Best spot for incubator?

[Godiva]

We have hatching eggs on the way and I am going to be putting as many as possible under our broody... but there is no way I want to waste eggs that don't fit under her. My problem is we are in a rental now and can't afford to be keeping the whole house heated to keep the incubator temps more stable. We are headed into fall and the temps in the house get into the 50's. We have a hovabator and I was wondering if it would help to put it into a large cardboard box and cover it lightly with a piece of sheet so can still 'breathe' ? What I have done in the past was keep a 'spare' bathroom warm with a space heater in it and that worked well, just wondering if I can do something like this just on a smaller scale. Has anyone else done something like this?

 

[Katy]

I hatch in my basement and the temp down there is probably about 55....no heating or AC down there. Stable temps are important....more so than the temp itself within reason.

 

[cassidy22]

I agree with the above poster. Someplace that has a more constant environment - no drafts, no wind, no direct sunlight. Something that stays stable, so the incubator doens't have to adjust so frequently. I would say no to a bathroom where showers or baths are common, because the temp and humidity in there are going to change too much. Somewhere in a corner, away from exterior doors, or windows you may open and close. Away from heat registers and fans.

I, too, put mine in the basement where the temp is low, but stable, and the humidity is also low (I'm on colorado, humidity is always low) and stable.

 

[stoopid]

I keep mine right on the kitchen counter. You can see everything, it never gets forgotten.

 

[Parson's Wife]

I used to put mine in the laundry room, no exterior doors, no drafts. The dryer I only used when I couldn't hang wash on the line. It was a smaller room, and it's amazing how no traffic occurs in that room...except mine...hmmm.
Is there space in your bdr? An out of the way corner? I know several have hatched in their DR, & LR...(inside corners)...Hope you find what works for you and ....you will know it.

 

[Godiva]

I'm in Colorado too, don't have a basement - just a tiny house. I was thinking of possibly in our living room as it is the only room where there are no windows that open and no doors right there. I might set it on top of the woodstove (unused at present) for now and see how the temps do there. What do you do for humidity in CO? I have only hatched in SC which is another world altogether as far as humidity goes! WHere do you try to keep your humidity? DO you also use a hovabator or do you have another kind?

 

[Godiva]

Kitchen counter is not a possibility in this house - in the living room would be right next to where I usually sit and work though. So do you think there is no point to using a cardboard box... I was thinking that the incubator itself would generate some heat of it's own and the box could keep the temps more stable... I could open it if the temp was warmer and close it if cool or at night ... do you think the temps would build up too much in the box? Maybe I should just try it out for a few days and see what kind of extremes I get...

 

[extraordinaryfowl]

I keep mine on my desk in my bedroom - it is out of the way (as in no one will be messing with it) since no one goes in there. It is near the door, but once I get it running steady for a few days it is usually good to go. Only sometimes you will be woken up at 2 in the morning to peeping when they are hatching.

 

[bandolierbabe]

mine is on a shelf in the living room I can see the chicks hatch and no drafts or direct sunlight. Constant temperature.

 

[Godiva]

Thanks for the input folks... I think I am going to go with the living room for now - our laundry is in the bathroom

told you it was tiny

so we'll see what happens to the temps. It has been ages since I hatched in the incubator and I need to get the rust off my 'knowledge'. Wish us luck