Will setting the eggs automatically increase humidity?

[CALI CHICK]

I am testing an old round 845 incubator before ordering the eggs. So far, the temperature is proving very steady at 100*.

I'm having more trouble with the humidity. I'M SHOOTING FOR 35-40% humidity for day 1-18. I have the little pan with about 1/4 " of water and two little sponges in the pan. I covered 4 of the 5 vent holes with tape because the humidity was staying in the 20% range. For an hour the humidity has hovered around 33%. I would be OK with that as I can add more water and bigger sponges.

(This is my first time incubating, so I might be wrong here?)

My question is: When you add eggs to the incubator, will the humidity level go up???? (after all, there is mostly water inside the egg to begin with and that needs to evaporate somewhere).

I'm wondering what to do then, if the humidity goes significantly higher, do you take all the eggs out, take the screen out and dump out some water, etc?

 

[matlock585]

I am testing an old round 845 incubator before ordering the eggs. So far, the temperature is proving very steady at 100*.

I'm having more trouble with the humidity. I'M SHOOTING FOR 35-40% humidity for day 1-18. I have the little pan with about 1/4 " of water and two little sponges in the pan. I covered 4 of the 5 vent holes with tape because the humidity was staying in the 20% range. For an hour the humidity has hovered around 33%. I would be OK with that as I can add more water and bigger sponges.

(This is my first time incubating, so I might be wrong here?)

My question is: When you add eggs to the incubator, will the humidity level go up???? (after all, there is mostly water inside the egg to begin with and that needs to evaporate somewhere).

I'm wondering what to do then, if the humidity goes significantly higher, do you take all the eggs out, take the screen out and dump out some water, etc?

I'm incubating in a home made right now. I like to use no water till lockdown, I have had the best results that way. On my test runs with nothing in it the humidity was 16%. Since I've had the eggs in it's been around 30%. So In my case the eggs added approx. 15%. that's for 41 eggs.

 

[justafeedboy]

I just set a dozen eggs as test egg before i put the real deal in on Sunday. Initially my humidity was 20 % with out the eggs when I added the eggs It went up for about 12 hours to 25 % then went back down. In my incubator both morning and night I have had to add 6 Tables spoons of water to hit the 40-45% relative humidity. I put a practice batch of cheap grocery store eggs in just to test this. I think every ones house is different, and also where you are located at will influence it. My incubator is in the basement

 

[Arielle]

The ultimate goal is to loose water from the eggs. About 13 % wt loss. I noticed in my incubator that humidity was influenced by a number of factors: weather, room humidity, wells, number of eggs in the incubator, fan or no fan, number of holes open or closed. Some of these factors you can adjust to compensate for the other factors.

You might consider filling the wells after adding the eggs. Some people do the dry method and add water as needed to the wells. THe more wells with water, the more humidity. ( This thinking is based on my LG with 3 wells).

Good luck-- I remember my first time!

 

[CALI CHICK]

Wow -those responses are encouraging. So, putting eggs into the incubator WILL increase humidity? Without adding any water on yesterday's "test-run", the humidity dropped to 16% (which is the lowest my sensor will register). So, am I understanding correctly...Don't add any water first?...(ADDING water as needed will be easier than REMOVING water if the humidity skyrockets?) Or, should I try to stabilize it around 25% to shoot for 35-40% once the eggs are inside?

This is an old, round galvanized incubator that I'm borrowing. There are no special water reservors-just a little metal pan underneath a screen. So far, I'm very pleased that I can get such a constant temperature. That was my greatest fear - that I would unintentionally cook the eggs.

I guess I should just go ahead and order those eggs...We are going to try to hatch a dozen Silkie eggs.

 

[matlock585]

My first hatch I set 5 eggs. I read and read and felt like 40% was my target but if it got some higher I wouldn't worry. When I candled at 7 days I was jubilant. Veining and I saw an air pocket that was maybe dime sized. I continued this and at my 14 day candling the air cells were only slightly bigger than nickel sized. I knew this didn't look right because of some of the candling charts I've seen on here. I took all the water out and opened my vents and ended up hatching 4/5. One of them wound up shrinkwrapped and we had to take it out of it's egg. It was awful. The poor little thing bled and all that. The one that didn't hatch was a fully formed chick that drowned in the shell. I hated knowing that one grew and died trying to hatch... it's first breath of air was water because I had too much moisture in the air.
My next hatch I did the dry method. My 7 day candling was perfect, my 14 day candling was perfect, and the hatch came off perfect with no assistance from me whatsoever. They popped like popcorn.
I'm definitely doing dry again for this one. But as was stated in a previous post, your location is a big factor in the humidity. I live in central Tennessee and the air is naturally humid here, and it's been a rainy winter for us which makes it worse. So because of that no water works best for me. If I get below 20 I will add some. Maybe 1/4 cup at a time till I got it back close to 30. Then I don't add anymore till that is dry and gone and the humidity falls that low again.
For lockdown I like to target 50-55%. It worked really well for me.
My two cents worth!

 

[dbcooper02]

Unique to those old galvanized incubators is the presence of the soft masonite insulation on the inside of both the bottom and the top. I think they are going to absorb a certain amount of the humidity available until conditions stabilize within the incubator. They won't get wet or even damp but they will stop drawing moisture from the air inside. I would keep it running with the water pan full while you are waiting for the eggs to arrive. I have the instruction sheet for the 845 saved on a file on my computer. If you would like a copy, pm me with your email address and I'll send it your way.
db

 

[matlock585]

I'd say ultimately run it however you feel safe, but at that 7 day candling if the air cell isn't textbook, reduce that humidity.

 

[CALI CHICK]

Unique to those old galvanized incubators is the presence of the soft masonite insulation on the inside of both the bottom and the top. I think they are going to absorb a certain amount of the humidity available until conditions stabilize within the incubator. They won't get wet or even damp but they will stop drawing moisture from the air inside. I would keep it running with the water pan full while you are waiting for the eggs to arrive. I have the instruction sheet for the 845 saved on a file on my computer. If you would like a copy, pm me with your email address and I'll send it your way.
db

Thank you to each and every person for comments, experience and "two cents"!!! Thank you, db -but I do have a photocopy of the instructions. (Although they are vague compared to you all)

-One thing I'm not exactly clear on (even if I am able to get a stable humidity level) is how to exactly bump it up to (say 60%) from Day 18 on??? Do I add more water surfaces (like a wet towel?) on that morning? Do I cover more vent holes to keep the moisture in?

I'm sorry if I'm shifting my question a bit, but these responses are so helpful and make so much sense. Thanks again

 

[yinepu]

Thank you to each and every person for comments, experience and "two cents"!!! Thank you, db -but I do have a photocopy of the instructions. (Although they are vague compared to you all)

-One thing I'm not exactly clear on (even if I am able to get a stable humidity level) is how to exactly bump it up to (say 60%) from Day 18 on??? Do I add more water surfaces (like a wet towel?) on that morning? Do I cover more vent holes to keep the moisture in?

I'm sorry if I'm shifting my question a bit, but these responses are so helpful and make so much sense. Thanks again

you would add more surface area

usually you want the vent holes open during lockdown since those hatching chicks will need more oxygen