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Health & Fitness

Controlling humidity in the incubator

Humidity can be a tricky thing when you are hatching eggs in an incubator.

The humidity of the eggs is supposed to be around 85% while in the incubator. This varies in response to the outside temperature, inside temperature (specifically air conditioning), and weather conditions.

We've had a run of rain lately and the humidity is running a bit on the higher side (hovering around 87-89%). Now I know in real life there are rainy seasons and still young chicks get hatched but this being my first set of incubated eggs, I want everything to be PERFECT. (I've already ordered the matching stroller/car seat combination for when they get older, oh and that black and white mobile so I can stimulate their little brains while in the nursery.)

The incubator's humidity is controlled by the water that flows into the chambers. Each chamber has a graduated height gate so the more water in the incubator, the more chambers get filled and the higher the humidity.

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So if the humidity is high there are a few things you can do to correct it.

1.Like lifting the lid off a boiling pot of pasta, you can raise the incubator lid to let some of the humidity escape. (you have to be careful with this one though because you are also letting the temperature drop at the same time).

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2.You can change the height of the water bottle neck using gravity as your friend to increase or reduce the amount of water in the incubator.

3.Of if you are really paranoid (me) you can use the eye dropper that my friend left for just such an occasion and suck some of the excess water out of the larger wells.

What you are doing mom?

Oh I'm sucking out water from the eggs.

Crickets.

Um..., okay..., I'm just gonna go outside and play with my friends okay?

Oh my kids have so much to learn.

 

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