Too much humidity?

[chickadoodles]

willeyd it sounds like you need to boost the humidity up. How many days have you had the egg in your incubator?

 

[WalnutHill]

I'm in to the first 5 days of egg incubation. The incubator I bought has no humidity gauge. There is a lot of condensation on the lid. See picture. Does this mean the humidity is too high for the baby chicks at this stage into the egg incubation process?

That much condensation is too much humidity for early incubation. A few days high, a few days low for the first couple of weeks is not critical, it's the average that matters, as long as the egg shells are not touching water.

Just drain out the water, wipe the inside, and set the eggs back in. Day 7 - day 10 is the usual first candle window, you should be able to see blood vessels even with a fairly weak light on most eggs.

Once you reach day 18, you will want to stop the turner and put the water back in. For the last three days you should see a little condensation on the cooler areas of the lid.

 

[kuchchicks]

Also candle from the top where the air cell is...it will be easier to see. Try a stronger light too. Depending on the color of the eggs it could be difficult. I have several breeds in right now. Most i can see just fine. But i have some blue laced red wyandotts from my hens and even though shells are light brown i cant see much in those. Regardless of what you see keep your eggs in there at this point...you have nothing to lose.

 

[willeyd]

Two eggs are touching the condensation...are they ruined now? So drain all the water and run incubator dry? I thought they needed water?

 

[willeyd]

Well Ive drained all the water out and wiped off condensation... Set eggs back in. 37.5 degrees. I'm nervous. Did I do the right thing? When do I put water back in??

 

[WalnutHill]

Relax and take a breath.

You will add water again, just let the excess humidity dry out. Tomorrow, put just a teaspoon of water in and see how it goes. It looks like a Brinsea Mini, which I believe recommend and work well with 45% humidity, but depending on your weather right now you may have that in the house without adding water. Warmer air holds more water. If a teaspoon fogs it up, then let it evaporate and just add some every few days, letting it go dry in between.

The moisture touching the eggs for a short time should not have caused any issues. Water helps bacteria pass through the protective coating on the egg, which is why we don't wash them and we do keep them dry (except for waterfowl eggs at hatch time). Water also causes two different issues depending on the incubator, either evaporative cooling, or high heat index. Too much moisture makes it very difficult for the air exchange through the air cell and shell wall. But early in incubation, for just a short while, everything should be okay.

Monitoring the air cells by candling is the best way to tell if you need more humidity or not.

 

[willeyd]

Thanks for the advice. I'm in day 8 at the moment. For 7 days the condensation has been as shown in the pic. So it's not too late for the eggs to survive? I'm in Australia. So at the moment it is cold weather for us. Usually 15-17 degrees Celsius days. Temp dropping at night to 9. Inside my house is cold as well... Warmer than outside. I have no heating in my house.

 

[WalnutHill]

The chill of the room against the warm of the incubator dome is the cause of the condensation. To improve performance, try placing an inverted cardboard box over the incubator, big enough so it doesn't touch. That will make a buffer zone of warmer air and should allow you to add water as you usually would.

That is nice for winter. What part of Australia are you in? I have a friend in Sydney.

Wait a few more days then candle, and mark the air cells just for a point of reference. At 10 days blood vessels and embryo growth should be evident.

 

[willeyd]

The incubator is on the tiles at the moment. Maybe moving it upstairs on the carpet and putting a cardboard box as U suggested over it will help? The incubator is dry as of this morning. Wiped it down. Should I leave like that overnight and still add teaspoon water in morning?

I'm living in blacktown. Where is you're friend situated?

 

[WalnutHill]

Right by Parliament. I've never visited there, I helped him acquire and restore a classic car here and met him here when he came to see the car for the first time. He then shipped the car home.

I'd leave it dry overnight to help make up for the overly wet time but I'd get back on the Brinsea program once the air cells are back on track.