Keeping humidity up?

[Mamacast]

Hi all, I have 7 days till Bobwhite lock down and so far I have had a hard time keeping humidity in my incuview. Most mornings it is down to 10% and 3 turkey basters will get it up to 40. Any suggestions on how to keep the humidity higher and more consistent during lockdown? I am in the mountains of Colorado where it is very dry. So far I have used 1/2 gallon of water, should I have been using more? I wanted to avoid too much humidity-I would say mission accomplished.
Edited to add vent hole has been closed but there is one thermometer cord going up and under the dome but no real gap.

 

[le_bwah]

I have no experience with that particular incubator, but depending on the size you might have luck laying in a wet sponge or two (or anything that can hold water and has lots of folds, e.g. wadded paper towel). The increased surface area should help release extra moisture. I hope you find a method that works!

 

[007Sean]

Howdy,
Are you using a seperate hygrometer or the one that came with the bator?
Most bators have very unreliable hygrometers as well as thermometers!
Have they both been calibrated? The thermometer against a known accurate lab quality standard thermometer and the hygrometer subjected to the "salt test" method of calibration?

 

[NilayS]

I used a drinking glass recently. I put a dish washing sponge inside it and filled it with water. make sure the top of the sponge is above the water. if it is a tall glass, you can stuff in another sponge on top of the other. then i put it directly under the fan. you do not have to limit yourself to one glass. Use as many as you want. as long as the glass or cup or bowl is tall enough and the newly hatched cant get into them, you should be fine.

 

[Mamacast]

Howdy,
Are you using a seperate hygrometer or the one that came with the bator?
Most bators have very unreliable hygrometers as well as thermometers!
Have they both been calibrated? The thermometer against a known accurate lab quality standard thermometer and the hygrometer subjected to the "salt test" method of calibration?

I am using a separate thermometer/hygrometer but it is digital so I didn't do a salt test didn't know if that would damage it. Both units read very close

 

[Mamacast]

I have no experience with that particular incubator, but depending on the size you might have luck laying in a wet sponge or two (or anything that can hold water and has lots of folds, e.g. wadded paper towel). The increased surface area should help release extra moisture. I hope you find a method that works!

I will most likely try this during lock down that way maybe there will be some uniformity. Thanks

 

[DK newbie]

Be carefull about closing the vent holes - there have been several posts on here about fully developed chicks that never hatch, most likely due to lack of oxygen..

 

[Sara L]

I second the previous poster about the oxygen. Higher elevations have lower oxygen levels already and closing the vent will make it worse inside the incubator. You need to find a way to increase the water surface inside the incubator. Sponge in a cup is a great option, or if there's no space for a cup cut up a sponge and put in the water trays. You could also try getting a room humidifier and setting it up next to the incubator to try and increase the room humidity.

 

[Mamacast]

Be carefull about closing the vent holes - there have been several posts on here about fully developed chicks that never hatch, most likely due to lack of oxygen..

Yikes, should the vent hole have been open all along? I had a hard time figuring it out from the instructions. Its open now with a wet sponge inside.

 

[DK newbie]

As far as I know (from reading this forum - I have zero incubation experience), the vent hole should be open all the time, yes, though it's more important towards the end as the chicks use a lot of oxygen during the hatch. Some people even make extra vent holes in their incubators.