How to Increase Humidity in a Little Giant Incubator

It's miraculous how in 21 short days, an egg can become a tiny chick. The Little Giant incubator, an inexpensive, entry-level Styrofoam incubator, is designed to maintain the delicate balancing act needed to make this magic happen: warmth, moisture and oxygen. The humidity inside the incubator must be low enough so the liquid inside the egg evaporates, yet high enough to keep the membranes moist and supple enough for the developed chick to hatch. If the humidity is off too much in either direction, the result can be chicks with leg deformities or fully developed chicks unable to break free of the egg.

Things You'll Need

  • Digital or mechanical hygrometer
  • Coffee cup
  • 1/4 cup table salt
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Large plastic bag
  • Cellulose sponge
  • Scissors
  • Aquarium tubing
  • Syringe or medicine dropper
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Instructions

  1. Calibrate the Hygrometer

    • 1

      Calibrate the hygrometer to make sure you are getting an accurate reading. Begin by mix salt and water in a coffee cup. The salt will not go into solution, but will create a thick slurry.

    • 2

      Place the cup inside a large plastic bag.

    • 3

      Place the hygrometer inside the bag with the cup, making sure it doesn't come into contact with the salt mixture, which can damage it.

    • 4

      Seal the bag and let it sit undisturbed for approximately 12 hours.

    • 5

      Read the hygrometer without opening or moving the bag. If it is calibrated properly, it will read 75 percent. Add or subtract any difference. For example, if you get a reading of 80, subtract five points from the hygrometer's reading for the correct humidity level.

    • 6

      Place the properly calibrated hygrometer inside the incubator, placing it in a position so it can be read without opening the incubator.

    Increase the Water Surface Area

    • 7

      Increase humidity by adding more area for evaporation. Cut thin strips from the cellulose sponge and insert the strips into the water channels in the bottom of the incubator.

    • 8

      Thread a long piece of aquarium tubing through one of the air holes in the incubator top until it's long enough to reach the water channel. Insert the end of the tubing through a hole in the screen in the bottom of the incubator.

    • 9

      Trim the tubing on the outside of the incubator to reduce the amount of excess tubing.

    • 10

      Fill a syringe or medicine dropper with lukewarm water. Insert it into the end of the tubing outside the incubator and slowly add the water.

    • 11

      Read the hygrometer several times a day to make sure humidity remain in the proper range.