Author Topic: Trouble with Incubation (Read 6010 times)

JedM · « **Reply #15 on:** April 29, 2016, 08:39:26 am »

The reason I put the cloths in, was just to be prepared for those final days - and the plan was to leave them dry, but obviously the humidity needed to be increased. So yes, perhaps I should remove the cloths.

That had crossed my mind, the broody gets off her eggs at least once a day, but maybe the eggs don't dry out so much if they are on wood chippings or straw.

Eve · « **Reply #16 on:** April 29, 2016, 09:12:04 am »

Yes, cloths or paper towels are for hatching only - the good thing is you now know you can easily get it up to 60% when you need to for hatching

At the moment, in my living room, I have to fill 1 water channel to achieve 40-45% RH. When it comes to hatching it'll be both channels plus some paper towels or cloths if relative humidity is still too low in the living room like it was in the past few weeks (that depends on the weather outside).
I use a crop feeding tube and a syringe, pushed through the little air vent on top, to top up the water during the hatching stage if necessary, since this time of year with the heating on the air here is really dry.
I'm talking about a Brinsea Octagon, btw

Don't worry about occassional short term fluctuations in [size=78%]humidity [/size][/size][size=78%]in the first two and a half weeks, it's about averages. If it drops overnight to 35% and then you top it up and for a few hours it is 55% before going to 40-odd it's fine. [/size]

During incubation: 40-50% relative humidity, incubator can be opened e.g. for candling
Last few days: 60-75% relative humidity, incubator must be kept closed BUT keep the little air vent open for a VERY SMALL but EVEN amount of fresh oxygen.

The problem with opening the LID of the incubator is that even a very short woosh of dry air, e.g. whilst you take chicks out, dries out the membrane and even cranking up the humidity immediately by adding extra moisture does not compensate (the membrane does not became moist and supple again). The little air vent doesn't have that effect.

I love spring, I love hatching

Eve · « **Reply #17 on:** May 02, 2016, 06:41:00 pm »

It's milder here in the south recently, and the humidity in my home has been rising. Today it started very nice but now it's just been raining and the humidity is 47-49%, that's much, much higher than back in March when I had to constantly top up the water in the incubators - something I haven't had to do for a few days now.

JedM · « **Reply #18 on:** May 03, 2016, 10:05:29 am »

Thanks for the info Eve, very useful!
It is good weather here today in Suffolk, but it doesn't seem to affect the humidity in my incubator. I top the water up regularly, and try and keep humidity between 30-50%.