Incubator trouble

[Mister B]

I am having some incubator trouble. I got a neat little incubator for Christmas to replace the homemade one I had. It has an egg turner and everything. I put in eggs, and expected a low hatch rate since I was just trying it out. I had one hatch today, but it had a horrible time getting out of the egg, the membrane kept shrink wrapping it. So, I helped it out. It seems to be doing ok, cheeping and rolling around (It's about 30 min old). For future hatches, though, I need some help. I can't get the humidity above 52%. This particular design has channels at the bottom that hold water. I have added hot water, but that really doesn't help. I want to put in 40 eggs next week. Any help is appreciated.

 

[ladycat]

I use lots of wet sponges.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I am having some incubator trouble. I got a neat little incubator for Christmas to replace the homemade one I had. It has an egg turner and everything. I put in eggs, and expected a low hatch rate since I was just trying it out. I had one hatch today, but it had a horrible time getting out of the egg, the membrane kept shrink wrapping it. So, I helped it out. It seems to be doing ok, cheeping and rolling around (It's about 30 min old). For future hatches, though, I need some help. I can't get the humidity above 52%. This particular design has channels at the bottom that hold water. I have added hot water, but that really doesn't help. I want to put in 40 eggs next week. Any help is appreciated.

I use wet sponges as well. 52 is real low for hatching. Running a humidifier in the room where the bator is might also help you to get your bator humidity up.

 

[bamachicks8]

I used those blue auto paper towels last hatch. This time I'm using a prefold diaper most people use sponges with great results. If you use a sponge make sure it is new or sterilized as they can harbor bacteria.

 

[lazy gardener]

I cut up a sponge, and add more pieces at lock down. I always use a new sponge. May add a copper penny next time around.