Cube Mark One Run

[jam]

Hi all,

 

I have a bit of a confusing problem to do with how much water to put in my incubator. My incy is a bit of a home made jobby, a polystirene box with a thermostat stuck to the top to be precise! Its been running for the last couple of days and the temperature has remained constant, so im hoping all will go well!

I bought it off of ebay and the seller provided a 30ml pot (which looks like the type youd use to measure out medicine) which he said when filled with warm water would provide the right amount of humidity.

I tried this of course and my humidity dial read 0% humidity which confused me a bit. At first I thought the humidity dial may have been broken, but it works perfectly fine outside the incy.

So i thought maybe it would be something to do with the fact that the pot has a small surface area, so i put 30ml of water into a jam jar lid. Now the humidity gauge read 20%. It takes 4 filled jam jar lids to bring the humidity up to 50% Am i right in thinking thats a bit too much water? (my incy holds 15 chicken eggs)

I bought my hydrometer for £5 from the domestic fowl trust. So what should I trust? the incubator seller, or the hydrometer?

Jam

[chick wiggle]

Going by the amount of water I have to put into my inccy I would have thought it would take at least that and more! i would go by the hygrometer rather than what is said on ebay. good luck

[Lewis]

I'd go with the hygrometer

 

Try putting a damp sponge in there on the jam jars - hold more water and more surface area

[Redwing]

what sort of hydro thingy is it? the green plastic stand up ones are not so accurate, not even close!

 

No hydrothing should read 0 that means there is no humidity in the air, if we were in the sahara yes, England? no.

 

The flat disc ones are ok (will see if I can find a pic) digital is best and they arent that expensive either

 

found pic- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lucky-Reptile-Dial-Hydrometer-for-Vivarium-Terrarium_W0QQitemZ150392410555QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_Supplies_Reptiles_Spiders_Insects?hash=item23041611bb

 

I have one of those poly incubators. dont use the little pot that came with it or jam jar lids as they are all low enough for a chick to drown in, use a wine glass for maximum chick room or a jam jar if you havent cramed the inccy full of eggs if that doesnt raise the humidity enough then fold a bit of kitchen roll lengthways so its a quarter of it width then fold it in half , pop that in the glass or jar and soak it then pull it out a bit so it looks like a wick, that'll do the job

 

I always hatch dry (as the normal air humidity keeps the inccy level at about 25% anyway) until day 18 and only add water at that point

[Madchook]

I think I have the same incy as you - and if you read the instructions he is quite specific about not letting 'cheap hydrometers' affect your judgement as they are often inaccurate! I did buy a viv humidity meter and using that little pot only, it reads at between 40-50%. If your temp is holding then your humidity will be fine I would think. I am going to out a larger vessel in for hatching though.