# Humidity issues



## Peacemama (Jul 21, 2012)

The first time we incubated eggs we borrowed a friend's, it had a humidity gauge attached. We bought our own and it does not. Our last hatch went very wrong, it had to be a humity issue. Our local Tractor Supply doesn't carry gauges, where did you get yours? What should the humidity level be?


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## BuckeyeChickens (Jul 11, 2012)

hyrgometers can be found at a good cigar shop....digital units are generally not very accurate, you can also find them in pet stores where the "Reptile" products are found as well. There are two ways of measuring humidity, wet bulb and dry bulb methods....a simple glass mercury thermometer can be used to measure wet bulb humidity but you have to have a chart or do some math to convert the temperature of the bator with the wet bulb reading to "relative humidity". Here is a website with the chart for incubation;

http://quackershomepage.tripod.com/chart.html

If I can keep my incubator relative humidity at 55-65% for the first 18 days, 70-80% for the last 3 days for chicken eggs I'm a happy camper!

Good Luck,


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## Peacemama (Jul 21, 2012)

Thank you! That is incredibly helpful!


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## twentynine (Jul 11, 2012)

Humidity?

Take the easy road. I dont have a hygrometer, and I don't add water to the incubator until lockdown. 

I believe the most important thing about incubating, is to start with quality eggs. Nothing to big, nothing to small, nothing more than 7 days old, no cracks, no double yolks.

My schedule
I start the incubator 1 week before adding eggs.
Make small adjustments to the thermostat to set temp.
Add the eggs.
Day 10, candle, remove everything that isn't developing.
Day 18, candle, remove quitters, add water (lots of water).
Day 21, when the hatch finishes, take the chicks to the brooder.

I usually average between 75% and 85% hatch of all fertilized eggs.


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## Greenfamilyfarms (Jul 15, 2012)

We do almost the same thing as the previous poster (twentynine). It makes things so much easier and you don't have to worry as much with changes in temperature due to low or high humidity.


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## Peacemama (Jul 21, 2012)

I must say this hatch is going excellent! Out of 24 we have 22 hatched and I still hear peeping. Another dozen eggs were added a couple of days later so hoping those hatch as well.


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## 513 (Jul 9, 2012)

Peacemama said:


> I must say this hatch is going excellent! Out of 24 we have 22 hatched and I still hear peeping. Another dozen eggs were added a couple of days later so hoping those hatch as well.


Did they make it?


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## Peacemama (Jul 21, 2012)

27 did and are all doing great!


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## yag113 (Nov 28, 2012)

A nice simple succinct answer to the question I was going to post...thanks!


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## Energyvet (Jul 25, 2012)

Wow! Hope you took notes. That's amazing! Good for you!


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## 513 (Jul 9, 2012)

Fantastic!


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## BuckeyeChickens (Jul 11, 2012)

twentynine said:


> Humidity?
> 
> Take the easy road. I dont have a hygrometer, and I don't add water to the incubator until lockdown.
> 
> I believe the most important thing about incubating, is to start with quality eggs. Nothing to big, nothing to small, nothing more than 7 days old, no cracks, no double yolks.


If you live in a part of the USA where your humidity is consistant or higher than say Ohio in the winter you might get away without monitoring humidity! However, we don't ALL live in a place where humidity is 50-55% in December-February so if we are going to have good hatches we need to increase the humity levels....either inside the bator or in the room we use for incubation.

I agree with "29" regarding quality, uniform hatching eggs....the health of the birds that produced those eggs is equally as important and your best chicks will come from healthy parents!!!

Happy Hatching.


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