Humidity question

[ScottyGill]

I understand the temp of ambient air should be 37.5 and humidity about 50-55 for the start. I live in west coast Scotland and we have high humidity of 58% Is it possible to need no water at all in the incubator. I just can't seem to get it that low. I haven't put the eggs in yet. Will that change it? Worried I'll get it wrong from the start

 

[ScottyGill]

Can anyone help me??? all I see is about humidity too low. Was wondering if just spray misting the eggs would be enough for now. Also what is the correct humidity to start, ice read from 50-60% I think I can manage 60. But this could get stressful and I don’t want to have to overthink things.

 

[ScottyGill]

I’ve been checking on a British forum and apparently our air is humid enough in UK so don’t need water. So I’ve answered my own question and I’m pretty happy to see I came to the right conclusion. At this point I don’t need water. Hopefully In future if I have other worries I find the right place to ask, not sure if this was it!!!

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

There is going to be done trial and error. You do not need to add water to every hatch. Humidity too high has its own set of problems. Because not enough evaporates from the egg. Check, and mark, your air cells and make sure they are growing appropriately. If you go off of those you'll be fine. Start dry and go from there. Good luck! Can't wait to see what you hatch!

 

[ScottyGill]

Thanks found a great article about it all on here by doing a search. It’s the only place I’ve found it say dry! Both my book and the incubator talked about how much water to add. So I’m happy that I’ve learnt something already just ny thinking about it. I’ve also found a diagram to check the air sac size. I rely more confident now

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Nice! I've found dry hatching work best in my area too. I'm glad to see you dug in and found some answers.

Definitely keep posting here. Usually people reply a bit quicker. Must have been an off day.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

I think this ultimately depends on the incubator you are using. I'm lucky to have one that alters it's own internal temperature and humidity regardless of the temps/humidity outside of the incubator.

I'm in the UK and humidity is high at the moment due to the recent downpours and warm weather. However, my incubator still uses water.

Mines at a constant temp of 37.5 degrees and 45% humidity.

This stays the same until lockdown and then the humidity rises to 65%.

I've never done dry incubation so I'm unable to help you with that information.

Good luck with your eggs though!

 

[Siddlefiddle]

I understand the temp of ambient air should be 37.5 and humidity about 50-55 for the start. I live in west coast Scotland and we have high humidity of 58% Is it possible to need no water at all in the incubator. I just can't seem to get it that low. I haven't put the eggs in yet. Will that change it? Worried I'll get it wrong from the start

You can preform dry hatches with minimal issues.

 

[ScottyGill]

I think this ultimately depends on the incubator you are using.

Hi thanks. I chose one that’s turns, regulates temp and has a candlinf light but didn’t realise then a humidity monitor would be good. I’ve popped a couple of little hygrometers in. Earlier today it was high but then it lowered to 34 so I put a Teeny amount of water in and it’s raised to 55 so I took some back out!! I have read it’s less damaging to have it on the Low side and be also it can skew all over the place in a day. My temp is correct and constant at 37.5. Haha when I learnt to sail I knew all about wind, i think I’ll be learning a lot about humidity. We have an a high humidity in this part of Scotland. We usually have to use dehumidifiers in the house!!

 

[ScottyGill]

You can preform dry hatches with minimal issues.

Thank you. That’s what I’m leaning towards. I will add a little in the last stage. I really thought it would be a simple as my instruction booklet, 1 channel, then 3 channels, then 5 but no, one channel shot it up to 75%. I didn’t sleep well last night but I’ve read that’s also common for beginners! I just tried adding a little, like drops as it looked low and it shot up again. I hope my little device is accurate mind you!