Humidity

[Rescuedrvr4u]

So...After I turned the cat crate around (Christmas Day) so my hen couldn't get out, she "some what" laid on the eggs. Yesterday I turned it back around and sure enough, she came right out. At the 11th hour this "mom" really dropped the ball. I went immediately and got an incubator from a friend and put all the eggs in it. She didn't seem to mind at all. 2 of the eggs were already broken and the insides eaten...VERY disappointing. Anyhoo....I've got the temp set right, but how do I tell if the humidity is right? There isn't any kind of a meter or any way to tell w/ this incubator. I candled all the eggs, all have "something" in them, but no movement...not holding out much hope.

 

[cmom]

You can get a thermometer/hygrometer at Walmart in the pet or hardware departments. You will probably get many different suggestions. This is what works for me. I keep my humidity around 35% during incubation (dry hatch). I have had much better hatches, 95% to 100%. Before my hatches were around 60% to 65%. When you candle you may not see any movement. The chick may be resting. I keep my humidity at around 75% during lockdown.

 

[Rescuedrvr4u]

what is "dry hatch" incubation, and what is "lock down"?

 

[dbcooper02]

"lock down" refers to the last 3 days of the incubation period. Turning of the eggs ceases, humidity is raised, and the incubator is left closed until the hatch is done.
"dry hatch" refers to a school of thought that uses somewhat lower humidity during the first 18 days than is usually called for in incubating instructions.
It seems almost everyone has differing percentages that work for them