ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -High humidity is necessary because of the membrane that the chicks must break through in order to hatch. If the membrane is allowed to dry out (due to low humidity), then it becomes too tough for the chicks to tear. They are then unable to hatch, and this is what is known as shrink wrapping.

Detailed explanation-2: -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 sometimes and hatch crippled at hatching time.

Detailed explanation-3: -Place the eggs in the egg tray of the incubator, with the larger end facing up and the narrow end facing down in the incubator. Set the temperature to 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit with 50-55 percent humidity.

Detailed explanation-4: -Most incubators come with a simple way to manage the humidity level. Most of these ways have to do with adding water to built-in water trays on the bottom of the incubator. They may have several different trays so the more of them you fill, the more moisture there will be in the air.

Detailed explanation-5: -You will need to adjust your humidity to be not less than 25-30% in the first 18 days, although some folks have great success with a dry hatch (very low humidity). The two major causes of failure to hatch are temperature and humidity.