Modified Intelligent 7 Egg Mini Incubator

[McChooky]

After purchasing an Intelligent 7 Egg Mini Incubator I modified it using a styrofoam cooler .First I cut a round hole in the lid of the styrofoam cooler for the dome lid of incubator to sit on the lid of the cooler then cut a vent out on one end .I used the same piece I cut out to plug the hole with.(to close the vent)I inserted the incubator in the cooler long enough to mark where the incubator cord would go out the back then marked the front of the cooler so I could make a hole to access the instrument panel of the incubator from outside on the cooler.After cutting out both I cut strips of duct tape to cover all the inside edges of the holes cut on both the cooler lid ,vent and cooler ( I used decorative duct tape )Lastly I used duct tape to attach the incubator dome to the cooler lid and attach the cooler lid to the cooler itself. I also attached soft mesh over the vent on the inside of the cooler using duct tape so the chicks or eggs can't fall out the vent. After that was done I inserted the incubator in the cooler and attached the cord thru the back of the cooler before securing it with duct tape.Last but not least I measured a piece of hardware cloth slightly smaller than the width and length of the cooler inside then added 5-6" to both ends so I could bend it over to form a solid platform with legs that sits over top of the incubator (without the tray) .This allows for more eggs and give s the hatched chicks more room. Soft rubber mesh was used over top of the hardware cloth to give the eggs and chicks a soft non slippery surface to rest on.The black wire temperature sensor that rises out of the incubator comes up thru the hardware cloth and soft mesh both(just as it does with the egg tray if used)The mesh is pulled back to add water to the tray in the incubator to raise the humidity of the incubator.A hole can be poked in the lid of the cooler to insert a probe for a hygrometer thermometer to get accurate readings for both instead of relying on the incubator temperature readings.The styrofoam cooler helps to stabilize the temperature.The vent can be opened or closed as needed or increase circulation.(The incubator has a small fan) Instead of using the dome on the cooler lid a glass cooking lid with a vent hole can be used instead (pictured)I apologize for not giving more detail than this but you get the general idea of how to do one yourself if you like.The best part about modifying this cheap incubator is if it crashes and dies you can remove it and add a light.

 

[Stipenvlerk]

Do you by any chance have numbers of your succes rate?

 

[McChooky]

Do you by any chance have numbers of your succes rate?

I added a 2-3 yr old rooster to my flock 4 months ago hoping one of my hens would go broody and have chicks but so far I haven't seen them mate him the 1st time.(there are signs he's mating them by their backs and head) They've all recently started laying again (March)
A few laid all winter and never stopped. They'll be a year old this week. I haven't seen them mate and haven't seen any bulls eyes in any of the eggs I've cracked (we eat eggs daily) I put 6 fresh laid eggs in the incubator on the 7th to test their fertility but I didn't see any veining this morning. They're brown eggs (difficult to tell)

 

[Stipenvlerk]

I added a 2-3 yr old rooster to my flock 4 months ago hoping one of my hens would go broody and have chicks but so far I haven't seen them mate him the 1st time.(there are signs he's mating them by their backs and head) They've all recently started laying again (March)
A few laid all winter and never stopped. They'll be a year old this week. I haven't seen them mate and haven't seen any bulls eyes in any of the eggs I've cracked (we eat eggs daily) I put 6 fresh laid eggs in the incubator on the 7th to test their fertility but I didn't see any veining this morning. They're brown eggs (difficult to tell)

I'll follow this thread for a bit. Maybe you have luck soon!

 

[Tonyroo]

Don't waste your eggs in the incubator. Keep checking fertility by using the eggs each day to confirm fertility. If you need help identifying fertility post yolk pictures on this thread to get an answer.

 

[McChooky]

I'll follow this thread for a bit. Maybe you have luck soon!

Thanks!

 

[McChooky]

Don't waste your eggs in the incubator. Keep checking fertility by using the eggs each day to confirm fertility. If you need help identifying fertility post yolk pictures on this thread to get an answer.

My plan all along was to complete one test using 6-7 eggs to determine if placing it inside a Styrofoam cooler stabilizes the temperature and improves its performance any.

 

[McChooky]

6 of my eggs were not fertile as I suspected(yolkers)but surprisingly one egg was fertile! Fingers crossed it will hatch over the next few days.Tomorrow will be day 18! Anyone in southern WV got baby chicks hatching this week too? I don't want to raise this little chick by itself!

 

[McChooky]

Adding water to the reservoir has caused temperature spikes in this incubator thru out the hatch so I cut a wet sponge into 4 pieces and used these instead to adjust the humidity as needed.Only by lowering the temp on the incubator in small .1 degree increments at a time was I able to prevent the egg from overheating (when I was adding water to the reservoir)
I wouldn't recommend anyone use the reservoir in this incubator unless you want temp spikes! I have a hygrometer thermometer in the unit and a 2nd thermometer with a probe to verify the temp and hygrometer are in the correct range.The one egg that was fertile in the beginning is still alive on Day 22 but its not peeped or hatched yet. I'll give it a few more days....

 

[Memoli]

Good luck with that...