when to toss eggs and humidity question

[mustangsaguaro]

Your observation of chicks making it to day 18 & then dying, does seem to indicate to high a humidity. Did you, by chance, check air cell size?

The wild swings in humidity is caused by insufficient water area. When you add water, you get increase, but as the water evaporates, it decreases. There isn't any way to maintain a constant humidity. Is there space for a water pan? Before you say a water pan will give you to much humidity, you can cover a water pan so only a certain portion of the water area is exposed to evaporation, but you would have a constant supply of just the right amount to maintain your 30 or 40%. Will that work? It doesn't have to be deep, it's the Square inches of surface that important, but depth will allow longer times in between water fillings. I've heard of people running small tubing into the water pan so they can fill from the outside . Anything sound like it will work?

Yes last year when I was hatching I did check air cell size and it was good. Once I lowered my humidity from 50% down to between 38-42% that's when I started having better hatch rates. Also last year I was only having to add water every 2nd or 3rd day. And so far this year it seems like every morning I'm adding just a tiny bit of water. I'll get it up to 38-42% and then by the following morning it has dropped down to 28-30%. Not to bad, but still a drop. I might try a wrung out sponge for the remainder of incubation.