fan question

[mrsbeez]

I am guessing I've had another failed attempt at incubating. Day 23 and no action. I saw on here some place that a small fan from radio shack was recommended for use in the bator, along with a cell phone charger cord. But I can't find the post now. Can anyone remember the details on this? Thanks!

 

[fishfarmer]

A fan is recommended because it circulates the air in the incubator so that the temperature is uniform throughout. Without a fan or circulation, warm air would rise to the top of the incubator and remain there while the lower portion of the incubator would be cooler.

You can buy a fan from radio shack, or find an old computer or laser printer that has a built in fan, take it apart and yank out the small fan. You'll know if a printer has a fan if it has air grills on the side or back and makes a loud air blowing noise when it's running for a while and not printing. The fan usually have three wires and each fan may have different color coded wires. One wire controls the speed/on/off switch, while the other two are a hot wire and neutral wire. Find a old cell phone charger and snip the end near where you would plug into the phone. Strip the wires (there should be two, one hot and one neutral for the cell phone charger), and connect/twist those to the corresponding hot and neutral wires of the fan. You would need to do trial and error to see which wire is hot or neutral for the fan, you'll know when the fan is running. Make sure the voltage of the cell phone charger is somewhere between 4-12 volts and not higher. Sometimes, the fan may need a little tap to get going.

 

[babsbag]

I have discovered that newer computers have bigger fans and the cell phone chargers won't run it. I work in IT so I had access to many computers, some not all that old, but I had a heck of a time finding an old, small, fan. Go figure.

Here is a link with some pictures.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=259483

One thing I didn't know until a few days ago is that it is important to have air exchange inside the incubator, especially at lockdown. I got lucky and had holes in my homemade one and I had good humidity so I didn't have to plug them, but that is a mistake that a lot people make. You can't plug the holes to raise the humidity. The fan will help with the air exchange as well as even out the temps. I have 2 in mine, one below the hatching shelf, and one at the top of the incubator.

Good luck, I hope the fan helps.

 

[mrsbeez]

Thanks! I have a pretty old computer around here someplace....and chargers. I'll give it a whirl. The air is definitely not uniform....I had the indoor outdoor thermometer in the bator and there was a good 4-5 degree difference between the bottom it and the top of the eggs. I have had one hatch since writing this....and I can hear at least one more, but now the temp is all over the place. Chicken midwifery is so hard for me

 

[babsbag]

I hatched some out of the incubator last week, and the broody is doing it this week. So far she is 7 for 10, with 1 more pipped and one that I candled and could see it move, the other one is a big ? My candling skills aren't very good. But let me tell you about 1 of these eggs.

My hen was sitting on 12 eggs, and she is a bantie. Last night she pushed 3 eggs out, so I candled them, one was clear. The other 2 I stuck in my incubator, that was not up to temp, and low humidity, I couldn't get it above 45%. Temps were low, then high, then low again. And this time I had to open the incubator to adjust the temps. So I kept misting the eggs and the inside of the incubator. I took the eggs out and candled twice. One is a green egg and couldn't see a thing, the other one is my ? egg. So this morning mama hen has hatched out 4 or 5 chicks and is still sitting on a few eggs. Meanwhile my incubator is up to 103, then 95, then 105. I figured that the eggs were a loss, and then the green ones pips.

So I decide to give it back to mama hen. She took it with no problem and tonight it hatched. This egg has been hot, cold, misted, moved, candled twice, and it still hatches.

What is that these broody hens have that we don't? Other than a lot. And yet we take eggs, that we coddle, never touch, turn faithfully, temps steady, humidity perfect, and they still don't hatch. I guess we just need to learn to talk chick talk.

I hope more are hatching for you. They are so cute and fuzzy.