Humidity problem

[WalnutHill]

Yep! Don't change a thing.

 

[deviled]

Thank you so much this is my first time hatching .i was afraid they would drown in the eggs

 

[WalnutHill]

That stage is set much earlier in incubation, like day 7 to day 14. If you see rocking and rolling, that's a good thing. Internal pip and cheeping should come next. The humidity you just added will take effect at the next step, external pip. Only if the egg was suddenly chilled should the humidity cause an issue by condensing into water.

 

[deviled]

Temp has stayed constant at 99.5 through the whole process.the only thing has changed is the 70% humidity.just dont want the chicks to drown.nervous reck

 

[BobDBirdDog]

I have a question im 3 days to hatching in a forced air incubator eggs are wiggling around but humidity staying at 70% instead of 65 is this safe.

70% is Fine, and you should consider your hygrometer may be off by 5-10% (aka inaccurate) if you have not checked it! I did an article on how but have not posed it as I neglected images as to date. If the eggs are wiggling around that's good at 3 days till hatch, you should notice pips very soon, and I bet a penny they will come a day early.

At 70% I would not touch it but if you can adjust the air vents and just have to do it to ease your own stress level, open them up a little more but not all at once (only if you are sure your hydrometer is reading and displaying accurately), you need to maintain the warmth in equal priority to humidity. Normally, You want 50-65% during the hatch, and the humidity will go up during the PIP and Hatch to around 70-80% as the chicks are wet when they come out of the shell. It will bounce around those readings (50-75% maybe higher depending) as they hatch. Relax and do not touch any settings when hatching...your job is done, now its natures turn to take over.

The wet down evaporates as they turn into little fluff balls, thus boosting the humidity up by 5-15%. In considering the pip, it will bring up humidity slightly as the inner egg is now exposed and a small amount of the extra moisture from such escapes from the small Pip, also as the chick breaths. Its not that big of an increase but it does rise slightly.

The humidity (for the chicks sake) will be better off on the high than low side as the humidity helps keep the eggs inner membrane moist rather than drying it out which will turn it into the latex glove/like substance, which in turn will make the hatch more difficult (if you can imagine a new born baby trying to tear through a latex glove in order to escape and breath, then you get the picture.)

 

[deviled]

Thank you so much i feel so much better now

 

[BobDBirdDog]

Thank you so much i feel so much better now

pffft with the "thank you's"... I'm waiting to collect my penny bet, this is just my "Get rich Quick, plan"! Lol

Your welcome, any time!

 

[deviled]

LoL

 

[crazyfeathers]

I just completed another successful hatch with a still air incubator. For the first 18 days my humidity is at 40-50%, and for lockdown my humidity is 65%. At lockdown the humidity will fluctuate significantly when the chicks are hatching, that is why the caps are removed, also so the chicks can dry faster. I have left to do errands and come back to find my humidity at 90% due to so many chicks hatching at one time and have never had any ill effects on the hatched or unhatched chicks.
I was a nervous Nelly my first hatch and worried about any fluctuation in Temperature and humidity, now that I feel a bit more seasoned I would only concern myself if the temperature is fluctuating (which hasn't happened yet). Maybe I am too laid back now but my first hatch was 97% and my second was 94% but this was due to infertility not to incubator issues. I have a forced air incubator that I am trying for the first time that I will be locking down tomorrow, keeping the humidity up in this one is much more of a challenge than the still air incubator. 3 different people have tried with no success in hatching with this incubator. So far my chicks have been developing fine.I don't know where they had the incubator placed or any other pertinent information or environmental conditions which may or may not been a factor in the unsuccessful hatch. I hope I have a good outcome so I can add a shiny star to my achievement list lol. Good luck on your hatches, sometimes you have to learn the hard way, and sometimes everything goes perfect! Lets hope for perfect! God Bless

 

[BobDBirdDog]

Very well said Crazyfeathers. about the new incubator, have you checked the sensors. I am betting they are off, or there is mold Like build up somewhere that the others failed to check for.

Here is my last post that of a review. but it also tells you how to check temp and humidity for accuracy using house hold (kitchen) ingredients.
Sorry but I wanted people to see it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...meter-and-hygrometer-review-and-recomendation

by BobDBirdDog