Humidity

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thegawd
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Re: Humidity

Post by thegawd » Sat Apr 14, 2018 11:18 am

i have automatic gravity filled containers. if i need to change the humidity level the water container comes out and gets changed for a larger or a smaller one. the more surface afea the more it will increase the humidity. but my incubators and hatcher are homebuilt cabinet incubators, i dont have any experience with the Styrofoam ones.
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KimChick
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Re: Humidity

Post by KimChick » Sat Apr 14, 2018 11:52 am

JimW wrote:
Fri Apr 13, 2018 11:18 pm
I incubate dry and usually try and keep my humidity around 40% or a bit lower. At lockdown on day 18 stop turning and add some water I often us a sponge sticking out of a container of water in incubator during lockdown to get humidity to 65%. Once lock down starts I do not open the incubator until day 22 or day 23 when hatching is done.

Accurately measuring humidity is difficult, become many of the hydrometers out there are not very accurate, the best method to determine humidity is to use a wet bub thermometer.

Best of luck.

My emu eggs are on day 22 of 55 days of incubating.... cannot candle, so cannot really tell if they are progressing or if they were even fertile. All I do is weigh them twice a week to see if they are losing the correct amount of weight, so far so good.

JimW
Sponge in container sounds like a good plan, given my situation. Is that so the entire sponge is not exposed? and is the sponge wicking out some moisture through an opening in the lid of the container?
Right now, the circular styrofoam incubator that I'm using has 2 circular water troughs in the centre, but they are under the paper towels that sit on the screen, and the eggs are on the paper towels.
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KimChick
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Re: Humidity

Post by KimChick » Sat Apr 14, 2018 12:11 pm

Oh and.... this humidity thing is really bothering me. How the heck did the old farmers do it with no electricity? Like my grandmother, in rural Manitoba, who hatched her own, 100 at a time, with a homemade incubator of sorts, and a lantern to keep them warm?
Some will say - reduced hatching success, etc. Not sure about that. So I'm sticking with "dry incubation" with this old styrofoam machine my first time. Plus, probably not all of them are fertilized anyway, given the one rooster with 20 hens.
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Happy
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Re: Humidity

Post by Happy » Sat Apr 14, 2018 12:16 pm

Get some flexible tubing (mine came from a saline flush kit for a pic line from some no longer needed medical supplies but you can get from an aquarium supplies store too) and a squeeze bottle from Dollar store (like those ketchup squeeze bottles) Then tape the end of the tubing into the water channel in bottom of incubator so that it won't shift around and run it out thru the air hole. Then you can add warm water as needed during lockdown by squeezing it into the tube SLOWLY as it can splash up onto the eggs. Been there done that! Alternatively...I've used a glass filled with water and sitting in the corner. Remember it's not how much water is in there but the surface area of water exposed to evaporate. So a thin pizza tray on the bottom filled with water will drive humidity up fast but evaporate fast as well so you get more spikes and dips in your humidity.
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Re: Humidity

Post by Kbr42 » Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:55 pm

Colleen Kinzie wrote:
Fri Apr 13, 2018 6:13 pm
How does everyone keep their humidity constant at lockdown
I’m using styrofoam incubator
I’ve had to add a wee bit of water a few times a day thru the vent plug holes just to keep it 55-65%
Lockdown was yesterday
Thanks!
So, don't be afraid to open your incubator for a second or two at lockdown. Add more water quickly if you see it dropping. I also add slightly warmer water. I find it adds the heat that is lost by opening the incubator. Y
I have added water only through the hole at the top of the incubator when I have pipping. Good luck with your lockdown and pls post your results!
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KimChick
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Re: Humidity

Post by KimChick » Sat Apr 14, 2018 3:59 pm

Something that may work for lockdown:
I found a small diameter stiff tube from a spray bottle (I save stuff like that) which fits through a vent hole. With a small squeeze bottle (eye drops bottle), I can add water through the tube to the folded paper towel that I have been using all along. That way, it's landing on the same material that I have been using and am familiar with.
And I can test the delivery before lockdown.
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Colleen Kinzie
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Re: Humidity

Post by Colleen Kinzie » Sat Apr 14, 2018 5:08 pm

I do have a piece of aquarium air bubbler tube that I attach to a long wood toothpick type skewer ( to keep air tube from bending). And I add water thru vent hole with a syringe pushed into tube. Then I monitor humidity. Add more or if too much lift lid Back and forth. PITA
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Re: Humidity

Post by JimW » Sat Apr 14, 2018 7:44 pm

Kimchick

My sponges stick out of my water container so as water evaporates it wicks more moisture up the sponge, the water container has no lid.

Why do you have paper towels under your eggs? I would worry that when chicks are hatching and wet the paper towel might stick to them.

Some times on top of the wire in my styrofoam incubator I have used cheap rubber shelf liner that was kind of honeycomb like.... decreased rolling and cushioned eggs but did not absorb water or stick to chicks and air flowed through it.
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Kbr42
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Re: Humidity

Post by Kbr42 » Sun Apr 15, 2018 8:00 am

I agree with Jim, I use cheap self liner only during hatching. It works great and the little dinosaurs you hatch don't hurt themselves, while they stomp around. I believe you have a few days before lockdown, so don't frett too much about it yet. I get my cheap self liner from the dollar store and I go with the lighter coloured one so I can see what's going on with my hatch.
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KimChick
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Re: Humidity

Post by KimChick » Sun Apr 15, 2018 12:21 pm

JimW wrote:
Sat Apr 14, 2018 7:44 pm
Kimchick

My sponges stick out of my water container so as water evaporates it wicks more moisture up the sponge, the water container has no lid.

Why do you have paper towels under your eggs? I would worry that when chicks are hatching and wet the paper towel might stick to them.

Some times on top of the wire in my styrofoam incubator I have used cheap rubber shelf liner that was kind of honeycomb like.... decreased rolling and cushioned eggs but did not absorb water or stick to chicks and air flowed through it.
Paper towels are under the eggs were recommended by the incubator owner just for ease of egg shell clean-up after hatching.
If I switch now, I will have to take out all the eggs and put them back. Is that OK?
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