building paradise for the birds

[birdman55]

auto-correct for restaurants maybe?

What is your market for selling birds....or is it just a hobby...I can't imagine it is just a hobby if you're going to be hatching hundreds of eggs at a time.

crazy part it is a hobby....just I take my hobbies to a whole different level...thanks for watching stay tuned for some more pics tonight...order Is being placed for materials for the rest of the coolerbator as well as the big unit...today

 

[mymilliefleur]

so here is what I came up with..completely rough draft...but very close to what Im going to build...I will finish a side view and post in a bit..order is being placed tommarow so I should begin on the project very soon....not sure the wattage of the bulb im going to use...this is a first time experiment and the next one I will build will be better...right now it is set up for auto temp, and auto humidity...havnt figured out how to auto turn yet...but im close..i have to do some tests and it will for sure be in the next unit...

this unit will hold 354 pheasant eggs and 120 chicken eggs....so its pretty big....any questions feel free and ask for this will only make me think and make me more prepared...more brains are better in this kinda situation...

Is the cooler going to sit on end?

 

[cuties]

crazy part it is a hobby....just I take my hobbies to a whole different level...thanks for watching stay tuned for some more pics tonight...order Is being placed for materials for the rest of the coolerbator as well as the big unit...today

You are right to go big on the bator. Chickies are a hobby for us also. We have a cabinet bator. And did not have nearly enough room for all the hatching we did.
I wound up making hubby hatch his quail and turkeys in the styro bators we found used.
You are doing amazing work. Keep it up!

 

[dogfish7]

Some really good ideas!

 

[jvls1942]

Is there any way you can put an actual heating element in instead of a light bulb ?
I think a heating element would be more dependable, and more economical to run,,
if and when you load a lot of eggs at one time,, your heat recovery will be very slow with just a light bulb..

I have a few sportsmans and the recovery time can take up to a day to stabilize..
It is not so bad when I add only a few dozen at a time,,
I do rotation hatching for about 4 to 5 months each year..
I can do about 500 eggs in each of two of my sportsmans..
If it were not for auto turn, by choice, I would not hatch any eggs..
I have a way to make auto humidity pans w/5 gallon reservoirs for under $10.oo ..

don't be afraid to put a strong fan in there to circulate the air,, you want something more than just moving the air,, you want to push the air into every corner.. result will be more even heat distribution.. less chance of cold spots..

//////jiminwisc///////

 

[birdman55]

Is the cooler going to sit on end?

the picture is sideways so where its says front...that will be the top

Is there any way you can put an actual heating element in instead of a light bulb ?
I think a heating element would be more dependable, and more economical to run,,
if and when you load a lot of eggs at one time,, your heat recovery will be very slow with just a light bulb..

I have a few sportsmans and the recovery time can take up to a day to stabilize..
It is not so bad when I add only a few dozen at a time,,
I do rotation hatching for about 4 to 5 months each year..
I can do about 500 eggs in each of two of my sportsmans..
If it were not for auto turn, by choice, I would not hatch any eggs..
I have a way to make auto humidity pans w/5 gallon reservoirs for under $10.oo ..

don't be afraid to put a strong fan in there to circulate the air,, you want something more than just moving the air,, you want to push the air into every corner.. result will be more even heat distribution.. less chance of cold spots..

//////jiminwisc///////

I will do somemore research on both types of heat there is also a site you can buy heat mat from and they will cut to size and its 12" wide...
reptilebasics.com
I just feel that the heating elements take to long to stabilize the lightbulb gives off way more heat faster in my eyes...just my thought...but like I said ill do more research and drawing is just a rough draft...the fans are a computer fan and they have lights on them so it will light up the unit a little bit...but keep the great questions up..gives me more to think about for temp perfection...I might add a second digital temp reader and a different set of lights/elements so the temps will stabilize faster...
thanks jim...always good knowledge and questions

 

[mymilliefleur]

Ok. What size cooler did you use?

 

[birdman55]

Ok. What size cooler did you use?

are you talking about the coolerbator..or the bigger one...if your speaking about the bigger one then im going to be building it from scratch however you can use a old non working freezer and it will be the same thing...however you wont be able to do that much (quantity of eggs) in the freezer...
anyways back from my journey to town...and off to work I go....
be back with some pictures...
later peeps

 

[mymilliefleur]

are you talking about the coolerbator..or the bigger one...if your speaking about the bigger one then im going to be building it from scratch however you can use a old non working freezer and it will be the same thing...however you wont be able to do that much (quantity of eggs) in the freezer...
anyways back from my journey to town...and off to work I go....
be back with some pictures...
later peeps

I was talking about the one in your sketch, I didn't realize it was different then the coolerbater.

So are you planning on making two incubators? Your coops are coming along nicely. I can't wait to see how they all look when finished.

 

[birdman55]

I was talking about the one in your sketch, I didn't realize it was different then the coolerbater.

So are you planning on making two incubators? Your coops are coming along nicely. I can't wait to see how they all look when finished.

yeah the coolerbator will be done before the weekend and it will be running for three days after that point to make sure it is holding it temp...and as for the side view of the large unit...here is a rough draft...im not sure if im going to put the lights on the side by the single fans or not...on the bottom is an area where I can put the chicks after they are banded for which tray they came from..each tray will have a color on it from which pen it came from so I know when they are in the brooder together I can easily tell them apart then...the tray system im not sure if im going to hand turn this years batch or try and put a mover for the eggs...if I put a mover in it ...it will be a manual one that I will not have to open the door for

any ideas...anyone...on any modifications you can see you would do