humidity

[swallowscott]

hi, i have my own incubator set up which is made up from a poly styrene box with a heat mat and thermostat linked up to it, i used it successfully to incubate reptile eggs but now want to try it on chicken eggs.

I know the basics like turning the egg twice a day and the maintaining temperature but how would i go about getting the right humidity?? Do i just place a bowl of water in the incubator or do i need to lightly mist the eggs occasionally?

And how acurate has the himidity got to be in order for the eggs to hatch?

 

[Tuffoldhen]

You don't mist chicken eggs...... a bowl or two of water might work but unless you have a hygrometer to know your humidity reading it's a guessing game for you....

You turn chicken eggs odd numbers of times a day ...3, 5 and so on....

For clean hatches temps and humidity...temps 101 to 102 for a still air which is as close to as what you have...

Humidity should run 40 to 50% for the first 18 days and then bumped up to 60 to 70% range....

 

[swallowscott]

im sure i will be able to get temp and humidity accurate, is there much of a difference with success rate for chicks between a home made incubator and a proper one?

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Oh no...101-102?? I thought 100 so that's what mine's been at for days!