DIY incubator

Krause_LN

In the Brooder
Jan 5, 2018
16
16
36
has anyone had any luck with a diy incubator?

I would love to try this..

What are your success stories or.. your unfortunate fails? All stories will help me along with the do’s and dont’s of incubating

Thanks
 

Attachments

  • B49832BF-9A8A-4616-AC9C-5C8286E0FB63.png
    B49832BF-9A8A-4616-AC9C-5C8286E0FB63.png
    475.2 KB · Views: 46
I did make a DIY incubator once.
It stabilized out but ultimately I decided on an actual, store bought bator.
That design has one flaw: the light has no barrier. Those chicks could easily suffer for it. Get burned.
You'll want to consider how easy or how hard it will be to clean. It needs a light (25 wattage is best), Hygro meter AND thermometer, a fan (or you can pick a still air bator- but you risk hot spots etc), and ventilation. Also consider a thermostat.
Mine cost me $50 and I didn't add the thermostat.
 
I did make a DIY incubator once.
It stabilized out but ultimately I decided on an actual, store bought bator.
That design has one flaw: the light has no barrier. Those chicks could easily suffer for it. Get burned.
You'll want to consider how easy or how hard it will be to clean. It needs a light (25 wattage is best), Hygro meter AND thermometer, a fan (or you can pick a still air bator- but you risk hot spots etc), and ventilation. Also consider a thermostat.
Mine cost me $50 and I didn't add the thermostat.

Hmmm yes very true.. I didn’t think about the light safety.. I’ll have to think about something for that...

It does have ventilation cause of small holes in all sides and the lid. So that would be okay.

I’ll have to re look at the plans and see what else I could maybe change to make it more efficient..

Thank you for the info!
 
All I use is an incubator I made. Very similar to that one. I just ordered parts off ebay to make a new one with my grandsons (it will be theirs). I ordered temp controller, thermometer, 25w light bulb, light socket, computer fan and 12v power supply to power the fan and the temp controller.
All for about $6 total. I use a computer fan to keep the air moving, but I do not think it is needed.
 
Papaw-John, how do you handle the egg-turning? I was considering about making a DIY incubator for the learning experience, but I wanted to get a styrofoam container that would fit an egg-turner that I have .

That seems to be the thing I see most about the DIY incubators using styrofoam containers. Everything else is accounted for except the egg-turning, and generally they just show an example of having a few eggs (which also makes the manual egg-turning to be less tedious).
 
I bought a picture frame from the dollar store and cut a hole in the top. I put the frame in the top with the cardboard back removed. I made a hinge out of tape so I can open it easily. I turn the eggs in the morning and before going to bed. My wife turns once mid-day. I have just turned twice a day and had just as good of a hatch rate. I actually love turning by hand. I have an egg turner, but have not used it in years. I did use it when I ordered 200 quail eggs off eBay though. I do not look at turning the eggs as tedious. I look forward to it. It keeps me involved in the hatch and it builds anticipation of the hatch.
I currently have 4 different types of eggs incubating. I hope they do good. I ordered them off eBay, so you never know.
I have White Leghorn, Quail, Guineas & Turkey
:)
Incubator3.jpg
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom