Home-made incubator

[icecreamordie]

Hi. So I'm about to make an incubator i was hoping to use an old empty molasses tub and put a light over it. Any advice? Like how far away the light should be from the eggs? What a good temp would be. Should i take the light off every so often or anything? If an egg isn't incubated right after its layed will it still hatch? And if i get any chicks what should i name them?

 

[Pyxis]

A light over a molasses tub probably won't get the eggs to hatch. You're going to need it to hold a steady temperature, turn off when too hot and turn on when too cold, and you're going to need to be able to control humidity too. You'll want some kind of temperature regulator to achieve this. What is the molasses tub made of? You're going to want something that holds heat well, so if it's glass you might be able to make it work but if it's plastic it probably won't work so well. For ideas on other ways to make an incubator that work well check here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/homemade-chicken-egg-incubator-designs-pictures

I would recommend making one out of a Styrofoam cooler. They are cheap, easy to work with, and hold heat well. That's what I made my first incubator out of.

Yes, an egg that has been fertilized will stay fertile and able to hatch for at least ten days after it is laid. After that the chances of it hatching starts to decrease. Temperature wise, you want to keep the incubator at 99.5 degrees F if forced air, and 101.5 degress F at the top of the eggs if still air.

 

[lazy gardener]

My recommendation is that you read: "Hatching 101" in the learning center. Read the whole article, and then you'll know what you need to do to successfully hatch eggs.