Humidity!!!!

[jakeschick]

I can't get the humidity up past 35% on the incubator. I am not having a problem with the temperature. I have been able to keep that pretty constant. But, I can't get the humidity up. I have the eggs in a styrofoam box with pine shavings in the bottomI have a 2 bowls of water in there. Holes in sides...... I received the eggs on Wednesday and the humidity has not been past 37%! Have I failed? Or if I get it to go up, will they be ok? I have 3 duck eggs and one silkie egg. This is for a science project and everyone is kind of upset about this problem.

 

[Paganbird]

Do you have a fan to circulate the air?
Try putting sponges in the water dishes. Sponges have more surface area... gets more humidity into the air.

 

[Paganbird]

Also...
What day of incubation are you on?
I keep my humidity around 35% for the 1st 18 days... between 35-40% and even my duck eggs made it to lockdown.

 

[TheNewMrsEvans]

I think you could still be ok...
I use cloth, like washcloths or cotton socks to raise humidity. It's all about surface area. Put one end of the sock in the reservoir and the other end draped out flat. For the ducks I usually do the first part at 45% and then up to 65% for the last three days.

 

[gckiddhouse]

You might want to calibrate your hygrometer. We, and another BYCer who was hatching a the same time, both discovered that our hygrometers were 10% off. When they said 35% humidity, it was really 45% in there. You can find instructions on doing this here http://exoticpets.about.com/od/herpresources/ss/hygrometer.htm