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Help- How do I increase humidity during incubation

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John:
I think it is well worth the money to buy a jumbo display thermometer/hygrometer.  I see the one I have is only $24.95 plus shipping in the Farmtek book (farmtek.com).  Cutler\'s has a similar one for $32.95 http://www.cutlersupply.com/cgi-bin/store/agora.cgi?cart_id=8800801.8270*ot4bq&p_id=0458&xm=on&ppinc=display.  These will get you closer to where you want to start than the dial type thermometers that come with incubators.  Then adjust the temp and humidity based on the success of the first hatch.

Guest:
Everyone,

Thanks for the information. I put a hygrometer in the incubator today. Inside the incubator it is 43% humidity. This humidity is with 2 water pans in the incubator. What should the humidity in the incubator be at all times? I set a tray each week, so increasing the humidity for the hatch would increase the humidity for the 1 week and 2 week old eggs also.

Thanks again.

Guest:
The relative humidity should be 60-65% during incubation and increased to 70-75% during the last three days and hatching.

Try putting a big sponge in the pan. Use a natural sponge. You can get them at a hardware store. They are used for sponge painting. You have to increase the surface area of the water that is exposed to the air in order to get more water to evaporate.
 
I run my incubator at 70 to 75% all the time and have no problems.

Rooster

John:

--- Quote ---What should the humidity in the incubator be at all times?
--- End quote ---

GQF suggests 57% during incubation and 75% during hatching for chickens.  The newer incubators come with large sponge sized \"wicks\" that fit into their custom water pans http://www.cutlersupply.com/cgi-bin/store/agora.cgi?cart_id=8800801.8270*b55UV&p_id=0802&xm=on&ppinc=display.  Besides increasing the surface area of the water you can increase humidity by making sure the vents aren\'t open any more than necessary for fresh air.  I have a humidifier in the hatchery and keep pans of water near the back of the hatchers, by the vents.  Eggs being saved to go into the incubators need to be kept cool and in an area that isn\'t too dry.  I keep extra pails and pans of water in the room were I store eggs.
These are some ideas that I use but in different climates and elevations you may need to do things differently.  The instructions that come with the new GQFs are a great resource and a good little book for the beginner is A Guide to Better Hatching http://www.cutlersupply.com/cgi-bin/store/agora.cgi?cart_id=8800801.8270*di2YP&p_id=0064&xm=on&ppinc=display.

Blue Egg Acres:
 John said \"you can increase humidity by making sure the vents aren\'t open any more than necessary for fresh air.\"  

Something I have done in addition to this to get the humididty up is to use tape to close the hole around the hose that goes from the water bucket to the water pan. I\'m using a GQF cabinet model with the humidity pail that sits on top to automatically feed water into the tray.

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