Puzzled!!

[NestingHillsSC]

I have a used plywood homemade incubator. The temp is as stable as can be. But I am having a lot of trouble getting the humidity up in this. Any ideas on what I can do. Such as paint the inside, use that foil backed insulation etc. I changed from a 8x10 plastic pan to a 9x12 metal pan. It raised the humidity from 30% to 40%.

Any suggestions on this??

 

[ChucktheChick]

Well, what I use to get my humidity up is a wet wash cloth that has been run under really hot water. It needs to be checked everyday and changed as needed. That's what I do and it gets up to 80 sometimes! I really hope this helps and good luck with your hatch!! PM me if you want to chat!

 

[rosemi78]

What about putting sponges or cloths IN the water pan with part of the sponges not submerged? I'm struggling with my humidity, too, but that's just sort of an idea. That way you don't have to worry about re-wetting the sponges/cloths, and you'll get the humidity from the evaporating water in the pan, plus the water evaporating off the sponges/cloths.

My kids are in lockdown right now. I have two in the brooder box, but a 3rd just hatched a couple hours ago. She was desperately trying to get into the water containers I'm using (she would see me through the window and try to climb up the containers to get closer to me), so I actually stuffed both containers with paper towels, hoping that it would help to keep her from drowning if she did manage to get in there. I'm not sure if it has made a difference in humidity yet or not, but maybe...

 

[ChucktheChick]

What about putting sponges or cloths IN the water pan with part of the sponges not submerged?  I'm struggling with my humidity, too, but that's just sort of an idea.  That way you don't have to worry about re-wetting the sponges/cloths, and you'll get the humidity from the evaporating water in the pan, plus the water evaporating off the sponges/cloths.

My kids are in lockdown right now.  I have two in the brooder box, but a 3rd just hatched a couple hours ago.  She was desperately trying to get into the water containers I'm using (she would see me through the window and try to climb up the containers to get closer to me), so I actually stuffed both containers with paper towels, hoping that it would help to keep her from drowning if she did manage to get in there.  I'm not sure if it has made a difference in humidity yet or not, but maybe...

yes I bet that would work too! I have just always done it my way and had no problem but I should try that.

 

[NestingHillsSC]

I set 20 eggs. Yesterday was day 14. And so you know this is my first time incubating. I had to throw out 5 that was not fertile. Candled them yesterday and from what I can tell only 2 or 3 are good. Dark blobs in there with veins running over the clear area of the egg. The others on day 14 are small dark spots with no veins running over the clear area of the eggs. The air cells seem to be to big on those eggs. Which I read is a cause of low humidity. Even some people though dry incubate.

This is all a test where I'm seeing what I need to do with this incubator. I have endless amounts of eggs from my hens. So getting eggs are not a problem. Here are some pics of the bator I'm using.






As you see, the fan in there is HUGE!!! I moved the water pan from the top to the bottom. The humidity went up 3%. Do most cabinet incubators have the water pan on top or bottom? Even at the bottom I can see ripples in the water from the fan on top.LOL. The wood seems to suck the humidity right up. I have to fill that pan everyday. I guess I'm looking for away to keep the humidity in there. So when I do add a sponge or two it will raise the humidity better. It's just losing it's humidity I think too fast.

I bought a different gage yesterday than the one in the pic. An acurite digital. The humidity level is 15% (lower) different than the one you see here. Which is a spring humidity gage. Has the round spring on the back that controls the humidity. The temp on both gages is dead on at 100. I believe the humidity is correct on the new gage I bought.

A few others told me it could also be the bactria in the wood. It had a very bad musty smell when I first got it. Scrubbed and bleached 3x when I got it. But still can be the bactria. How knows.

With all the knowledge here I guess I'm looking for help to see also what I need to do with it after this run. Making this a backyardchicken forum project with everybodies input. LOL