# Humidity for Eggs?



## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

Hi-

I have a pie plate of water in my bird's cage. I've read that it's good to have it so the female with bathe and then sit on her eggs to provide humidity. 

I haven't seen her bathe since she started laying eggs. Should I wipe the eggs with a warm, damp paper towel? 

thanks-
wendy


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

NO...don't put moisture directly on the eggs. You can go online to www.weather.com, and find out the humidity levels for your city. If they are below 55% then what you can do is take a spray bottle and mist *just the inside walls* of the nestbox 1 X a day till hatch. *Don't* mist the bedding.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

Oh No!!! The hen was off of the eggs, so I put some water on my hands and wiped most of it off and touched the eggs. 

Did I just ruin them????


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> Did I just ruin them????


Probably not, but you don't want to do this again. Egg shells are porous and bacteria etc can pass through.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

thanks for the help. we've hatched chickens before, but tiels are a so very different and I'm so nervous since this will be the first time with cockatiel eggs.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

LOL...no harm done. Tiel eggs are pretty tough like chicken eggs...so no worries. I have had them in incubators with erratic temps (1-3 degrees) differences and they still hatched. Sometimes I'll handle an egg several times a day and not had it affect hatch.

The *main reason why* you don't want excessive moisture on the egg is because it will draw in this moisture, and if close to hatch cause the chick to swell and smother.drown in the egg.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

: )

aaah.. ok. I guess I've been reading too much about the humidity needing to be perfect, etc. etc. 

I don't have a nest box either, so I can't spray. She's sitting in a rectagular shaped plastic food container. I tried switching it out with a nicer, roomier basket, but she didn't like it, so I brought back her container. 

Here's a photo of yoo hoo in her box.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

http://s1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee397/kenji607/?action=view&current=Picture7.png


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

OK...plan B...would be to have a humidifier in the room toward the last 3-4 days of time to hatch. I count 18 days from the time the egg is layed til it hatches to give an estimated hatch date.


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## Kenji's Mom (Dec 3, 2010)

from the last egg or the first? thanks again!!!!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> from the last egg or the first?


From the time the parents start sitting, actually. They sometimes wait until several eggs have been laid. When this happens, the eggs that started incubation at the same time will hatch at about the same time, but eggs that were laid after incubation began will hatch at the same interval they were laid, roughly every other day. The incubation period may not be exactly 18 days - most of my chicks hatch after 17 days but it ranges from 16-18 days.


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