Humidity?

[ALDavis]

I am brand spanking new to incubating. I have NOT had a problem with my temperature but I DO have one with my humidity. I have two hygometers and a thrid on its way. The problem is that the two hygometers I have are reading different levels. When they are low they both read similar but when my secondary hygometer that is place in with the eggs between the auto turner reads within normal levels, the built in hygometer reads low by a 10% varience. What I have read says that the humidity needs to be between 45-50%. Is that correct? Is there a wider margin then that for chicken eggs? If the margin is that small then how does anyone keep it regulated within that parameter without having to sit next to the incubator all day. I have to work 8 hours a day outside of my little farm. Can anyone help me. I tried to regulate it by just adding water to the drip trays. That was MADDENING! So i read where you can add water to a sponge that seems to be working better to at least keep the humidity close to if not in the 45-50% parameter. I guess I just want to know if theres a trick to keeping it within the level when your away and if there is a wider margin for the humidity. At what point will I lose my eggs from the humidity? Is it as critical as the temperature?

 

[FridayYet]

Hi Al, Here's an article by Sally Sunshine that is really helpful to read: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101

If you have time, read the whole thing. If not, scroll down to the humidity section ans you'll see that humidity is not a set number. You need to adjust your humidity to get the proper weight loss for the egg as measured by the air cell size.

What kind of incubator do you have?

If your average humidity is too low, the eggs will lose too much water and the chicks will become stuck in the shell and won't be able to hatch. If the humidity is too high, they won't lose enough water and will drown when they pip.

Draw a circle around your air cell to measure progress on day 7, 14 & 18 so you can track progress and make adjustments.

Good luck!