Humidity too high ??

[Cierabug]

This is my first time incubating chicks and I'm using a friend's incubator which he had problems with humidity control before. Will the chicks be fine with the humidity at 59% for the whole incubation. It's day 2 so far.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

59% is too high for the whole of incubation I’m afraid. If the eggs don’t lose enough moisture over the incubation period the air cell does not grow large enough for the chick to pip in to safely. They can so to speak drown after internal pip.

I like to shoot for 35% days 1-18 and at least 65% for lockdown.
This article is a good read ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/incubation-humidity.73386/

 

[Cierabug]

59% is too high for the whole of incubation I’m afraid. If the eggs don’t lose enough moisture over the incubation period the air cell does not grow large enough for the chick to pip in to safely. They can so to speak drown after internal pip.

I like to shoot for 35% days 1-18 and at least 65% for lockdown.
This article is a good read ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/incubation-humidity.73386/

Even with all of the water in the incubator gone it's still going up and down from around 46% to 63%. Will putting a paper towel in this incubator help absorb some of the humidity

 

[TotallyShellyTurtle]

I've heard of rice being used to absorb humidity.

 

[lazy gardener]

You might try the silica crystals that are meant to be added to potting soil to absorb moisture.

 

[lazy gardener]

I incubate at 30 - 40% through day 17, and watch air cell size. The whole purpose of choosing a certain humidity level is to ensure that the air cells are the proper size by lock down.

 

[Cierabug]

You might try the silica crystals that are meant to be added to potting soil to absorb moisture.

Thx but I talked to the friend who gave me the incubator and it turns out his incubator is just off and it shows the humidity higher than it actually is

 

[lazy gardener]

Do you have a hygrometer? If not, you need to buy one, and then do the salt test to calibrate it. One can not expect a decent hatch without having a calibrated thermometer and hygrometer.

 

[EastIndie]

This is my first time incubating chicks and I'm using a friend's incubator which he had problems with humidity control before. Will the chicks be fine with the humidity at 59% for the whole incubation. It's day 2 so far.

I hatched duck and chicken eggs together and kept the humidity at 55-60% and had no trouble hatching the chickens. It is probably better to try and keep the humidity down a bit though.

 

[SpeckledChickenlady]

I think I messed up too after seeing pictures of the eggs air sac it looks like mine are at day 7 an it's day 20. Are they all gonna die??