Humidity

[Poultry keeper12]

Hey today is day 1 of incubation, I have 16 eggs in the incubator , but my problem is that the humidity goes up to 70-75% sometimes even 80% the temperature will not go up, plus I don't want the eggs to not form,

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What type of incubator?
The temp may take time to rise as the internal temperature of the eggs will hold it down for a bit.
Have you added water to the reservoirs?
Don't get upset about humidity out of range for a day or two. What is critical is overall weight loss throughout incubation.
What is critical is that you get the temperature up to 90.5 (forced air) 100.5 (top of egg in a still air) by the second day. Just raising the temperature over, say 85, the first day will start cell division. If internal egg temp doesn't come up to 90.5 by the middle of the first day, it could delay hatching by the length of time it takes the eggs to achieve temp.

 

[Poultry keeper12]

I have a still air incubator, right now the humidity is 65%

 

[ChickenCanoe]

65 is pretty high but don't get frustrated. If you don't add more water, it will come down over time.
What is the temperature now?
Have you calibrated your thermometers and hygrometers?
Both are notorious for being inaccurate - especially hygrometers.
A simple way I test the hygrometer is to put it outside in the shade. Wait a few hours and look up your zip code on Accuweather for your local humidity and compare it to your hygrometer reading.
What kind of thermometer are you using?
In a still air, it is critical to measure temperature at the top of the egg because thermal stratification can cause a 2F difference from top to bottom of the egg.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I had trouble finding good hygrometers so I gave up and got a gram scale instead.
What you want to achieve with humidity is the proper weight loss during incubation.
By day 18, eggs should lose about 12% of their weight. I weigh them at the beginning and a couple times throughout to insure proper weight loss. If they're not losing enough, I let it dry out. If they're losing too much, I add water.

 

[Poultry keeper12]

The temperature is now corect, my question is what should the humidity be at? The hygrometer is on the incubator itself, but the thermometer isn't.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Humidity isn't a set number. All eggs don't lose moisture at the same rate. If you don't weigh eggs, you have to judge by the size of the air cell.
Most people start with 35-40% and jump it up the last couple of days.

 

[oregonkat]

What is critical is that you get the temperature up to 90.5 (forced air)

90.5 or 99.5?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You caught my typo. Thanks.
Too late to edit. The button is gone.

 

[Clyde Timms]

The best and easiest way to check your humidity instruments is to put some table salt in a plastic bottle cap and just barely saturate it with distilled water until it looks like wet sand. Then place your instrument and the salt in a zip lock bag tightly and after 12-24 hours the humidity inside the bag will be exactly 75%. It will be close at 6-8hrs. I have several types that I use and when I use this method I just put a small sticker on them showing how much they are off + or -.