Is it Possible to have " too much" Humidity? (INCUBATION)

[bald Rooster]

I saved these from going into the trash at our local feed store this morning. They are heavy duty Styrofoam shipping containers use to ship cold vaccinations and cold medical supplies. They were pack with fragile glass bottles and dry ice delivered to the feed store. A clerk was going to trash them. Asked him and he gave them to me. Cool beans!View attachment 1069014

If you attempt to turn those into a bator make sure you put the small holes in them that are in the factory bator. they are necessary for air circulation .

 

[ChcknNurse]

I'm not sure if some of you have seen it posted anywhere, but the salt test is a fairly simple test for hygrometer accuracy.

Personally, I believe it's very important since we rely so much on humidity. I have 4 hygrometers, I have tested each.

Basically: a cap of table salt (non iodized, unsure if it matters). Add enough water to make it moist. Put this cap into a plastic ziplock with the probes of hygrometers. Wait about 6 hours, or until they have stabilized. Note their %. They should be 75%. Whatever it reads as you are incubating, add or subtract the same.
-- so I have one that read 65%, and I add 10 when I use it. Hope this helps.

 

[ChcknNurse]

I have good news 20 chicken eggs out of 21 defiantly have life.The one Im not sure about is dark and has a large dark area were it should be so maybe I have 100% live chicken eggs.on day 10. Air sacks seem ok.I also have 38 Quail eggs in the same incubator. I only held light to a few of them and it looks the same. I guess Im going to buy a second cheaper Hova bator to use as a hatcher.
Any suggestions on this plan?

I do the same: I may have both Brinsea Octagons filled, or not, I stagger incubation and when eggs are ready for lockdown, they move into one bator. All others move to the first. I compare air cells and decide where to go with humidity.

 

[ChcknNurse]

Day 12 I candled all my eggs All my chicken eggs show signs of life.
I found 5 clear quail eggs so I'm down to 33 now.Humidity has been right around 47%since day 7. I like the Hova bator 1588 so much.I decided to just buy a second one as a hatcher,Now I can add eggs in the In the incubator anytime and as long as I date them,I will know when to move them to the one with high humidity
My long term plan is to be able to add turkey eggs and meat chicken eggs as I collect them.that way I have a constant rotation of meat birds and Turkeys.

I saw turkey eggs on the 24 hour auction, was so tempted!

 

[Lazy Farmer]

I saw turkey eggs on the 24 hour auction, was so tempted!

Our turkeys are eating machines! Lol

 

[ChcknNurse]

I don't mark my draw down. I candle during hatch to keep track of internal pips so I can see if a pip is under the air cell.

Yes that is the plan, I mark if there isn't an internal pip yet... well it depends on what condition the air cell is. I was able to Baby the last couple sets and get the saddles in better shape.


I absolutely positively abhor incubator manual's attempt to tell people how to regulate humidity. Any incubator. Those manuals are good for knowing your bator and how it works and that's it.

AMEN!!


I use the Hovabator 1583, basically a 1588 ...

which do you recommend? Is digital a crapshoot?


Love love love the show girl! So want!

Let me know if you are coming near Lancaster, Pa! I'll trade you for some of your eggs?! Lol


No matter what incubator, thermometer or hygrometer one uses it should always be checked for accuracy. Bators as your Brinsea, Hovabator, R-Coms are much more reliable but they can get thrown off during shipping/transport or just over time. No one should ever trust a LG! Lol

So true! I bought a third Brinsea mini that was set to 104 degrees. I couldn't really check the temp due to design...

 

[bald Rooster]

I butchered 15 red broilers and a RIR cockerel a couple weeks ago.
Today I smoked two of them. There meat was tender but had a little more texture then store bought chickens. The over all flavor was better and I did not notice any large yucky blobs of fat.
I kept a Cockerel and two pullets and Im going to attempt breeding them and hatching there eggs.
I may just try to buy some meat bird eggs !

 

[ChcknNurse]

Evidently you are not reading my statement in its entirety .Or not understanding it.
The directions the manual gives works perfectly in a controlled environment such as a air conditioned home.
I will give a example of there explanation. if you took a cap off a water bottle and filled it and set in your bator and it was the only water in it. your humidity would reach x (I do not know what X is because I do not know all of your conditions)
The bottle cap would evaporate very fast and you would have to fill it to maintain your desired humidity.
If you had a tall shot glass with the same size hole as bottle cap and filled it and put it in your bator the humidity would be the same because the surface area of water would be the same.
It would take much longer for the tall shot glass to evaporate.
This is why the amount or depth of water does not control humidity . The surface area does.
And this is why you can fill your water cell and cover it with aluminum foil and only leaving a small surface area open and control your humidity.
I am not saying my eggs will hatch.
But I am saying there directions on controlling humidity works.

Was this directed at me (assuming by the shotglass etc)?

I am very aware of humidity and surface area--
However, realize that when there is an empty bator running, it's different than when it's full, even without water in the wells (it's easier to recognize this empty).

Usually, it's not a big deal, but on occasion, as it was with these eggs, it was a bit more challenging. I don't like to dip into the 20s, (but the air cells ended up beautiful and chicks hatched without a hitch... no assistance and I missed it all while I was at work (ugh).

I'll attach a couple of horrible air cell tracings as an example of what I'm talking about.

It's a dance with some.

 

[ChcknNurse]

I butchered 15 red broilers and a RIR cockerel a couple weeks ago.
Today I smoked two of them. There meat was tender but had a little more texture then store bought chickens. The over all flavor was better and I did not notice any large yucky blobs of fat.
I kept a Cockerel and two pullets and Im going to attempt breeding them and hatching there eggs.
I may just try to buy some meat bird eggs !

If you haven't already... check out the TOAD thread. I found it fascinating. By duluthralphie, he bred a meat bird through 4 stages that breeds true and won't outgrow its legs. He has pics and a young cockerel is the size of a turkey butchered.

 

[bald Rooster]

If you haven't already... check out the TOAD thread. I found it fascinating. By duluthralphie, he bred a meat bird through 4 stages that breeds true and won't outgrow its legs. He has pics and a young cockerel is the size of a turkey butchered.

It was not directed at you.