I got a medical grade styrofoam cooler,a pc fan, a light socket, hardware cloth, a bowl for water, a thermometer and well you are set to go , it is simple, I can post exact instructions if you are interestedGood luck!
I've been considering building my own incubator. How did you make yours?
I choose my layer flock as much for their egg color as for their appearance. I want a colorful basket of eggs by this spring; beige, brown, rust, blue and eventually olive. I am very happy with Ginger's rust eggs...they keep getting prettier and deeper rust everyday. I almost hated to use them but needed them for sugar cookies tonight.
The ducky was as close as I could find to a chicken-hehe! Ginger wanted a momma so bad when we brought her home. The other brooder was full of silkie chicks and they didn't want anything to do with her. When we put her in front of Buffy (our Buff Orpington) that night, she peeped once and Buffy nudged her and Ginger ran under her new mommas warm tummy. It was priceless.
I have not candled yet. I have learned with welsummer and marans eggs it's best to wait until at least day 10. They are just too dark to tell anything early on. Plus I ordered a new egg candler off ebay that for some reason hasn't showed up yet. Imagine that....the post office being busy this time of year. I've stopped shipping eggs until after the holidays. Too many delays.
I have an LG styro incubator now that I've had for years. My hatch results vary and I don't know if it's the incubator or something else. I'm thinking about making a cabinet type incubator. I got my NPIP certification this year and i'm considering selling and shipping live chicks. I already sell tons of eggs but a lot of people ask about chicks. I want something I could set 50 or 75 eggs at a time. My current styro holds 42 eggs with the auto egg turner in and supposed to hold 4 dozen without the turner. I have never had that many in it. I don't trust it that much.
I dont use a turner. I have always been told you get higher hatch rates without. But I wouldnt want to do with a large hatch, I would be too worried about the time it was taking me to turn them. this is a small unit right now but I can expand it I wanted to do a test hatch out of this one, so we will see if i did everything right lol
