Help with 1st incubator build

[aaronrich85]

I will.hopefully be incubating chicken, duck and turkey eggs. Once I get the kinks worked out and have a successful hatching I'll share the plans and specs for whoever wants to make one like it

 

[HatchCraft]

The inlet vent needs to be behind the fan so fresh air is drawn in. The outlet can be any where forward of the fan. On the older sportsman incubators for example, the inlet is on the back panel directly behind the fan and the outlet is at the bottom of the back panel. If i were making an incubator that size the holes would be 1 1/8 inch diameter and have adjustable cover. The picture show a typical vent I make. One hole is behind the divider the fans mount to, and one hole forward. I would usually place the vent on top , but a customer requested a side mount so a cabinet hatcher could be stacked on top of the incubator. Vent would usually be open a quarter to half way. Sometimes I will make one large adjustable hole behind the fan and multiple smaller non adjustable holes forward of the fan. You actually only need to control one of the openings as no more air can enter the incubator than can escape. A common mistake I have seen in home built incubator is to many vents.

 

[aaronrich85]

Thanks for the help with the vent hole placement. I added another fan at the top in the front blowing downward but not directly on the eggs. Now both top and bottom have the same temp and I only have a .9* differential when the thermostat cuts off and when it starts heating again. before I added the additional fan I had a fairly substantial temp difference in top and bottom and I would also lose about 4 degrees before the temp would start to recover. Im guessing if I had a larger element I could improve the temp recovery time from what it is now but I guess its good enough the way it is. I only have one more question. how do you guys maintain 50-60% humidity? Any tips or pointers that you guys can pass on to save some headaches before I put a run of eggs in. Also is it necessary to spray/mist the eggs daily?

 

[lazy gardener]

Chicken eggs? no spray or mist. You'll have to read up on duck or goose. I maintain humidity in my 15 x 15 x 10 with a piece of sponge 4" x 2" in a cup which is wired to the wall. Thread a piece of aquarium tubing through a vent and into the cup, filling it with a syringe. You could just use a larger piece of sponge.

 

[aaronrich85]

is 35-45% humidity enough or should i try to get it higher

 

[Pokerface]

M first hatch, (just finished) I held 35 % until lockdown then raised it to 65%. Wet paper towels and a puddle of water in the bottom below my wire.

 

[aaronrich85]

before i get brave and add some eggs what is the min/max temp i can run in a forced air incubator. i know that 99.5 is optimal

 

[WalnutHill]

I know that turkey eggs can fail if the average temp is below 99.5 for too long. I shoot for 100-100.5 to be safe on both ends.

 

[Pokerface]

I guess I might have been lucky but I ranged from 95 to 104 but never more than an hour or two. If you've got thermostat controlled you should be fine though.