Humidity too High, How Drastically Can I Adjust Before Hatch?

[Starbawk]

I have realized recently that my humidity has been WAYYYY too high throughout incubation (equipment issues). Hatch day is in 5 days. What should I do? Can I very drastically reduce humidity by opening the thing a billion times today (there's still water in the troughs and it's not feasible to really get it out at this point) and try to make humidity plummet in order to build as big an air sack within the eggs as possible, then crank it way up again on day 18 or 19? Or try a dry hatch instead of a wet hatch? How does that even work, I've never done it? Or would drastic humidity changes do more harm than good and I should just buckle up, buttercup, and see what hatches?

 

[NatJ]

If you want to try removing the water in the troughs:
--can you dip a paper towel or piece of cloth in it, to soak it up?
--can you take all the eggs out, sit them somewhere safe, and turn the whole incubator over to dump it out?

If you cannot get the water out of the troughs, I would just hope for the best the way it is, but if it runs out of water I would not add any more until they are actually ready to pip or hatch.

If the incubator has an adjustable vent, you could probably open that all the way (check the temperature to make sure it stays stable.) But I think opening the incubator a bunch of times would cause trouble by chilling the eggs.

If you have a dehumidifier, you could run it in the room with the incubator. Drying out the air in the room would cause the air in the incubator to dry out a bit faster. I would not go buy a dehumidifier for the purpose, because I do not think it will help very much, but if you already have one it might be worth trying.

When people talk about a "dry hatch," they usually do not really mean what it sounds like. They typically means that someone does not add water to the incubator during most of incubation, but they usually do add water to raise the humidity during the actual hatch. So with only 5 days left, your eggs are about the stage when even the "dry hatch" methods would usually add water.

 

[Starbawk]

Thanks for the reply! I will try to take the eggs out, soak up the water, and put them back in. Cross your fingers and toes for me. These babies have apparently been at 60-70% with even higher spikes most of the incubation period. I imagine I'll have a lot of drowned chicks

 

[NatJ]

These babies have apparently been at 60-70% with even higher spikes most of the incubation period. I imagine I'll have a lot of drowned chicks

Have you checked the size of the air cells? No matter what the readings say, the size of the air cell is what really matters to the chicks.

Thanks for the reply! I will try to take the eggs out, soak up the water, and put them back in. Cross your fingers and toes for me.

Best wishes for a better-than-expected hatch

 

[everyday_farmlife]

How did you go? If you don't mind me asking as I'm now in the same predicament