Newbie incubating questions

Garden Gal

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I am on day three of my first attempt at incubating. I'm using a Hova Bator with egg turner and all seems to be going okay. I just would like confirmation that temps between 100.8 - 101.8 with humidity staying around 44 - 45% is okay.

Many thanks!
 
If it is a still air incubator that is fine if that is the temp at the top of the eggs (up to 102). If it has a fan, you want to take it down to about 99.5. The humidity is great. Good luck!
 
Hi Jen,

Thanks! It is a still air incubator, and I still have the plugs in the top. Do you recommend removing those for better air? Obviously, the humidity will go down if I take the plugs out...
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No, the plugs you only take out if the humidity is too high. The Hova Bator has air holes in the bottom and top for adequate air exchange. Make sure the incubator is on a firm surface, If on a soft surface, the bottom air holes can be blocked. After day 18 when you have added extra water for higher humidity, if the humidity goes too high, then take out one plug, give it time to equilibrate. Don't take out the second plug unless that doesn't work.
 
The thing to remember with this article is that He is maintaining the humidity in the room at 50 percent. My house is air conditioned and the humidity is at about 25%. He says open the room to keep the room a constant temp, but if I do that there is no way I can maintain that kind of humidity in the incubator room. It is much easier to control the humidity in the incubator. If you are keeping your room humidity up instead of putting water in the trays, then yes, you need to keep out the plugs because the heating drives out the humidity and you have to keep up a higher air flow to keep the humid room air coming into the incubator. I found you also have wider temperature flucutations from the higher air flow. But in your case, Garden Gal, your temp is great, your himidity is wonderful, why change? My first hatch was in a still air hova bator without a turner, with the plugs in and it was 100% hatch rate, I have never done that again. Actually I was thinking about going back to still air.
 
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Thank you for the feedback. I had already printed out and read the article, in fact I've read it numerous times! The one issue with my house and this advice is with the A/C on there is no way I can maintain the room humidity at 50% (without becoming a raving, sweating, evil lunatic!!)
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(hot temperatures and I do not get along to well... why I live in Virginia, I'll never know...)

Perhaps putting a humidifier in that one room might do the trick, but I'm not sure the A/C wouldn't just remove the moist air as fast as it was being produced... So many things to consider!

Thanks again for the input. I'll keep you posted.
 
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Just a couple of points to note here...

Garden Gal has an egg-turner which means she will not be opening the incubator several times a day to turn the eggs by hand.

Though jenjscott's vent plugs were in place when she had her 100% hatch there were still massive air exchanges each time she took the lid off to turn the eggs.

Though the small vent holes will create a small oxygen exchange, Garden Gal will not have nearly the oxygen exchange that jenjscott had during her 100% hatch.

I'm a rank newbie, haven't hatched any eggs, so take this FWIW.
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Best wishes,
Ed
 
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