[Bionic]

My home made effort has been on all afternoon to see if it is likely to work. The temperature re is more or less spot on but the humidity is much too low. 41% instead of 55%.


There is a bowl of water inside and I sprayed the bottom covering which raised it by a couple of degrees but no where near enough.


Any suggestions on how I can raise the humidity?

[Somewhere_by_the_river]

Hi Sally
We've had similar problems with a bought incubator and Jon's been asking questions of the many experts he knows around the world (literally experts, world leaders/researchers). What are you planning on putting in there?
Humidity is down to surface area, not volume, so you could try a wider bowl if you can get one in, though there are no guarantees, especially as you've tried misting already. Apparently the temperature is more critical than the humidity, so as long as it's not too far off (and even 10% isn't that far off when it comes to it) it shouldn't have too big an impact.
The best thing to do is to monitor the eggs, once they go in - weigh beforehand then at regular intervals to work out the percentage loss (most books on incubating will have chart/instructions to help) and candle to check that the air sack is about the right size for the stage of development. You can then adjust water/temperature according to need (and may find that you don't need to anyway).

[Steph Hen]

As somewhere by the river suggested, increase surface area, so bigger bowl.
Also, are you measuring humidity at egg height? -I don't have a fan, and have found that humidity changes a lot between measuring on top of set eggs, or measuring at the level they're sitting on. I would be inclined to do a trial run and weigh eggs rather than trying to get it spot on now.
Again, if you don't have a fan, could you have the/another water trough higher in machine? I've thought in the past that if I fixed a little gutter/trough to the inside of the hood, near the element, where it's hottest and filled with water, then more water could be evaporated than is currently possible with water pans under eggs, at very base of machine where the air is coolest.

[Bionic]

I want to incubate duck eggs which I believe are more susceptible to changes in humidity.


The home made incubator has the light below where the eggs will be and at first I had a small dish at egg level. I then added a larger dish below where the light is. I left the small dish above and also sprayed some water on the cloth below the egg tray. The measurements are taken at egg height.


The meter I have is wifi so I can check the details from the PC without having to open the incubator.


Tomorrow I will see what difference it makes with the light above and the egg tray below.

[Mammyshaz]

The humidity is our problem too. The incubator only stays in high 30s to low 40s with filled chambers.
This year I filled the two chambers and covered the whole bottom of the incubator in thick bamboo towelling material (  bamboo baby nappy from sons baby years  ). Topped it up with 100ml water daily with  small tubing through the air vent. Worked a treat keeping humidity between 65 and 75 % did overdo the to up of water and had a bit of a flood one day so probably top up with 75ml daily next time.

I ran the incubator at the low humidity until day 18 for hens.

HTH

[Cheviot]

 Hi,
I run my two incubators dry, usually there is enough moisture in the atmosphere where I live, but this year I have had to add water just as the eggs start to pip, so personally I wouldn't worry too much about the humidity, just put some water in as they start to pip.
Regards
Sue

[Victorian Farmer]

The humidatey is not that important out side.  it must be 50% .So the tempriture is the most important duck eggs work better in this kind of set up .The incubating season is nealey over naw .

[Bionic]

Well I think the problem has now sorted itself. I have a broody 


I had put some marble eggs into the chickens laying boxes as they were breaking the eggs. This morning my broody had moved the marble eggs and was sitting on them.
Taken the marble eggs out and have put 7 duck eggs under her.