Humidity question

[justduckyinVT]

How do I in erase humidity for hatching without increasing the temperature? Every time I try the temp spikes. Otherwise it holds at a perfect 99.5 It's a homemade jobby and the humidity is around 45. Thanks.

 

[Rainbows Chicks]

What have you tried, so far? Also, how MUCH of an increase are you getting in the temp, in order to get an increase in the humidity? I'm no expert (by far) but I know that I was able to increase my humidity from about 50%, up to 75% (on average as it fluctuated occasionally between 74 and 76%) with a very minimal increase in temp, from 100.2 F to 100.4 F.
Given that you mentioned that you're using a home made incubator, maybe it isn't specially designed with water troughs...? If not, you should be able to just add a long, shallow dish of water or place a wet sponge in the incubator. Depending on where the water "dish" can be placed inside, just be careful that it is only a very shallow dish that you can refill without opening your incubator ("shallow" to avoid the chicks - when they do hatch - from getting into the water and drowning...and "without opening your incubator" to avoid a rapid drop in humidity when re-filling...).
In my incubator the water troughs are underneath a wire mesh "rack" that the eggs rest on top of. The water covers a large part of the bottom of the incubator (during the last three days of incubation), but is inaccessible to the chicks.
Also worth noting is that the humidity level will be increased/decreased by increasing/decreasing the size of the "area" covered with water, rather than the depth of the water...so if you have a pie plate, for example that is 9" in diameter, it shouldn't matter whether there is 1/4 of an inch or 1 whole inch of water in the pan...
Good luck - I hope you get it figured out!

 

[justduckyinVT]

I have increased area by just a inch or two. The temp. Increased A whole degree to 100.5. I'm nervous of what will happen at lockdown. I put another hole in the top for venting but that doesn't help keep humidity in.

 

[justduckyinVT]

I have increased area by just a inch or two. The temp. Increased A whole degree to 100.5. I'm nervous of what will happen at lockdown. I put another hole in the top for venting but that doesn't help keep humidity in.

 

[Rainbows Chicks]

What was the humidity, though, when you increased the area? 100.5 F shouldn't be a problem, I don't think...if you were able to achieve a high enough humidity without increasing your temp any higher than that.

 

[justduckyinVT]

I am assuming that I need to increase humidity at lockdown and hatching time . I know my temps will go up. How can I avoid that?

 

[Rainbows Chicks]

Yes, you'll need to increase your humidity from the 50% range to, between 70-80%. My humidity fluctuated a tiny bit between 74% and 76% during lockdown and, briefly, went as high as 78%, once my first egg pipped/hatched. My temp only increased by 0.02 degrees F (from 100.2 to 100.4) when I increased my humidity for lockdown, so it wasn't an issue for me. Someone else will have to answer that part of the question; however, I will venture to guess that you might be able to get enough of a decrease just by pulling the vent plug out.
My "creative" side makes me wonder whether you could decrease the temp a little bit, without impacting humidity, by adding a bit of cold water/a small ice cube to your water troughs....???

Can anyone clarify?