added sponges and was only able to get it to 53%. I left it and the day before lockdown, I noticed condensation on the windows so I went out and bought a humidity thermometer (accurite) and upon placing it in the incubator, it read the humidity to be at 76% and the temp to be 85. I was in shock. Had it been at 76% this whole time and 85 degrees? That is a huge difference in readings. Well, I adjusted the thermostat to 102 and my accurite thermometer was reading 97 degrees with 75% humidity so I left it at that. Day 21 passed and no chicks. On day 24, one chick piped and died trying to get out of the shell. She didn't even try to zip around the shell. She died trying to push out of the hole she had started with. She managed to get one foot out and by the time I decided to help, it was too late. The other eggs look fully formed inside but never hatched. I candled and the air sacs looked a little large on some. No movement. It didn't make sense because I read that late hatches and larger air sacs was due to low humidity. The other problem was that I had the thermometer on top of the eggs and had set the temp at 102 before lockdown which only read 97 on the accurite thermometer. When the chick was trying to hatch, she knocked the thermometer off the eggs and on to the floor, and the temperature ended up reading 104 on top of the eggs when I put it back. Had I known the reading would be two degrees lower on the bottom of the eggs, I would have adjusted the thermostat. I am thinking I will put the thermometer on the bottom of the eggs next time and strive for a 100.5 reading instead of on top where it can get knocked off when chicks start to hatch but I don't know what to do about the humidity problem. I am so confused. I don't know which thermometer to trust. My windows stayed fogged up a little all the way to the end. I want to put another batch in this weekend but was wondering if anyone else had this problem with the LG still air incubator.

First off you have one of the hardest incubators to deal with. I use the LG 9200 which is a bit better. The 9300 is notorious for the display (temp and humidity) to be off and most people I know that have used them have had to set the temps higher by 2-3 degrees to get the actual temp where it's needed (which is 101-102F taken near the tops of the eggs for still air.) I never use less than 2 thermometers inside my bator that coincide with one another. The best thing you can do is get independent thermometers and check them for accuracy.
Big air cells are a sign of low humidity, however after lockdown the air cells "draw down" in preperation for hatch so if you are looking at them post lockdown that is probably what you are seeing and why they seem large. The last comparision we have to really compare with is the day 18 air cell development. For humidity (especially in the stryos) as long as the hatcher isn't in an extremely dry area or in a high elevation I highly recommend a "low humidity incubation method". I use this method very successfully: http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity
You can also test the hygrometer to see how accurate that is as well. Good luck on the next hatch!