last 3 days - can't get humidity up!

[Rorie]

Humidity is at 60%. I have filled both trays, and now added two shot glasses of warm water but the humidity is just not rising! Only way i can get it up is by blocking air holes - but i have been told not to do this (on another thread) due to lack of air for chicks.

So how do i get the humidity up?!

 

[mstricer]

It sometimes takes a little while for the actual humidity to rise. Just give it time. I would instead of shot glasses, get some small jars or bowls, put a sponge in then. That way you will be able to add more as needed. You can add water through the vent holes. I use a syringe turkey injector. I remove the needle part and us a straw. Good Luck, Michele

 

[Rorie]

I have sponges in the shot glasses filled with warm water. The humidity keeps dropping! down to 56% now. What happens to the chicks if i can't provide high enough humidity? I am able to fill the shot glasses with more water through the vent holes if i need to.

Thanks

 

[mstricer]

They sometimes shrink wrap. The shot glasses might not be enough and will evaporate. I sometimes takes a while to get it to go up. But you need to before they pip. I just had a horrible hatch due to not being able to raise it in my cabinet bator. They started out really good hatching then it all went down hill, and stopped. Use something bigger then a shot glass.

 

[Nsampsel]

You can try misting the inside of the bator with warm water or placing wet paper towels under the eggs & around the sides.

 

[Rorie]

Now i am worried - the first one pipped this afternoon when the humidity was 70%. but then i unblocked the second of the two air holes as suggested, then the humidity plummeted

 

[Nsampsel]

Reblock the air hole. Your bator has holes in the bottom too (or should) so you only need 1 open at the top.

 

[gwendalynn28]

I've had troubles with humidity in the past while hatching babies. I even spend 45 minutes in the bathroom with the hot water running and my humidifier on. A tip for getting humidity up: I put two sponges (hot) and a wet paper towel on top in the center of my incubator and that did the trick. Re-wet with warm water only. Also, if you have a small bathroom and a humidifier, move the incubator to the small bathroom/closet and let that humidifier steam the place up. Be careful though because the humidifier works REALLY well and will usually get the humidity too high within about 10 minutes. Turn it off and just let it set for awhile and keep a check on the humidity gauge and turn the humidifier back on as needed. I hope this helps! I like the humidifier trick because it means I don't have to open the incubator which causes further loss of humidity inside.

 

[Rorie]

So day 18 the humidity was 70%
The morning after it had dropped to 60% and stayed around that for a day.
Its morning of day 20 and i just missed the incubator and the humidity instantly shot up! BUT, when i did it a chick started peeping!!!!!! Amazing!

Is this normal at day 20 though? One chick has cracked its egg about a third of the way round and is quite vocal. None of the others have any sign of coming out yet though

Rorie