Humidity The relative humidity of the air within an incubator should be about 60 percent. During the last 3 days (the hatching period) the relative humidity should be nearer 65-70 percent. (Too much moisture in the incubator prevents normal evaporation and results in a decreased hatch, but excessive moisture is seldom a problem in small incubators.) Too little moisture results in excessive evaporation, causing chicks to stick to the shell, remain in the pipped shells, and sometimes hatch crippled.
The relative humidity in the incubator can also be varied by changing the size of the water pan or by putting a sponge in the pan to increase the evaporative surface. The pan should be checked regularly while the incubator is in use to be sure that there is always an adequate amount of water. Adding additional water pans to small still-air incubators is also helpful to increase humidity.
During the hatching period, the humidity in the incubator may be increased by using an atomizer to spray a small amount of water into the ventilating holes. (This is especially helpful when duck or goose eggs are hatching.)
Whenever you add water to an incubator, it should be about the same temperature as the incubator so you do not stress the eggs or the incubator. A good test is to add water just warm to the touch.
Using a wet-bulb thermometer is also a good way for determining relative humidity. The wet-bulb thermometer measures the evaporative cooling effect. If the wet and dry bulb read the same temperature, you would have 100 percent humidity. The greater the evaporation taking place, the lower the temperature reading on the wet-bulb thermometer and the larger the spread will be between the wet- and dry-bulb readings.
To make a wet-bulb thermometer, just add a cotton wick to the end of a thermometer. Then place the tail of the wick in water. The cotton then absorbs the water. As the water evaporates from the cotton it causes a cooling effect on the thermometer.
The table below (Relative Humidity) will enable you to calculate relative humidity using readings from a wet- bulb thermometer and the incubator thermometer.
| Incubator Temperature | Wet Bulb Readings |
100°F
101°F
102°F
| 81.3
82.2
83.0
| 83.3
84.2
85.0
| 85.3
86.2
87.0
| 87.3
88.2
89.0
| 89.0
90.0
91.0
| 90.7
91.7
92.7
|
Percent Relative
Humidity | 45% | 50% | 55% | 60% | 65% | 70% |
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