# Incubator temps/humidity fluctuating



## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

This is my first time incubating eggs. Using a still air Little Giant incubator. I got the temp set and stable before setting, but had some humidity issues to begin with...could not get it high enough. After about 24 hrs, it was too high. Then got it and temp perfect finally (well as close to perfect as I can tell- my thermometer/hygrometer only reads in full degrees)....but since then, seems temp is fluctuating between 99 and 102....tonight I came home and it was 97, but I got that corrected. Is this normal? Is it going to affect the hatch rate? How important is the humidity level during the initial incubation period? I can assume it is very important around hatching time or for water fowl eggs, but for chicken and turkey eggs?


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## mommagoose_99 (Jan 25, 2005)

I need to know how many days the eggs have been in the incubator. 
It is not unusual for there to be temperature fluctuations and humidity changes in s styrofoam incubator. Location of the incubator is very important You need to place the incubator in a room that does not have a lot of people traffic to stir up air currents and move heat around. The incubator needs to be away from windows and heat vents. Opening up the incubator too much can screw things up too. When you say trouble with the humidity, what method are you using to test humidity and when you correct do you use warm or cold water  As you can see there are many many variables.
Good luck with your hatch and do not take readings soon after opening or adding water to the incubator.
Linda


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## mommagoose_99 (Jan 25, 2005)

PS humidity at time of hatch is very important for all poultry. Just fill all the reservores and add a damp clean sponge and you should be ok.
Linda


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## Oxankle (Jun 20, 2003)

Willowynd:
First, the thermometers furnished with the little incubators are just trash, accurate to only +/- two degrees in most cases. Go and buy a cheap digital medical thermometer from Walmart and insert the point at a level with the top of the eggs in your incubator. 

Best place for the incubator is a closed room, no drafts. Most successfull I ever saw was one an old lady kept in a closet. 

Just follow the instructions that came with your incubator for humidity. the wet sponge advice for the last three days is good, but more importantly, don't open the incubator while the hatch is going on. Let them all hatch out. If at the end of the hatch there is still one peeper trying to get out, help him if you wish, but do not expect him to be a super chick.

Opening the incubator during the hatching period loses moisture and those chicks that have cracked the shell will find it impossible to complete the process. The inner membrane that they have to cut will become like leather.


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

OK, I am not using the thermometer that came with it. Purchased a digital thermometer/hygrometer which is sitting in the incubator next to the eggs. They have been in the bator since Sunday. The bator is in my bedroom on a hutch, away from the window and doors (no heat running through vent- have an electric heater in there which keeps the temp stable) as that is the room with the most stable temperature and the door is always shut as I don't allow animals in my bedroom uninvited, plus that is the only room I keep heated at all times since my sleep schedule and hubbies are different and vary from day to day. 
I only open the bator twice a day when "turning" eggs. If I need to add water I do it through one of the plugs or when I am "turning" eggs. I don;t actually turn them...have them in a plastic egg tray that has open bottoms and use a block under one side that gets moved to other side twice a day. To test humidity- the thermometer is also a hygrometer, so always know what it is. When I correct humidity, I add warm water.


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## mommagoose_99 (Jan 25, 2005)

As long as the humidity is in the 45-55 % range , you will be fine. After day 18 try to get it at least 60%. If the humidity is 50% inside your house , no need to worry much. Humidity is important but not as much as temperature.


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

I still could not get humidity above 36% and was adding a half a glass of water when I turned/tipped eggs twice a day...was really confused. Found out why this morning. I did not know there is HOLES in the bottom tray. No where in the instruction booklet did it say that, no one else told me that...I was told by one person to put water in the bottom tray outside of the rings when I initially had probs getting the humidity up, so when I have been adding water- instead of moving the egg tray out of the bator, I have just been pouring it in beside the egg tray. I had the bator on a furniture pad on my antique cherry hutch, so until I added a full glass of water this morning, the pad was apparently absorbing what leaked out. This morning when I put in a full glass I heard water running. Lifted the incubator to see a stream running out the bottom! I found mold growing under the pad and the finish on my cabinet is now ruined! I am soooo ticked! Why would they drill holes into a bottom tray that is meant to hold water????


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## trbizwiz (Mar 26, 2010)

There should be a clear plastic insert with channels formed in it to hold the water. Sorry about your furniture. Did you buy the bator used?


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> I still could not get humidity above 36%


Have you tested your hygrometer?:

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/herpresources/ss/hygrometer_8.htm



> To calibrate a hygrometer you will need:
> 1/2 cup table salt
> approximately 1/4 cup water
> coffee cup
> ...


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

The holes in the bottom are for air flow - the eggs must breathe and have a constant supply of fresh air. You do need them. Sorry you found out the hard way! I put my incubators on an old tray that catches any spills or drips. I fill the channels that don't have ventilation holes and I get little plastic trays and put damp sponges in them between the vent holes. 

I live in a really dry climate, our humidity is usually about 20% and I am incubating duck eggs. I finally got smart and put a humidifier in the room that I am using to incubate in. If the room is above 40%, I can get the eggs to 50% or even above. Not perfect for duck eggs, but I have decent hatches.


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

The thermometer/hygrometer is brand new out of the package. So is the bator. No clear plastic tray included....just the built in channels in the center of the incubator. I know the room is dry....I wake up parched and normally wake a couple times a night for a drink of tea. The room is heated with a small electric heater. I cannot test my thermometer/hygrometer as it is in use in the bator, but since it is brand new- I doubt it is wrong. Thanks Granny...I will see if I still have a humidifier stuffed in the closet (if you don't hear from me for a few days...send help- as it would be where we also store the stuff for home improvement projects and the closet is so packed I have to lean hard into it to close it and opening it- you take your chances LOL).


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## GrannyCarol (Mar 23, 2005)

I made my own clear plastic trays for the sponges. I bought some $1 tiny tin bread pans with plastic lids and cut them shorter to fit under the wire bottom. They are just big enough to hold a sponge. There should be a couple of channels without vent holes for water, but you'll need more if you have really dry air.


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