Incubator temps and humidity-how to level them out

[TNBarnQueen]

I have just set eggs in my LG and am having trouble getting the humidity and temp to cooperate. If I get one set the other is off. My humidity right now is 47 and temp is 100-102. Is the humidity too high? I set these 14 hours ago. It held at H-44 and T-100 for over 24 hours but when I put the eggs in it has been less steady. I know the eggs can make the humidity go up a bit..but I am concerned that staying at 47 is too high...and advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[sonjab314]

Is your bator the forced air unit?

 

[TNBarnQueen]

No.....I ordered a fan kit for it but it did not arrive in time to install before the eggs had to go in. Hopefully it will be here by the 7th day when I candle the eggs so hubby can install it while I do that.

 

[sonjab314]

I do not have a still air but IF IF IF I am not mistaken the temp should be 101.5 and 99.5 for a forced air (which mine is). Your humidity sounds good to me. LG's are hard to stabalize. It takes quite a bit of fine tuning. I have one that I hatch in. I incubate in a Hovabator 1588. Once I get the LG stable, its like a rock (well mine is anyway). My temp has not wavered from 99.5 in a week in my LG. It is best to keep them in a draft free zone with a stable room air of at least 70 degrees. Other than this, your first hatch will be a trial and error. Maybe someone else will chime in with more info to help you.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

I have the LG still air 9200, no turner or fan kit... here is my advice for your current clutch:
1) 47 isn't terrible, a little on the high end, but not bad. If you start going over 50 then I would remove any water you have in it.

2) I did a lot of research before starting my last clutch. For an ideal hatch rate with the LG unit you will want todo the following:
~~A)Don't use the auto turner or fan kit. The motors from these items will mess with the temperature and you will notice wild fluctuations.
~~B) Do a Dry Hatch. Do not add any water to the unit at all and make sure both red vent plugs are removed and set aside until a couple hrs before lockdown on Day 18. Then you will fill the center ring and 2 side channels as full as they get & replace both red vent plugs. If you are still below 60%, then grab a soaked sponge or two and place under the mesh on the bottom of the bator. Once 2-3 chicks have hatched out, you will remove 1 vent plug. Once there are 6 chicks in the bator, remove the other vent plug for better air circulation.

By doing these things, I have gone from a 45% hatch rate to a 94.29% hatch rate.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

Quote:
My house is kept at a constant 67 degrees F...

 

[Shelly_WNC]

Livinwright Farm - I wish I would have read your info 22 days ago about the LG and humidity.

Somehow I was reading that humidity should be 50-55% for first 18 days and then 60-65% after lockdown. Well I'm hear to say that that didn't work out for me in my LG with fan and egg turner. Not one of my 8 eggs that candled good on day 18 hatched and it's day 22 now.

The breeder I got the eggs said the humidity should be UNDER 40%. yikes

TNBarnQueen - I noticed I can control the humidity by putting in / taking out the red plugs on top. If you want less humidity take one or two red plugs out. Hope this helps you keep your humidity down. Good Luck!

 

[TNBarnQueen]

Thank you so much for all the wonderful information. My still air LG has stayed consistent 42H and 102T now for a couple days. I have some small sponges and when it falls around 37-38H I slip a small one in and it does the job! I have it on my kitchen table. Our house temp stays 68-70. When my friend and I did our first hatch a couple weeks ago she had read to keep H at 50-55 and up to 80 on lockdown. She lost over half her chicks to drowningShe opened all the eggs that did not hatch and the chicks where fully developed... of 8 I lost 6. I felt so bad for her. She had invested a lot of money.....I did not have time to buy eggs so I used what I had from my hens, Do you think that my having fresh from the hen eggs had anything to do with my having a good hatch rate in spite of the humidity??
My friend ordered herself a Hovabator 1588 so I am using the LG until I can get one. It belongs to my Ex and he said that he had little success with it because he did not put a fan in ..who knows. But I am going to try the fan but after a couple days if I can't get it stable I will just unplug and go dry. Thanks so much Livinwright and sonjab....it means so much to be able to get good advice from people here...this is why I love BYC so much. Will keep you posted!!!

 

[TNBarnQueen]

Livinwright... I received the fan for my LG and just like you said...could not keep anything consistent. I ran it for 2 hours and gave up. Up until today the temp has stayed at 100-102 and H around 38-40. For some reason starting yesterday they have started jumping up and down. When I get up at mornings the temp will be around 88 and the humidity in the mid to low 20's. Nothing has changed externally...we keep the house at 70. I am going to try and wrap a towel around the sides to see if that will help contain the heat. This is day 12. Do you feel any of this will affect my hatching? I am usually home all day so I can keep a close eye on it. I use small pieces of damp sponge when the H will not raise. Thanks so much for your help!!