88% hatch rate with homemade bator AND first hatch!

[LaurelRidgeDreams]

You've given me courage to make a bator.

 

[yellowflower]

That is so cool! So you just had the eggs laying on the bottom right? And there was no fan? Wow, I guess you can have just the basics and still get a good hatch. I have an old cooler, I think I might try it. Thanks for posting this and for the pics!

 

[SpeckledPullet]

Yellowflower - that's right

It was a still air. The eggs were placed on their sides on the bottom.

Aussie - the eggs were purchased from a local breeder and then I drove all of 15 minutes down the road with them. I was still paranoid enough about driving with them that I made sure they sat for 24 hours before putting them into the bator. I am curious to try shipped eggs now and see how much my hatch rate goes down.

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

Inspiring...

Lamp Kit at our Local Walmart is $5.96, a brooder lamp with ceramic socket and removable shield and clamp is $6.96, which leaves at least $1 less work for me to do.

In socket Dimmer switch is $7.96

Electronic Min/Max Indoor Teperature and Humidity reading device is $7.97 (must remember to check whether the humidity reading is any good.

Rubbermaid see-through bin I would like to use is $9

Insulating materials and other needed supplies are laying around the house.

A Top Hatch Incubator is $159.99 before tax.

Hmmmmm....

As there is no thermostat, the trick will be to keep it in a room that does not experience temperature changes so the dimmer can be set at the level that maintains the desired temp, correct?

An incubator for $33 after tax....hmmmmm.

And the youngest son has to do an electricity project for school.

Oh dear, I think we are going to do this.

 

[speckledhen]

Good job!

 

[clp44813]

Someone email me at [email protected] -- I just can't seem to get a thermstat that is reliable. I have two of the water heater type, and the first one went from about 104 to 95. Got 4 miracle Barred rock, 16 didn't hatch. I drilled holes in them for a 2nd try, but same 10deg range. One of our group showed how he took apart the ther. and drilled holes, but unclear if he used a shorter "push rod" to get results. He said he would do that, but the pic shows it longer. Then when he demos it he said he put the original rod in. I couldn't find his email add--if any know it let me know. Anyway, what ther. are you in the group using? Charlie

 

[unaspenser]

That is so cool! I would love to try this out someday. I didn't even know it was possible!

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

I'm using a dimmer switch instead of a thermostat with mine too - we're on day 20 and have a pip and 2 internal pips. The dimmer works well, but you must have an insulated incubator and room with fairly stable temperatures. Mine is a 10 gallon aquarium with styrofoam tape on 3 sides (tried to build one with items I already had). I have to watch it and if it gets too warm, I open another vent -- too cold, I cover it more. When our weather changed, which made the house temp change too (I'm not using heat or air conditioning right now), I did adjust the dimmer a bit to compensate.

 

[SpeckledPullet]

Yup, like Arizona said, you just adjust the dimmer switch as needed.

I am lucky in that I MUST have my house at a constant 72. That made it easy to set the dimmer switch to the desired heat and leave it. I did have to adjust it a tad here and there. It's a lot like an LG Incubator in that you only adjust a TINT TINY bit to get the temp up or down. I actually had settings marked with perm marker for where I needed the switch set to get the desired temp.

If you're inside house temp fluncuates a lot, you would have to adjust the dimmer quite a bit (my guess). But, if you're like me and keep your house temp constant then you'd have no issues using the dimmer switch. You shouldn't have to adjust it much. Just keep it out of drafts.

This is a great incubator for about $30 or so!

 

[SpeckledPullet]

Quote:
This would be a GREAT school project. I kept thinking while building it how much fun this would have been as a science project for someone's child.