Incubator Humidity HELP!!! First Timer

[karaokechick]

I have a home-made cooler style incubator, I have water 1/8 inch deep on the bottom bowls on the rack and my hydrometer says the RH is only 48% .... It is so moist & wet in there, yet it still says 45%-48% ....I live in Florida and in my house with the AC on its 55%+ I am guessing the hydrometer is bad? It just doesn't seem right. Are my Duck eggs OK if the RH is way too high?
HELP!!!!
A BIG Thanks in Advance!

 

[rebel yell]

dont know a lot about duck eggs, but in Florida the humidity is already high, you ever tried running no water at all, is your window fogging up bad, i would try another hydrometer first.

 

[tuesdays chicks]

I think duck eggs need more humidity then chicken eggs right now I'm worried my quail eggs don't have enough.

 

[karaokechick]

This was my first try at hatching, I am very new to having chickens. I hatched 1 chicken egg the other day and was soooo excited, out of 12 eggs that were shipped from NJ four made it through the postal system without being smashed, one peeped and died, the other hatched and is doing great! I set the duck eggs earlier thinking they would be OK since the chicks looked like they were developing well, then I read about higher humidity and really got scared since these eggs were not in the higher humidity like they should. I went to home depo looking for a new hydrometer, and no luck. I read on here about the pet store carrying one so I am going to head there today I guess. I just don't understand why the one I have is so off! But do you think the Duck eggs will be OK?

 

[alicefelldown]

Have you tried calibrating or testing your hygrometer?

Salt Test:
Luckily, as nature would have it, when salt and water (NaCl and H2O for you studious types), are in a saturated solution at equilibrium, the resultant humidity is 75%. This gives a fantastic reference point to calibrate our hygrometer. There is an easy way to determine if your hygrometer is accurate.

Here's the procedure you should use: you need a ziploc bag, a screw-on beer bottle cap (or other small container) a small amount of salt (regular 'ole table salt), and water.

1. Place the salt in the bottle cap (or other small container).
2. Dampen the salt with water. Do not put so much in that the salt gets "sloppy". You want a damp pile of salt in the bottle cap.
3. Place both the hygrometer and the bottle cap full of damp salt in the ziploc bag and seal it well. (It is important not to let air on or out while the test is going on.)
4. Keep it like this for over 8 hours.

After 8 hours in the damp salt environment, the actual humidity inside the bag will be 75%. Compare it to your hygrometer, your hygrometer should also read 75%. If not, you will then know exactly how far off your hygrometer is. If it's off, note the amount and direction that it actually reads and be sure to add or subtract that amount when reading the hygrometer. If the hygrometer has a control to adjust it (either the needle or the display), you can set the hygrometer to 75% immediately after the test.

You should salt test your hygrometer every 6 months or so to be sure of the accuracy.​

 

[karaokechick]

Thank You ! I followed the instructions and am waiting it went up to 60% immediately.

Any suggestions on how to raise it in the incubabator?
I have water all on the bottom, water in dishes all over too!
Still it never gets above 50%
Thanks,
D

 

[Shaun]

After you get your hygrometer calibrated, if you find that you don't have your humidity high enough here is one trick to try. Get some new sponges, and prop them up in the corners of the incubator with the ends in water. This may work well enough, it did raise the humidity in my HovaBator, although I was never able to get up to the very high humidities I needed to hatch turkeys.

But, since I was in a time of low humidity in my house, perhaps it would have worked if the humidity in the room the 'bator was in had been higher.
I finally bit the bullet and bought a Brinsea with a humidity pump. Since the heat is often on in the house (with very low humidities) when I'm hatching in the spring, it's the only way I've found to really get the humidity where I need it. Good luck!

 

[karaokechick]

My Goodness...New hydrometer...humidity has been at 99% the whole time yet the old one only registered 50%.
Have I ruined this batch of duck eggs? HELP!
update
I just read on here that too high humidity will cause a bloating type effect on the chick and it won't be able to turn, and cause there to be excess moisture in the egg. I checked the air cell in them and it seems OK not too small, since tommorrow they are technically supposed to be at the highest humidity level of 85% I guess I should just cross my fingers and hope for the best..

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

I'm glad you got your problem worked out. I'm in Fl too and I had the same problem when a dry front came through. No matter what I did sponges ect. I couldn't get the humidity above 30%. I finally remembered a fact from my fish aquarium days. An air stone moves the water and the surface causing greater oxigenation. It also works in reverse and the rippling water increased the humidity in the air. I put a air stone attached to a aquarium air pump in the water pan and it went up to 65% in a few minutes. I put a small square piece of glass directly over just where the stone was to prevent and spray from getting up to where the eggs were. I'd post pictures but my incubator is occupied right now.

 

[GothChick]

What kind of hygrometer were you using first? Did it have a probe? Some people buy the hygrometers from store that have probes or two different parts. You need to have the whole thing in the incubator for it to work. The probe only tests temperature the actual unit is what tests the humidity.