Stressing over this!

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I purchased 12 Kikirikis eggs to put in an incubator. One was cracked so I didn’t add that one. It is day 10 and I did have some issues with maintaining around 50% humidity. Some mornings it dropped to about 37%. I am not sure which day I should lockdown. I see a lot of people starting lockdown earlier. I appreciate any help that I can get. I have added a few drops of water and it has helped keep the humidity to around 50-53%. When you lockdown, do you raise the humidity as soon as you start lockdown or do you wait? I’m really confused. What should I raise it to? How do you get the humidity higher and should the vent be open during the entire lockdown? Please help!

 

[BoundlessLove]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens!
Here is a great place to start when incubating eggs. This lists many threads and frequently asked questions.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-important-topic-index-please-review.1512879/

 

[BoundlessLove]

I raise the humidity when I start lockdown. My incubator has a place to add water to raise humidity.

For large fowl chicks, I lockdown on day 18. For bantams - day 16.

During lockdown, I keep humidity at 65-75%.
When the chicks start hatching, the humidity may temporarily go up higher (80+) but don’t panic. This is from the chick hatching and it will go back down.

 

[BoundlessLove]

You’ve got this! Lockdown seems so overwhelming, but it’s the home stretch.
Also, the overall average humidity is really what is important. So if it sometimes fluctuates during the first two and half weeks, it is okay.
Go by the average humidity %.