Whats your secreat to humidity?

[newnanchic]

It is a brower (maybe spelled wrong) my temp is perfect but this humidity thing worries me. I went and took out the water and started with only about 1/2 cup in there is that good???

 

[hinkjc]

Your original post said the humidity was down to 25% by morning. How do you know that if you don't have a gauge? You need a hygrometer. If you have one and it's not working properly, I would get a new one and try measuring humditiy again to determine how much water is necessary to maintain proper humidity. Humidity can IMO make or break a hatch.

On the comment about using broodies - I have found my AI to be much better than my broodies. A couple reasons for that...I can hatch many more than any single chicken can. They are not always reliable and can change their mind at any given moment and abandon the nest. Letting a broody sit means having to make changes to their environment (moving them and causing stress), etc. I have even seen a mother hen kill and eat her chicks as they hatch, so not always a perfect outcome. What works for some doesn't necessarily work for all and not all hens are meant to be mothers (it's either bred out of them or just not their nature). Just my thoughts on the broody subject.

Jody

 

[Maggie3]

hinkjc~~Can you recommend a brand/type of hygrometer?? I'm having a hard time finding one that works properly.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

A lot depends on the humidity of the room you have the incubator in. Where I live has been quite humid lately, relative humidity stays around 45 to 50%, it doesn't take much water in the incubator for the incubation humidity to go nearly to 60%. So, I haven't been keeping much water in it.

 

[hinkjc]

I use Taylor digitals, Accurite digitals and Flukers. I will tell you that it is not always the accuracy of the instrument but doing test hatches to figure out what the right setting is. By doing a test hatch, you can monitor the air cell for humidity, hatch date for temps and so on. It is really trial and error until you get it right. The instruments just help you try to manage it and I promise you will never find one that is right on the mark.

For example, I have an Accurite that reads 98.6, but the chicks hatch on time..so that is the setting I use when I use that instrument. I have others that read over a hundred. As long as the hatch goes right, I know the settting is right. I guess my point is, it's not the exact number that you need from an instrument compared to the incubating instructions..it is what makes the hatch successful.

Jody

 

[Maggie3]

Thanks for the info Jody. I just purchased an Accurite from TSC today so I'm hoping it reads better than the hygrometer that I had.

I'm on day 19 and have a Hovabator 1588 but I have my old hygrometer in the brooder and have both C & T troughs filled and I'm getting a reading of 62% for my humidity. I don't want to add more water because I don't think that my hygrometer is reading accurately so I'm going by what the directions say to do in my Hovabator manuel.

So I'm just keeping my fingers crosses, this is my first ever hatch so my DH thinks I've just totally lost my mind worrying about these eggs. Okay...I hate to admit it but he's probably right. LOL

 

[cgjsmith]

Ya must be confusing me with another poster. I have two hydrgomiters in my bator unless I have the hatcher out. But I think with this last set i am going to leave them in the bator, i think the move from bator to hatcher messed this last batch up. when ya'll move them from turner to hatcher do you set them upright so the aircell is up or do you lay them on their side? I guess I am going to have to just keep a closer eye on the thermometer/hydromoter. add water when needed. Its probably the bator becasue my wonderful one year old took a pen to it, theres not any through and through and thank God she didn't bite a chunk out of it!! the inside is compleatly intact. Crystal

 

[Poison Ivy]

Quote:
I have to add water to both C & T plus pour some in the little side trough to get mine up to 70%. I bought a wet bulb thermometer and one of the $6 round dial ones from petsmart they both read the same. The humidity in the room it sits in reads 35% so it's a little low to start with.