Bator / Brooder Project.

[cajun1]

I have aquired this huge Igloo cooler that I'm thinking of making a Bator / Brooder. The cooler is 37 1/4" long, 14 3/4" wide and 15 3/4" deep. Since I only plan on incubating 12 at a time, I believe this can be cordoned of and use 1/2 for an incubator and the other half used for a brooder as the chicks hatch. I'm curious, can the same heat source used for the bator be used for the brooder half, or does the brooder need a different heat source? I'm thinking not since the heat will be pretty high at lockdown and raised after all have hatched. What do you expert Bator maker's say ???? Also any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

 

[generaldsherman]

I'd use a different heat source or even a different container for your brooder. All you really need is a large box with a heat source for the brooder.

 

[mirandaleecon]

I think you could easily make a brooder/incubator, especially since you only want to hatch 12 at a time. Here is how I would do it:
Design your incubator using lightbulbs as your heat source.
Put a cage around the lights/fan/humidity source so that when chicks hatch they cannot get tangled up in that.
When your chicks are all hatched, replace the regular lights with red brooder lights, turn the fan off, and remove the humidity source.
Bonus if you can attach the lights to the door on one side, cut the door in half to make a kind of dutch door. That way you could open only one side at a time and leave one open once the chicks hatch but that might be more work than it's worth. You will need to find a way to leave it open/vented for the chicks because there won't be enough oxygen in there.
Keep in mind, this will only work as a brooder for 12 chicks for maybe a week. After that, they will be way too crowded...and it may not be the easiest to clean unless you add a remove-able tray...

 

[cajun1]

I'd use a different heat source or even a different container for your brooder. All you really need is a large box with a heat source for the brooder.

I think you could easily make a brooder/incubator, especially since you only want to hatch 12 at a time. Here is how I would do it:
Design your incubator using lightbulbs as your heat source.
Put a cage around the lights/fan/humidity source so that when chicks hatch they cannot get tangled up in that.
When your chicks are all hatched, replace the regular lights with red brooder lights, turn the fan off, and remove the humidity source.
Bonus if you can attach the lights to the door on one side, cut the door in half to make a kind of dutch door. That way you could open only one side at a time and leave one open once the chicks hatch but that might be more work than it's worth. You will need to find a way to leave it open/vented for the chicks because there won't be enough oxygen in there.
Keep in mind, this will only work as a brooder for 12 chicks for maybe a week. After that, they will be way too crowded...and it may not be the easiest to clean unless you add a remove-able tray...

I like the way you think mirandaleecon, but I think generaldsherman could be correct. After really looking at this cooler, knowing that being a first time incubator person and from reading many posts, 100% hatch is not a reality.
I do have a small coop that I used 2 1/2 years ago as a brooder. Think I will go in that direction. I do Thank You for your suggestion.

 

[generaldsherman]

I like the way you think mirandaleecon, but I think generaldsherman could be correct. After really looking at this cooler, knowing that being a first time incubator person and from reading many posts, 100% hatch is not a reality.
I do have a small coop that I used 2 1/2 years ago as a brooder. Think I will go in that direction. I do Thank You for your suggestion.

Sounds perfect with a bit of heat!

Mine is an old iguana cage made out of wood, plexiglass, and with wire on top. Works great because there's already light wired into it that I can use for heat. (My Iguana, Mushu, outgrew the small 30" cage years ago: she's 52" long now). Glad to help!