humidity?

[Hennyhandler]

I have read many posts on here about humidity and some have theirs at 40 or 50 and sometimes 70 percent. I was wondering how you know what to keep the humidity at. I am sure that it changes at different times during the hatch but I can't seem to wrap my head around it.

Ya'll seem to know exactly how to do this and what you are doing and I am knew at this soooo there is probably going to be a LOT of questions coming from this direction.

 

[ambrosia]

Mine was super low... just set eggs yesterday... now its at 23% and from what I hear its ok....

Some monitor humidity... some do a 'dry hatch' and only monitor at a high rate at lock down...

I will tell you what I have been told. Relax. Don't stress. It will be ok...

That's the only advice I have....

 

[Hennyhandler]

Yes I have read about this dry hatch and from what I can tell some believe it is better and some like the wet. I wonder which one is used more as a majority. Thanks for helping. I want to be exact but I know that probably won't happen. Relax. Relax. You think if I say it enough times I'll actually do it. I am so excited to try this out though!!

Is this your first time too?

 

[ambrosia]

Yes! First timer... and things are going well....

So, please just enjoy having these eggs, and don't stress too much!

 

[BHep]

I have been dry incubating for over a year. I do not add any way during incubation, at lock down I fill the reservoirs, it stays between 50-55%. My incubator is running at 17% right now, it fluctuates with the weather.


Relax and enjoy !

 

[nurse_turtle]

My first few hatches were done monitoring humidity by adding water and removing plugs then adding more water and worrying about everything. Then I tried a dry incubation and will continue to use it as my favorite method. I set eggs yesterday and humidity is 25%. Only at lockdown will I add enough warm water to bring humidity up to 60% max. When the first chick hatches, humidity goes up on its own. I have found that in general, less is more. The less you mess with it, the better things will be. At this time, I set the eggs into the bator and don't touch them until day 7 to candle them and toss the duds, quitters, etc. You are going to love incubating and hatching and by following some advice and making the best choices for you, you will have success.

 

[BHep]

Quote:
Exactly!

 

[Blarneyeggs]

This is my first time Using an incubator for eggs as well, I am on day 15 and have to say that my biggest stress thus far was monitoring the humidity. I read that 45 was what it should be and was keeping it there (44-47) for the first 10 days. THEN I read that 30 or less is where it should be up until lockdown, so of course I panicked -thinking I drowned all my babies. Got some advice to dry everything out until day 19 THEN lockdown. So even with everything dried out, my humidity stays at about 29 -we are having an especially wet week, even had some flooding last Friday.

So there you go. I haven't tossed any eggs, even the ones I feel are clear because I just don't trust myself with identifying the 'quitters'. It doesn't help matters that I have BC Marans in there and can't see into them at all. I am using the smell test, and hoping that saves me from exploding eggs.

 

[Hennyhandler]

So overall the humidity needs to be kept quite low at first. Then raised during lockdown. Thank ya'll so much for giving me your opinions and help.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I can't tell you what is right or wrong. What works for me does not work for some other people. We use different eggs in different incubators in different locations. You'll need to experiment a bit and find what works best for you. I suggest you be relatively consistent in what you do so you have a better idea of what you might change next time if you need to change something, or know what to do again if it works. For the first time, I read the instructions that came with the incubator and try that. Then I adjust as necessary.

The idea behind humidity during incubation is that the eggs need to lose a certain amount of moisture during incubation. Some people candle and look at the air sac. There are charts that tell you what it should look like at different stages. Similarly, some people weigh them and get a percentage weight loss at different times. There are charts for that too. Some of us don't worry with candling or weight loss. We just try to replicate what worked before. You can stress about it as much or as little as you want. Your choice. I think it is important to know what you do so you can adjust later hatches if necessary. It's how much you stress about it that can vary.

The humidity requirement changes during lockdown. By the time you get to lockdown, the egg should have lost about what moisture it is going to lose. Chicken eggs are supposed to hatch about 21 days after you start, but often they can be two or even three days early or late. Average incubating temperature is the main cause of that, but other factors can affect it. When the chick pips, the egg membrane can dry out, shrink, and stick to the chick if the humidity is too low. Notice I said it can, not that it absolutely will each and every time. But it can. I know from experience. You want the humidity higher during this time to reduce the chances of this happening. I can't tell you how high it should be. Again, it seems to vary for different ones of us. So again I suggest you try to be fairly consistent in what you do, notice what is going on, and adjust for later hatches.

Good luck!!!