Incubation and Hatching effect of humidity

[Glenda L Heywood]

Incubation and Hatching effect of humidity
Glenda L Heywood

Here some facts on hatching and humidity as told to me by a friend.

The hatcher and Incubators setting in a house is in a low humidity area. Your air conditioner pulls the moisture out of your house and that makes the house have a lower humidity. If you take your Incubator to a bath room you will have a higher humidity than say in the bed room. But your
AC is designed to remove humidity from your house. Your heater will also remove humidity from your house. That is why lots of people put in line humidifiers in the HVAC units.

If you put that Incubator/hatcher in a garage it will have more humidity due to the cooling and warming of the room. You temp will fluctuate more because of the change in temp and humidity. In an unheated
room you will have fluctuation in temps more that in a stabilized
room.

The Incubator gets its fresh air from its surrounding so if it takes in cold
air the Incubator temp will fluctuate some and the humidity will do the same.

I'm just not sold on the idea that the temperature and moisture in a room doesn't affect the moisture and temp in the Incubator.
Also the barometric pressure will have some to do with the temperature
fluctuating especially if you use the wafer control, but it doesn't seem to bother the electronic control because they don't work on a opening and closing of a wafer.

 

[Mahonri]

So Glenda,

What is optimum humidity in the desert in the spring for the first 18 days. I'm keeping mine right around 40%. Am I high enough?

M

 

[bock]

Just leave it in the house, that's my advice!!!

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

This was in South Carolina and the fellow kept his setting on cement in the end of the chicken coop
with three sides open to the air
I think you all that know the effects of humidity know what your incubators run on what humidity

Also if you can keep the incubator in the house do so
using the degree of humidity the book calls for
and how humid your room that the incubator is
South Carolina has lots of humidity in the spring and more in summer

His reasons for his theory were good for those that have to use out doors buildings for hatching
He could not keep his in the house
He has hatched for over 60 yrs usually having 500 chicks to care for

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
Sorry, I really don't, still trying to figure it out.

 

[Glenda L Heywood]

from
During the hatching period, the humidity in the incubator may be increased by using an atomizer to spray a small amount of water into the ventilating holes. ...
www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/8.html - 15k - Cached - Similar pages


Humidity

The relative humidity of the air within an incubator should be about 60 percent. During the last 3 days (the hatching period) the relative humidity should be nearer 65-70 percent. (Too much moisture in the incubator prevents normal evaporation and results in a decreased hatch, but excessive moisture is seldom a problem in small incubators.) Too little moisture results in excessive evaporation, causing chicks to stick to the shell, remain in the pipped shells, and sometimes hatch crippled.

The relative humidity in the incubator can also be varied by changing the size of the water pan or by putting a sponge in the pan to increase the evaporative surface. The pan should be checked regularly while the incubator is in use to be sure that there is always an adequate amount of water. Adding additional water pans to small still-air incubators is also helpful to increase humidity.

During the hatching period, the humidity in the incubator may be increased by using an atomizer to spray a small amount of water into the ventilating holes. (This is especially helpful when duck or goose eggs are hatching.)

Whenever you add water to an incubator, it should be about the same temperature as the incubator so you do not stress the eggs or the incubator. A good test is to add water just warm to the touch.

Using a wet-bulb thermometer is also a good way for determining relative humidity. The wet-bulb thermometer measures the evaporative cooling effect. If the wet and dry bulb read the same temperature, you would have 100 percent humidity. The greater the evaporation taking place, the lower the temperature reading on the wet-bulb thermometer and the larger the spread will be between the wet- and dry-bulb readings.

To make a wet-bulb thermometer, just add a cotton wick to the end of a thermometer. Then place the tail of the wick in water. The cotton then absorbs the water. As the water evaporates from the cotton it causes a cooling effect on the thermometer.

The table below (Relative Humidity) will enable you to calculate relative humidity using readings from a wet- bulb thermometer and the incubator thermometer.


Incubator Temperature Wet Bulb Readings
100°F
101°F
102°F
81.3
82.2
83.0
83.3
84.2
85.0
85.3
86.2
87.0
87.3
88.2
89.0
89.0
90.0
91.0
90.7
91.7
92.7

Percent Relative
Humidity 45% 50% 55% 60% 65% 70%
(From Egg to Chick, Northeast State Cooperative Extension Service)

what humidity is in the room where the incubator?

 

[Mahonri]

Humidity in the room is 31%, not bad for AZ?

 

[azelgin]

Quote:
So how come the humidity in you house is all the way up to 31%?
Geez, mine only gets that high in the shower.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I think ventilation has more to do with evaporation rates than humidity.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=18601-incubator-ventilation


I do keep my incubator outside in the weather. I also use a metal spiral/mercury bubble thermostat. It is not affected by air pressure.