Temperature and Humidity

[Jharper]

Isn't this the perfect temperature and humidity, because if not please tell me.
Temp: 99.5
Humi: 54%

 

[Double Laced]

Looks perfect to me. Humidity is more important the further into incubation you get. I have had perfect hatches where the humidity started as low as 30 %

It is really critical from about day 16 when it must be about 75% to facilitate hatching.

 

[Jharper]

Thanks it's my first time hatching out chicks. I have hatched out quail before.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Thanks it's my first time hatching out chicks. I have hatched out quail before.

Good luck I am hatching also. I built an incubator and am not using a thermostat or hygrometer, just a thermometer

 

[Jharper]

Good luck to you, too.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Good luck to you, too.

Thanks.

 

[Becci]

Your temperature depends on the incubator. The goal is to get the center of the egg around 99-100*. If you have a forced air incubator, which has even heat, you're perfect. If you've got a still air, which has gradient heat, you may be a little low. With still airs the general recommendation is anywhere from 101-102* reading at the *top* of the eggs. The core of the eggs should be pretty close to 99*.

As far as humidity goes, there isn't a perfect humidity. It depends on your incubator, your eggs and your environment. The best thing to do would be to get the basic understanding of humidity, and experiment a bit. Basically the egg is supposed to lose around 13% of it's starting weight, give or take. It does this by evaporating moisture through the pores, and replacing it with air inside the air sac. If the humidity is higher, the egg will lose the weight at a slower speed. If it's lower, the egg will lose the weight faster. So, to judge how accurate the humidity is, some people weigh their eggs. They weigh them before incubation, subtract the 13%, write that down as the goal and mark each egg for identification. They'll weigh the eggs a few times during incubation and depending on how rapid the weight loss is, they'll adjust the humidity accordingly.

Now, not everyone wants to go through the "trouble" of weighing their eggs. So, some people simply candle, and judge the humidity by the size of the air sac; Smaller air sacs = too much humidity and Larger air sacs = Not enough humidity. We use charts to compare to our own eggs. The chart I've posted below is what I use, it shows what the correct development of the air sac should look like.

​

The humidity should also be a bit higher during lock down, which starts at day 18 for chicken eggs. As of right now, I dry incubate and love it. BUT, what I'm saying is, you have to find what works for you, because there's no such thing as perfect humidity. That's why you don't see many people giving exact answers here. There's recommendations, yes, but even those do not work for everyone. Getting the basic understanding will help you out a lot. Wishing you luck!

Becci
​

 

[Jharper]

Thanks.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Your temperature depends on the incubator. The goal is to get the center of the egg around 99-100*. If you have a forced air incubator, which has even heat, you're perfect. If you've got a still air, which has gradient heat, you may be a little low. With still airs the general recommendation is anywhere from 101-102* reading at the *top* of the eggs. The core of the eggs should be pretty close to 99*.

As far as humidity goes, there isn't a perfect humidity. It depends on your incubator, your eggs and your environment. The best thing to do would be to get the basic understanding of humidity, and experiment a bit. Basically the egg is supposed to lose around 13% of it's starting weight, give or take. It does this by evaporating moisture through the pores, and replacing it with air inside the air sac. If the humidity is higher, the egg will lose the weight at a slower speed. If it's lower, the egg will lose the weight faster. So, to judge how accurate the humidity is, some people weigh their eggs. They weigh them before incubation, subtract the 13%, write that down as the goal and mark each egg for identification. They'll weigh the eggs a few times during incubation and depending on how rapid the weight loss is, they'll adjust the humidity accordingly.

Now, not everyone wants to go through the "trouble" of weighing their eggs. So, some people simply candle, and judge the humidity by the size of the air sac; Smaller air sacs = too much humidity and Larger air sacs = Not enough humidity. We use charts to compare to our own eggs. The chart I've posted below is what I use, it shows what the correct development of the air sac should look like.

​

The humidity should also be a bit higher during lock down, which starts at day 18 for chicken eggs. As of right now, I dry incubate and love it. BUT, what I'm saying is, you have to find what works for you, because there's no such thing as perfect humidity. That's why you don't see many people giving exact answers here. There's recommendations, yes, but even those do not work for everyone. Getting the basic understanding will help you out a lot. Wishing you luck!

Becci
​

Thank you , great info Becci

 

[Pine Woods Place]

Your temperature depends on the incubator. The goal is to get the center of the egg around 99-100*. If you have a forced air incubator, which has even heat, you're perfect. If you've got a still air, which has gradient heat, you may be a little low. With still airs the general recommendation is anywhere from 101-102* reading at the *top* of the eggs. The core of the eggs should be pretty close to 99*.

As far as humidity goes, there isn't a perfect humidity. It depends on your incubator, your eggs and your environment. The best thing to do would be to get the basic understanding of humidity, and experiment a bit. Basically the egg is supposed to lose around 13% of it's starting weight, give or take. It does this by evaporating moisture through the pores, and replacing it with air inside the air sac. If the humidity is higher, the egg will lose the weight at a slower speed. If it's lower, the egg will lose the weight faster. So, to judge how accurate the humidity is, some people weigh their eggs. They weigh them before incubation, subtract the 13%, write that down as the goal and mark each egg for identification. They'll weigh the eggs a few times during incubation and depending on how rapid the weight loss is, they'll adjust the humidity accordingly.

Now, not everyone wants to go through the "trouble" of weighing their eggs. So, some people simply candle, and judge the humidity by the size of the air sac; Smaller air sacs = too much humidity and Larger air sacs = Not enough humidity. We use charts to compare to our own eggs. The chart I've posted below is what I use, it shows what the correct development of the air sac should look like.

​

The humidity should also be a bit higher during lock down, which starts at day 18 for chicken eggs. As of right now, I dry incubate and love it. BUT, what I'm saying is, you have to find what works for you, because there's no such thing as perfect humidity. That's why you don't see many people giving exact answers here. There's recommendations, yes, but even those do not work for everyone. Getting the basic understanding will help you out a lot. Wishing you luck!

Becci
​

Hi Becci!

I woke up to find my humidity at 4%. It was fine yesterday but I’m not sure that I checked before bed I’m on day 6. Of course I filled and it’s back up to 48% but is there anything I should/could do to help this?