Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

But KB, I thought you were the alpha hen!
This year, I have 24 eggs in the incubator. Last year, I had 15. I have noticed a bit of a change in the ups and downs in humidity. Is it because of the # of eggs?

KimChick wrote: ↑

Wed May 08, 2019 1:36 pm

But KB, I thought you were the alpha hen!
This year, I have 24 eggs in the incubator. Last year, I had 15. I have noticed a bit of a change in the ups and downs in humidity. Is it because of the # of eggs?

Could be, also the temperature in the room. Just watch, it should be fine. When did you set the eggs?

Kbr42 wrote: ↑

Wed May 08, 2019 6:37 pm

KimChick wrote: ↑

Wed May 08, 2019 1:36 pm

But KB, I thought you were the alpha hen!
This year, I have 24 eggs in the incubator. Last year, I had 15. I have noticed a bit of a change in the ups and downs in humidity. Is it because of the # of eggs?

Could be, also the temperature in the room. Just watch, it should be fine. When did you set the eggs?

Oh right... good point. I set them this past Sunday. And this is 2 months earlier than last year's incubating.

Could be. If you fill the incubator, temps and humidity will be MUCH more stable than if you only put a dozen or two eggs in. It's a thermal mass thing in part. Unless there's something wrong with your incubator, of course. If you have a 48 egg (using turner) incubator and are only wanting to put in a dozen or two at a time, you can make temps and humidity more stable by adding in a couple of bottles of water or some rocks. Doing this will also provide you with a greater buffer if you lose power at any point--the incubator will retain heat longer if it's full (of whatever) than if it just has a couple dozen eggs in it.

The other thing is it gains more metabolic heat the more eggs in it a the embryos grow and this will change the humidity.