I built an incubator (the bottom one) out of a salvaged kitchen cabinet and used an old window for the door. The two slide out drawers are made of 1x3's and hardware cloth mesh for the bottoms. It's heated by an upper and lower 100 watt bulb, has two small Walmart metal fans for circulation, water trays in the bottom, and uses a water heater thermostat for temperature control. I don't use the egg trays anymore, I lay the eggs on their sides and turn them by hand. The upper incubator (old commercial unit), we still use the trays, because of the tilting feature. In my experience, the hatch rates from both units are pretty equal, and very good.
On the 26th day, the eggs go into this hatcher, and are no longer turned. It's made from an old fish tank. The back glass has been replaced with a piece of plywood, which holds the heating bulbs and a water heater thermostat. Under the wire mesh are two fans providing air and heat circulation, and some water trays for humidity. We also add commercial sponges soaked with water on the sides, for maximum humidity. It works really well for observing pips and monitoring to see if the chicks need assistance.
"Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality." -- Ralph Marston
"Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality." -- Ralph Marston
