Loading the incubator today- humidity question.

[hysop]

ok. thanks.
I put the eggs in while it was at temperature. I hope this was right????
It has been 3 hours now and its still now quite at temperature! it's 96.4 right now. should it take this long? Is everything ok? I ran it for 2 days before putting any eggs in.

When you placed the eggs the incubator was already up to temperature?

Do you have a second thermometer? Is it reading the same as the built in one?

 

[Pensmaster]

ok. thanks.
I put the eggs in while it was at temperature. I hope this was right????
It has been 3 hours now and its still now quite at temperature! it's 96.4 right now. should it take this long? Is everything ok? I ran it for 2 days before putting any eggs in.

It can take at least 12 hours to get to temperature. Everything is going well. The eggs need time to warm up.

 

[Minky]

ohhhh great!! I ve never read that anywhere... I have been worried!
Thanks!!

Now I am just worried about the humidity- back to 77% ??? There is no water in there. I have removed red plugs... waiting for it to drop...

 

[hysop]

Are you using the built in thermometer and hygrometer or do you have a separate one to verify the numbers?

 

[Pensmaster]

It will take a little time for the humidity to come back down due to the styrofoam drying up.

Hysop mentioned another thermometer and hydrometer very important to double check the factory one don’t trust it entirely. Also you’ll need to calibrate both the thermometer and hydrometer to make sure they are accurate.
Don’t worry too much about humidity just yet. You have time to get that right. The air cell size is what you are aiming for.

 

[Minky]

hysop- yes I have verified both temp and humidity.
Its down to 53% now. 99 degrees
They have been in for 4.5 hours

 

[Pensmaster]

hysop- yes I have verified both temp and humidity.
Its down to 53% now. 99 degrees
They have been in for 4.5 hours

Here’s an article that really helped me on the development of the eggs. If you do a search in BYC it should come up for you. I wasn’t sure how to get the link pasted
Candling Pics Progression Through Incubation Of Chicken Eggs

 

[Pensmaster]

As to the little red caps I don’t use them anymore. Ventilation is pretty important for their development. Do a search on that before taking my word for it. Pros and cons and I like the results of not using them

 

[Minky]

It will take a little time for the humidity to come back down due to the styrofoam drying up.

Hysop mentioned another thermometer and hydrometer very important to double check the factory one don’t trust it entirely. Also you’ll need to calibrate both the thermometer and hydrometer to make sure they are accurate.
Don’t worry too much about humidity just yet. You have time to get that right. The air cell size is what you are aiming for.

YES, I double checked all that in the two days I had it running. Actually I triple checked the temp, and discovered why my maple syrup was thin this year- my digital wireless kitchen thermometer was off by 3 degrees!!!

I will read up on red plugs....

When do I need to draw the line around the air cell? I see people doing that... is that a good thing to do?

 

[hysop]

YES, I double checked all that in the two days I had it running. Actually I triple checked the temp, and discovered why my maple syrup was thin this year- my digital wireless kitchen thermometer was off by 3 degrees!!!

I will read up on red plugs....

When do I need to draw the line around the air cell? I see people doing that... is that a good thing to do?

You don’t “have” to draw the air cell.

Some people do it to track the air cell to see if it’s receding enough. A large air cell too early means the humidity was too low. A small air cell late in the incubation period means the humidity was too high.

Others also mark it to see where the lowest dip is and that is usually where they will pip from, so that’s the side that faces up on lockdown.

Even if you decide to keep the red plugs in, do remember to remove them completely on day 10.