I am running my incubator (hova bator 1588) to get more familiar with, before i receive my eggs next week or the week afterAre you incubating right now? (I am) I noticed that you are also in CA. Our humidity is always low outside and the dry incubation method didn't work here. I can't get over how steady this hatch is going for me as far as temps and humidity. I am actually calm and didn't even join a hatch-a-long thread for once!
Praise to my Hova Bator! It is holding right at 40% until the tray begins to evaporate. I add more water and it holds for another 3 days. I think I'm finally comprehending what they mean by "surface area" of the water effecting humidity. I researched tons of posts during my first couple of hatches and realize that different percentages will work better or worse depending on location. I also realized that the incubator reacts differently depending where it is in my own house. For me, I keep it at 40% for Days1-18. Then, I add surface water so the humidity goes up...between 65-75%. I would highly recommed buying a hygrometer at the store..........I just paid $10 at Wal-Mart and then used the salt method to check its accuracy.
Good luck with incubating. By the way, I put 30 silkie eggs in last Tuesday and 10 more in on Monday. Of the first group, 13 were infertile, but 17 are developing. It's too soon to know about the second group.
