# Humidity??????



## SilkieBoy (May 4, 2013)

Oh, how this questions bothers me so! I am hatching silkie eggs, I want to know what the ideal humidity is? Right now it is Day 1 and the humidity is 45 percent! Should I raise it or leave it ??? Opinions from silkie people are most welcome!! 

Thank You!!


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## SilkieBoy (May 4, 2013)

Bump.........


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

You will get a lot of different answers. I am trying dry hatching, on lying adding water if the humidity is reading less than 30%. 
If your environment is good you might do well dry hatching. 
45% seems good to me, but I have only hatched 5 chicks.
I got some new thermos and my temps were high, likely caused a few eggs to quit.


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## SilkieBoy (May 4, 2013)

Oh, I live in a very dry cold area, so the natural humidity in my incubator with no water added was 16 percent, way too low !! I was told you can only use the dry hatch methods in warm humid climates.


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

I will test the theory. By only adding a small amount of water when the humidity drops below 25% I have been able to keep a constant 40. 
A few fluctuations, but mostly it's all experimenting. Find what works best for you, in your area. Trial and error


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## SilkieBoy (May 4, 2013)

Yup, I am keeping the humidity around 45, we will see how that works!!! The air is so dry, it is -20 tonight!! Burrr


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## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

Same here, maybe not that cold.


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## qcupoultry (Nov 21, 2012)

There is no set percentage for every environment. What you need to do is keep an eye on the air cell size. If the humidity is too high for your area, the cell will be too SMALL when it's time for your chicks to hatch and they will be too big inside their egg to turn and pip the shell. If the air cell is too BIG (ie: too much moisture was lost during the first 18 days) then the chick is scrunched inside the egg and again, it can't turn and pip the shell.


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## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

Some eggs are more porous than others and lose moister faster, so humidity levels that worked on one set of eggs, might not work on another set. 
Try weighing them. It is the best way to know what is going on in there. I pick out 5 eggs and weigh them instead of the whole bunch.

http://www.brinsea.com/customerservice/humidity.html

http://www.pasreform.com/academy/fr...al-weight-loss-profile-during-incubation.html


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## SilkieBoy (May 4, 2013)

Wow, I will take a look at their air cells! Weighing them does sound like a lot of work and tampering with them though!


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