Building my Dream Incubator, finally! With 10 levels of turners! XD

[Runner Duckie]

Correct me if wrong on the calculations XD I just barely passed most of my math classes.

Original Plan (No help from other users):

We have TONS of old plywood in the garage, and even some huge leftover foam sheets! Most of the plywood is 4 feet tall, and 9 feet across? I know I don't want something THAT wide, so I'll be cutting it. The height, however, is just right for me.

Lol, I'm a short girl, so the incubator will almost match my height!

I am planning something 40 by 20 inches wide, and 48 inches tall (or four feet). From what I've seen, most turners are about 15 x15 inches, correct? If so, I can squeeze two in side by side per level, and if they are 3 inches tall, and giving them 3 inches in between each turner height-wise, I can probably fit 10 levels on it.

Now, the bottom will have two hatching drawers, 5 inches tall each.

So that's 40 inches of height taken so far, right? The last 8 will be space for the heating element and moisture sponges.

New, updated plan (with help and tips from BYC users):

None yet

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Now, you'll probably ask what I will be hatching with such a big incubator? Oh, just you wait, I will be a HATCHING FOOL!

Oh, the excitement...

Stick around for news and updates, and later pictures!

Runner Duckie

 

[nyksducks]

sounds good. just a thought thou, make sure you allow enough space for circulation of air and make sure you dont have your top tray to close to the heating element.

and by way of my mistake, i would advise a lip from the roof to the top of the door. my door is full height and as soon as i open the door all the heat and humidity is escaping straight out of the top due to there being nothing to 'catch' it in!!!

oh and coat your plywood with pva glue or something similar so as not to absorb and moisture thus lowering humidity and blowing the wood.

nykxx

edited to say, if the trays are 15x15 and your bator is going to be 20 wide, how are you going to fit 2 trays in side by side? or am i being thick? i am tired, its late here!!

nykxx

sorry back again. dont forget to allow for the thickness of your wood. your drawers although 5 inches high each will take 5 inches plus the thickness of your wood x 2.

 

[Runner Duckie]

Whoops, I meant 20 inches deep XD and about 40 inches wide.

 

[Katy]

I've got a suggestion and you probably won't like it. If I'm not mistaken you are just starting out with poultry and don't even have any yet....at least that is what you said in your first post yesterday.

You are jumping in with both feet before you've even found out if you like raising chickens. Nothing takes the fun out of something like being in over your head from the beginning. You would be much better off to get a few chicks and learn how to raise them and then add a small incubator and try your hand at hatching some eggs. Build up to it over time. What you are describing would have the capacity to hatch 840 eggs at a time. Do you have any idea how much work and space 840 chicks would take?

 

[wthchristi]

Think long and hard. We range anywhere from 50-60 during the cooler months to 300-400 in the spring time plus the bator (holds 180) going strong. I agree with Katy- my husband spends 2-3 hours DAILY taking care of all of the birds (most are young) and even more time on the weekends, plus the time I spend. If you plan on selling- start small and develop a customer base. This is our biggest year yet and to be honest i am looking forward to selling down by the end of June. My feed bill runs $75 per week as well and my power bill over $300 per month (8 heat lamps going plus the bator). If you think chickens are an easy way to make money you are not being fair to yourselves or your birds.

Good luck.

 

[wthchristi]

Oops, I forgot the most important part- Welcome to BYC, the BEST place for information and eggs!

I went and read your other post- you sound like me a few years ago- Please do a trial run with you new bator! There is nothing more disappointing then filling your incubator with 100's of dollars in eggs and only a couple hatch. Get the variables right, to give shipped eggs the best chance. I finally invested in a GQF this year, I ran it twice with local eggs and then started buying the more expensive shipped eggs. I sold the babies for a couple bucks each on craigslist but I became a more confident hatcher through the experience. Now I have bbs orps, bbs silkies and coronations hatching as we speak. All shipped!

Besides raising pullets for sale to the local market, by the end of the summer I will have small quality flocks of BCM, Barnevelders, BBS Orps, Lav orps, BLRW and Coronations. Somehow, I also have silkies but I am unsure if I am going to put together a flock yet, As well as a mixed pen of layers and easter eggers. We have just added the quality breeding flocks this year, we have been growing for 4 years. My advice, take your time and enjoy your new found hobby and learn from the wonderful people on this forum!!!

 

[Runner Duckie]

Quote:
Nothing in my post said I have never had chickens before nor didn't know if I liked them before nor didn't know how to take care of them... the only thing new to me is this forum. I just don't have any chickens at this time.
My grandmother (an old evil fart, sweet lady when she wants to be) has well over 400+ free range RIR and BO hens, not including the roosters with the ones she uses for fertile eggs, and she had me start my own flock a year ago. Something got into the coop and ate them, however, and left none living. I was very sad, but I have decided to try again. I am building this incubator for her and I to use together.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Nothing in my post said I have never had chickens before nor didn't know if I liked them before nor didn't know how to take care of them... the only thing new to me is this forum. I just don't have any chickens at this time.
My grandmother (an old evil fart, sweet lady when she wants to be) has well over 400+ free range RIR and BO hens, not including the roosters with the ones she uses for fertile eggs, and she had me start my own flock a year ago. Something got into the coop and ate them, however, and left none living. I was very sad, but I have decided to try again. I am building this incubator for her and I to use together.

I was going by what you had said in your first post yesterday
Quote:
Plus the title and what you say in this thread also led me to believe you are new to poultry.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=339309

 

[muddstopper]

I am going to point you toward my thread of my homemade incubator. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=336362

Building a large cabinet incubator could prove more fustrating than you might think. The carpentry is the easy part, its getting the heat, humidity, and the rest of the electronics right that proves to be the hard part. Air flow with a large cabinet is also going to require some trial and error to insure you have even heat distribution throughout the entire cabinet space. Nothing like placeing your thermometer in one part of the cabinet and thinking you have the temps all figured out only to find out 3wks later that half your eggs hatch early because of too much heat, and the other half hatches late because of too cold temps or most dont hatch at all. Using too big a fan can be just as bad as choosing one to small. It took me several months of trying different designs to get the incubator I wanted. Each design was built and tested and everyone cost money to build. In the end, I am sure I spent more money building my cabinet incubator than I would have spend if I just went out and bought one ready made. Still, the satisfaction of designing and building something unique that works so well makes the money well spent, and I now have a incubator that should last me a lifetime.