Ventilation is the key not humidity!

[CANDLE98]

This is very interesting. So I am borrowing a bator from a friend and it has no plugs but it has an open hole so should I plug it up?

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Here's where this all came from. I've been running my fridge incubator for a while now. Ive been getting good hatches running the humidity about 35% an 70% at hatch. My single 3 inch vent got half covered. My humidity was kept the same. The ventilation was still enough but less than I was running. This last hatch over 50% drowned.

I have a small incubator that has no seals in the door. I have to keep the humidity in it above 50% to get a good hatch. I've never had a chick drowned in it.

So how can one incubator run a humidity of 50+% an all hatch while the one beside it run a humidity of 30% an most drowned? Whats the difference? Ventilation!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quote:
Any answer I would give is a wild guess. What I would tell you is to find someone running that exact incubator an getting good hatches. The primary question I would wont to know is how the have there vents set up. I would see humidity as secondary to that.

 

[AK_Button_Mama]

DUDE I am DIZZY!!!!!

I read all these and my head hurts!!!! I just do what seems to work for my incubator.. I am having decent haches and its working for me!!! I dont know what the ventelation rate is... its just working for me!!! I will try to read this later its just to much for my brain to digest!!!!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Yea, don't think anyone should change what there doing if there getting good hatch rates now. But when trying to help people get there setup up an going it may be worth remembering that ventilation may have more to do with evaporation than humidity.

 

[tinners204]

My Dickey has a vent at the bottom and one at the top so it is pulling fresh air in at the top next to the fan and the other one at the bottom is let air out is my guess. I can't wait to see what hatch rate I get so far the chicks that has hatch does not seem to to wet when they come out and not to dry. Just right. Mr. Dickey has been making these incubators for years. I'm guess he has it down to a tee! We will just have to wait and see. Hey that rhymed.

 

[Laura78]

I'm going to have my boyfriend read this. He just may decide to try figuring it all out one day when he's bored.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Its a rainy day in Georgia, I got nothing better to do than think.

 

[AngieChick]

Aaaah, that makes sense. So, my new oven bator has some serious ventilation, a grill on the bottom (half covered) and a dime sized hole in the top. I am going to need to caulk around the plexi door and maybe run my humidity a touch higher than I was going to. Thanks for posting this, it was quite helpful.

 

[CANDLE98]

So to check at like day 7 if you have too much or too little humidity you would just look at the air sac right? The bigger the air sac the more you need the humidity to be higher?