Inconsistency in temp/humidity

[bohok]

Hey there. First time hatch here. I have a secondary thermometer and humidity gauge to check consistency of the incubators built in gauges and they are quite off from each other. What do I do?? Which one do I rely on? I’m borrowing a neighbor’s new incubator as mine is on back order - it’s a Sailnovo that is new and doesn’t seem to have any reviews yet on Amazon it has forced air and a built in humidity system but I’ve disconnected it because it’s making it too humid

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't trust any of the factory pre-sets on any incubator, nor do I trust any incubator that has not been calibrated. They can all be off. So I calibrate my thermometer using a medical thermometer that has been calibrated.

I don't worry that much about being accurate with my hygrometer. Through trial and error I've learned that around 40% on the hygrometer I have is the best humidity for incubation with my incubator and my conditions. Over 65% seems best for lockdown but 75% isn't too high. The best humidity can vary for each of us based on the incubator and the conditions we are incubating in. Things like temperature and moisture level of the air going into the incubator and even height above sea level which affects air pressure.

 

[bohok]

I don't trust any of the factory pre-sets on any incubator, nor do I trust any incubator that has not been calibrated. They can all be off. So I calibrate my thermometer using a medical thermometer that has been calibrated.

I don't worry that much about being accurate with my hygrometer. Through trial and error I've learned that around 40% on the hygrometer I have is the best humidity for incubation with my incubator and my conditions. Over 65% seems best for lockdown but 75% isn't too high. The best humidity can vary for each of us based on the incubator and the conditions we are incubating in. Things like temperature and moisture level of the air going into the incubator and even height above sea level which affects air pressure.

Thank you so much, this is helpful! What medical grade calibrated thermometer do you use? I’ve searched but it’s hard to tell what’s actually calibrated and what’s not

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thank you so much, this is helpful! What medical grade calibrated thermometer do you use? I’ve searched but it’s hard to tell what’s actually calibrated and what’s not

I appreciate the challenge. I got mine so long ago I would not know where to get one these days.

I'm not sure what country you are in. It can help if you fill in your location so it shows up to the left. If you are in the US you might try calling your county extension agent office and see if they can help. Some extension offices will calibrate them for you if you ask.

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you so much, this is helpful! What medical grade calibrated thermometer do you use? I’ve searched but it’s hard to tell what’s actually calibrated and what’s not

The Govee brand is popular. I have 4 different ones and all are in their app on my phone, so I can be anywhere and get alerts or check in on the temp/humidity of each incubator or brooder.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Any medical thermometer is accurate. You likely have one in your bathroom cabinet right now. Trust that to calibrate your device and write on a piece of tape what the incubators temp needs to read to be right. Place the thermometer at egg level, you want 99.5 F average. The incubator will cool, turn on to heat up then turn off. It's the average you want.

To calibrate hygrometer fill a milk/bottle cap with salt then drip water on it until saturated wet sand, not standing water. Place the cap and hygrometer in a sealed container or zip lock bag and wait overnight. That sealed salt environment will be 75% RH. Mark on piece of tape how far off the hygrometer is.

Never let the humidity get too low or hatch rate will suffer. I find 30-35% humidity during incubation gets my air cells the size I want. Then I get it over 65% the day before hatch.

Lower humidity at hatch works fine, many run 50%. Where the problem is if a lot of eggs are piping and zipping at once the humidity will rise dramatically in the incubator then come back down to whatever you had it set to. The album will turn to glue if that happens then dry hard. So I avoid it all together by maintaining over 65% base humidity. The inside of the eggs will turn to goo with a certainty but it will never dry so no worries.

 

[LakeLifeGardening]

So I have a question about this as well. I bought a farm innovations pro incubator (previously have had success with my nurture right 360) I hate this new thing. First off my hygrometer reads about 9.5-10 degrees colder than the built in temperature reader. The humidity is way off too. I had 21 eggs in and 7 have hatched with 2 of them needing assistance because they got glued to their membranes.

My question is I have 14 eggs that haven’t pipped at all, I don’t necessarily see movement in them anymore, however I don’t see the red ring of death either in all but 2 of them. I never open my incubator until I have to, so what are the odds that I can move the unpipped eggs to my 360 incubator with a more stable temp/humidity level and hatch anyone else out? Or is the damage already done and they are just shriveled up and done? Should I mist the eggs? The humidity didn’t drop drastically until about 24-36hrs ago, but I have had a hard time keeping it constant ever since I added my fertilized eggs. This thing will be going back as soon as my ‘nursery chicks’ are healthy enough to go in with the 5 that didn’t have any issues.

Best part is I let this thing run for about 3 days before even adding chicks to make sure it was all operating correctly and temps/humidity were relatively the same. Lesson learned. Trust my hygrometer.

 

[MidwifeMamaHawk]

So I have a question about this as well. I bought a farm innovations pro incubator (previously have had success with my nurture right 360) I hate this new thing. First off my hygrometer reads about 9.5-10 degrees colder than the built in temperature reader. The humidity is way off too. I had 21 eggs in and 7 have hatched with 2 of them needing assistance because they got glued to their membranes.

My question is I have 14 eggs that haven’t pipped at all, I don’t necessarily see movement in them anymore, however I don’t see the red ring of death either in all but 2 of them. I never open my incubator until I have to, so what are the odds that I can move the unpipped eggs to my 360 incubator with a more stable temp/humidity level and hatch anyone else out? Or is the damage already done and they are just shriveled up and done? Should I mist the eggs? The humidity didn’t drop drastically until about 24-36hrs ago, but I have had a hard time keeping it constant ever since I added my fertilized eggs. This thing will be going back as soon as my ‘nursery chicks’ are healthy enough to go in with the 5 that didn’t have any issues.

Best part is I let this thing run for about 3 days before even adding chicks to make sure it was all operating correctly and temps/humidity were relatively the same. Lesson learned. Trust my hygrometer.

I recommend posting this question as a new topic so it doesn’t get overlooked and can have its own tags. I want to know the answer too!