Advice on building DIY incubator

[CluckEmUp]

Make sure you thoroughly test for hot and cold spots and also beware at what level you’re placing the thermometer relative to the center of the egg.

Yea I got a thermometer with a wire and ive tested multiple areas around the eggs, now its hanging in between around halfway of the egg and reading 37.6celcius. Think it should be okay. The only thing to keep an eye out for is room temperature at night, might leave the heater on

 

[BantyChooks]

Alright, thanks that makes sense. I did test the temperature in multiple spots and it does seem more or less equal. Will test again and decide if a fan is better after all.

Sounds good. Keep us updated on how it works. What do you plan to do for humidity? It sounds very small, you may have difficulty getting it up if you don’t have space for water pans. At least, that’s something I’ve struggled with in small incubators.

 

[CluckEmUp]

Sounds good. Keep us updated on how it works. What do you plan to do for humidity? It sounds very small, you may have difficulty getting it up if you don’t have space for water pans. At least, that’s something I’ve struggled with in small incubators.

I just posted a topic about that actually, should go up soon pending moderator approval I think. Generally I have a cup of water somewhat filled with a sponge, but only reaching 40% humidity so far. The other topic I made was asking about "dry incubating", apparently some blog post states that even as low as 15% humidity proves to have better hatching results for the first 18 days, and only for the last 3 kick it up to 70-75%.

 

[BantyChooks]

I just posted a topic about that actually, should go up soon pending moderator approval I think. Generally I have a cup of water somewhat filled with a sponge, but only reaching 40% humidity so far. The other topic I made was asking about "dry incubating", apparently some blog post states that even as low as 15% humidity proves to have better hatching results for the first 18 days, and only for the last 3 kick it up to 70-75%.

15% is pushing it pretty hard but I incubate successfully at 25%-30% until lockdown. It seems to vary a lot by user and monitoring air cell size and adjusting humidity based on the moisture loss there will give you the best results rather than an arbitrary number.

 

[CluckEmUp]

15% is pushing it pretty hard but I incubate successfully at 25%-30% until lockdown. It seems to vary a lot by user and monitoring air cell size and adjusting humidity based on the moisture loss there will give you the best results rather than an arbitrary number.

Good to hear, I will keep the humidity around 40% for now and will see how things go. For the last 3 days, how do you generally get the humidity up to 75% +/-? Bunch of wet sponges in the incubator? Are the eggs at this stage allowed to get wet at all? Was considering maybe putting a wet rag under them (only for the last stage), but not sure if thats okay

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Hey everyone, new here, looking for advice in building my own, fairly small, incubator.

I was pondering whether to just buy one instead, but most are fairly expensive here and much bigger than i want. Besides i like to make something like this as a new project, and I only plan to start with a few eggs for now.

So I know that temperature and humidity are the important things. The humidity i plan to just regulate by filling up a cup with water and see how much is good. I believe I read that it should be around 50% to start off, and near the last week it should be 70%+?

Then for temperature i am planning to simply use an incandescent light bulb. The question is if a single 40w or 60w one is enough.

My way to make it is using an old computer case, empty it out and fill it up with aluminium foil. This will keep the heat inside. I have a light fixture here that can just fit inside, and I will put aluminium foil around that as well so as little heat as possible can escape. The case has a small glass window so I will be able to look inside if needed to check temps (I have a small temp/humidity meter to make sure its all correct and stable).

But some concerns: how safe is it to leave everything on? Not trying to burn my house down here. These incandescent bulbs get pretty hot, I have a few of 40w and 60w laying around here, but only one fixture in the house that says "40w". So I assume putting a 60w bulb in there could cause a fire. I will go shopping for something better but this is what I got in the meantime.

Also do you think that a 40w bulb can heat it enough? Temps should be around 37.5 degrees celcius, right?

Also am I correct in thinking that having the whole case in aluminium foil is generally safe? Just making sure i dont have anything flammable nearby just in case.

The only downside of my plan is that I have to open the case 3 times a day to rotate the eggs. So heat will escape during those times. Are those drops in temperature critical? Or doable?

Thanks everyone

what is your budget? I know of a reliable incubator on Amazon, and it is only $60. it is what I would recommend as a good and reliable incubator, it can hold 15 eggs at a time, and the only downsides are that the unit does not come with a hygrometer, you need to buy one separate, and that you lift the lid slightly to add water. also, the candling light is not very bright.

 

[CluckEmUp]

what is your budget? I know of a reliable incubator on Amazon, and it is only $60. it is what I would recommend as a good and reliable incubator, it can hold 15 eggs at a time, and the only downsides are that the unit does not come with a hygrometer, you need to buy one separate, and that you lift the lid slightly to add water. also, the candling light is not very bright.

Thanks, will keep those in mind. My budget is fairly open and I was considering getting one of those from amazon, but since i had all the things to make one at home I figured might as well make it myself.

 

[BantyChooks]

Good to hear, I will keep the humidity around 40% for now and will see how things go. For the last 3 days, how do you generally get the humidity up to 75% +/-? Bunch of wet sponges in the incubator? Are the eggs at this stage allowed to get wet at all? Was considering maybe putting a wet rag under them (only for the last stage), but not sure if thats okay

I typically bump it to 60-65%. I don’t like sponges because they dry up quickly. I use pans of water in the bottom of the incubator with a mesh over the top that the eggs rest on safely.

 

[Huntmaster]

Was considering maybe putting a wet rag under them

Setting eggs on wet rag is not a good option or wet rag laying on eggs.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

@gimmie birdies knows a lot about this!