Homemade Incubator Find

[jimnjay]

$ 100.00 for a dimmer switch!!!!! You need to go to a lighting store or Lowes. They cost around $ 10.00 and you don't have to do any electrical wiring at all. You just plug it in the wall outlet and plug the light into the dimmer. You can see the dimmer on top of the incubator in the first picuture.

Like I mentioned, my 25 watt bulb in this unit is backed down about halfway with the slide on the dimmer. You will probably need a way to control the heat. If you have to many ventilaiton holes you can plug them up with fiber fill like you use to stuff pillows or any such material.

 

[Chickie]

Ok Thanks I will try and find a lighting store. That sounds alot more reasonable. I will plug the hole's up, do I need a few for ventilation.

 

[jimnjay]

Chickie, I have three holes on the top and the bottom of the two sides. I used a chop stick to poke the holes. You could use a pencil. I also have two similar holes on the too of the unit. I think that creates air flow. With the air at the bottom and the top it should great a circulation. I tried to follow what the styrofoam incubators have done. I know they have vents on top as well as the bottom.

 

[Chickie]

Ok Thanks I have seen a dimmer switch on the internet at $16 which I will order.
Thanks for all your help.

 

[Southern Chickens]

OK, here's mine:
Before the window, holes pole along the sides and on the top.

The window installed, love the free supplies from the post office. I just cut it out using a razor knife and installed a 8X10 piece of glass from a picture frame.

The inside, more free stuff. The water tray is from Taco Bell nachos, and the wire I had outside. The dimmer was $5.98 at Wal-Mart and got the thermometer on ebay for $6.50 with shipping! I like my $12.50 incubator.

I filled a plastic bag with water and put my temp reader into it like some people do with the water weasels.

Everyone's inside!

Here's wishing for a good hatch. They are due on April 25th.

 

[Chickie]

Hi I made the home made incubator and have just hatched 4 chicks out of 7 eggs. They are all healthy and fine. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[AccidentalFarm]

southernchick- did you give up on the electric skillet?

 

[silkiechicken]

Nice work! I would be a bit careful with where you have that temp probe located. There can easily be a 2-3 degree gradient from top to bottom of egg in incubators like yours w/o a fan. Maybe try checking temp at egg level to make sure.

 

[xrayman]

you can also get big Styrofoam containers from hospital labs, they get blood delivered in them and usually have a bunch sittin around. Gonna have to get one and make a hatcher out of it.

 

[zimmy]

Ravenxxx, I made one out of plywood. It's probably more work than I wanted, but it was fun

Since this was my first time, and I had no idea what I was doing-I hadn't even got to this site-I made some mistakes, and made it too big for the 12 I set. But despite the setbacks that happened because I failed to remind my family how to treat the incubator, I still hatched three of the buggers.