Does ventilation in an incubator matter?

[Zayan]

Hey everyone. I just got a new incubator which needs water to be added every few days. However, I have a country house that I go to 4 days a week. So I decided to make a tubing system in the incubator so I could put water in the incubator using a water pump and a smart plug that I can control using my phone. Below is a pic of the tubing that goes into my incubator for the water. The hole there was made there for ventilation I think, and I was wondering if it matters that the hole is covered because of the tube. Will this affect the oxygen levels in the incubator?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Ventilation holes are for allowing fresh oxygen in and extra moisture out. They can drown in the shell if it gets too moist I believe, but I'm no expert on hatching.

 

[Chicken12367]

Throughout the incubation process ventilation is very important, whilst the embryos are developing they need oxygen which enters through the shell and carbon dioxide exits in the same manner. In the later stages of incubation closer to hatching day the growing chicks require more and more oxygen, blocking the vent hole on your incubator would prevent oxygen entering the incubator and could potentially cause growing chicks to die if that is the only ventilation hole on your incubator and it is blocked. To make the water last longer you could try increasing the depth of the water reservoirs so that you can add more water without increasing the humidity in the incubator any more. Hope this helps !

 

[Zayan]

Throughout the incubation process ventilation is very important, whilst the embryos are developing they need oxygen which enters through the shell and carbon dioxide exits in the same manner. In the later stages of incubation closer to hatching day the growing chicks require more and more oxygen, blocking the vent hole on your incubator would prevent oxygen entering the incubator and could potentially cause growing chicks to die if that is the only ventilation hole on your incubator and it is blocked. To make the water last longer you could try increasing the depth of the water reservoirs so that you can add more water without increasing the humidity in the incubator any more. Hope this helps !

Thank you this helps a lot. A made a small hole in the side to allow for the tub to fill up the reservoir. Now my only concern is having bacteria build up in the water bucket which pumps water into the incubator. Should I be concerned about this? (Also Thanks so much for your reply)

 

[ackie]

Thank you this helps a lot. A made a small hole in the side to allow for the tub to fill up the reservoir. Now my only concern is having bacteria build up in the water bucket which pumps water into the incubator. Should I be concerned about this? (Also Thanks so much for your reply)

A clean bucket with a lid would prevent bacteria, wouldnt it?

 

[Chicken12367]

Thank you this helps a lot. A made a small hole in the side to allow for the tub to fill up the reservoir. Now my only concern is having bacteria build up in the water bucket which pumps water into the incubator. Should I be concerned about this? (Also Thanks so much for your reply)

You’re welcome, one of my incubators has a water container which is used to maintain humidity inside the incubator, it is on the outside and isn’t covered. The many times I have incubated I haven’t had any problems with bacteria growing in the water container. You could just regularly check the container for any bacteria, clean it out and re fill it with fresh water. Like Jwehl said, a clean bucket with a lid should prevent bacteria growth. Good luck !