humidity in an incubator

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tracydaffern

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hi everyone, i have bought 12 pekin bantam hatching eggs. i have also borrowed an incubator off my friend. it is a linca avitec. i have never used an incubator before, can anyone tell me how i go about checking the humidity levels and also i have read conflicting things about what the levels should be. i really dont want to do anything wrong, any advice would be greatly appreciated especially from anyone who may have already used the above model of incubator. :)
 
Now that's a question and a half! :D

I am not familiar with your incubator, but as a general rule, the smaller capacity plastic incubators are more susceptible to external humidity, so to get the right humidity you need to think about where to place the incubator. Larger, cabinet type incubators can manage pretty well anywhere without being affected too much by ambient humidity which simply means the humidity dictated by environmental factors. If using a smaller incubator and you place in a damp area, you may struggle with humidity in the incubator, it is easier to increase humidity but not quite as easy to reduce!

What setting? Well again quite a question! Once you have sorted the above then decide on a preferred humidity level and measure either by a hydrometer (measure of humidity) in the incubator or the incubator itself. if you have instructions or can find them online it is usually a good idea to use the suggested manufacturers settings, then adjusting for subsequent hatches to suit your environment and even eggs.

I and a few others here like to incubate using the "dry incubation" method, this means incubating at around 30%, and leaving the water out so the incubator settles on around 30%, give or take 5%, only raising the humidity when the chicks start to externally pip...break through the egg shell.
 
i agree with everything foxy says, (as always!) but just wanted to add that of course, temperature is just as important as humidity, and it's a good idea to get a second incubator thermometer in addition to the one built into the incubator itself, to check accuracy. Also set the incubator in a place where the temperature varies as little as possible, especially overnight, and never place it anywhere where it can get direct sunlight. Get it running for at least a few hours before adding the eggs, ( a day is best) so it can warm up in readiness, and you can check temperature and humidity levels before the eggs go in. If you already have the eggs, store them pointed end down in a cool place, and rock the eggbox from side to side every few hours by supporting first one side, then the other side of the box on something which will raise it to a slope one way and then the other.

Experienced people on here have said that many hatches fail because of too much humidity, especially in the early stages of development, and in the UK we normally have quite high humidity levels in the air anyway, unless you are incubating in a very dry, centrally-heated environment.
 
pointy end down? i have been told pointy end up till they go in the incubator, now in confused.
 
tracydaffern said:
pointy end down? i have been told pointy end up till they go in the incubator, now in confused.
Click to expand...

No, store and incubate pointy end down ,so the air cell is in the correct place. Gently rotate twice a day before setting the eggs in incubator. ;) :-)17
 
so should the air sac be at the top or bottom, now im confused even more, i unpacked and stored the eggs as they had come to me.
 
The air sack is on the rounded end, not the pointed end. Eggs should be stored with the pointy end down and rotated gently as Foxy says. If you are using an incubator, they go in the same way, pointy egg down. When you candle (day 10 or thereabouts if you are new to it) you candle at the rounded end and you will see the air sack there.
 
You might want to consider investing in a good book, probably one of the best books around is this one by Katie Thear, you will have 3 weeks to read it! :D

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Incubation-Hatching-Rearing-Katie-Thear/dp/090613725X
 
i have just ordered a copy. thanks for that. im sorry to ask such silly questions i just dont want to do anything wrong.
 
This is another one I've found really useful - out of stock on Amazon ATM, but worth trying to find a copy http://amzn.to/FQ54ZV
None of your questions are in any way silly, they're good ones we're always discussing on here and there's always lots more to learn, I find.
 
Echo Marigold, there is no such thing as a silly question here, so don't ever be afraid to ask! :-)17
 
It actually doesn't matter which way up you store your eggs ! In the old days, some commercial hatchers stored them pointed end up which is the way I do it. It's iportant to turn them twice a day and to not set them older than ten days though you can stretch to twelve. It's also important to set the incubator up (after cleaning and disinfection) for several days to stabilise it's running and to make sure the settings as you want them to be. That seems to be a rather unusual make of incubator and one I've never heard of.
 
hi im new to incubating also, and iv'e just purchased a brinsea octagon 20 full auto. just had it running for a couple of hours and the temp was steady at 37.5, hum at 42. Just wondering is that the way to go about it. I filled the grooves in the base with water, and im planning to place the eggs in on wednesday.
 
Sounds like a good plan! :D

I might have filled the incubator with eggs first, left the vent half open and left it to see at what level the humidity sits at before adding water. Humidity will rise with eggs inside naturally. Don't be too hung about about humidity either at this stage, more important to ensure the temp is steady and accurate in the early days.

Welcome to the forum btw, you will get loads of good hatching advice here! :D
 
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