Homemade Incubator or a Cheapie?

[KFox]

I'm thinking it might be most cost effective to make an incubator and hatch some eggs.

My situation: I only want to add 2 or 3 new chicks to my flock. Shipping that many is almost unheard of and very expensive. Incubators are expensive. I haven't found anything local worth buying.

I know some really cool and thrifty incubators have been made and posted about here. If I do this, I'm going to blog the entire experience...with pictures of course. My one issue, I know nothing about hatching eggs or incubators.

If you had ONE thing to tell someone about to make an incubator or purchase some eggs to hatch, what would it be? And would I be better off with some science experiment type incubator that is cheap but works or would I be better off making one on my own?

 

[Flawedatdesign]

Well I'm a DIY incubator person. If you can make your own I say great. It's just a matter of what you want to do.

I personally wouldn't trade anything for the building of my own incubator and seeing chicks hatch out of it.

Now as far as cost if you total it all up I have close to the same in my DIY bator as I would had If I went and bought a Styrofoam cheapie without a turner.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Ether way works. Building can save you a lot of money but its a bit of work. Not just the build but afterwards moving parts around to get it working perfect.
Heres a little reading on parts.
Picking a box
Picking a thermostat
Picking a heat source

If you choose to buy a cheep foam incubator, skip the LG an get a hovabator. The wafer thermostat of the hovabator is a better option than the electronic thermostat of the LG. Buying the fan option is worth it too.
At the bottom of this page has some good incubator options .

I have yet to find any good reports on those 3 egg jobs.

 

[1AcreRooster]

I recently built my first one from plans posted here, I had most all of the stuff at home already, so only ended up costing around $12. I built it one evening, and it has been rock steady. Very pleased with the results, and my daughter and I had fun putting it together

 

[Arielle]

Read, read, read and read more aobut how the incubators function. WHy ventilation holes are necessary and where to place them; why the temp needs to be rock steady and how the layout and parts make a difference. KNow how to calibrate thermometers and hydrometers. Decide if you will use a fan or not; this effects temp readings and loss of moisture in the eggs. Keep a journal.Egg turner--if it's not in the budget to buy one, a woodenone can be built to roll the eggs and wither automate the turning or hand pull-push to roll.(It's here on BYC)

I bought an LG--requires a lot of monitoring.For the money I've spent, I could have bought a hovabator( if only the feed store carries them . . . )

For a few birds--try craigs list; it's a LOT easier!!

 

[KFox]

I have looked at Craigslist and the closest offer to me is about an hour, maybe a little more. I've checked classified ads locally and have not found a chicken I'd pay for--yet. I'm going to keep looking and research the incubators before I attempt it.

 

[Arielle]

It's a real learning experience to make one and to incubate. By the time you are done, and have a few chicks, honestly, you will realize the hours drive was easy.

I'm not downing incubating, just that it's a learning curve. I read and read and read and I'm still making mistakes. I'll be very surprised and very happy if I can hatch anything in my first attempt. I'm glad I did it only because I am planning to incubate more than a few.

Read, read, read.
Have ventilation that you can increase at day 11.
Maintain temperature via a source and controler
stable room temperature helps a lot
use a fan--helps with ventilation and increases moisture removal from the egg
know how large the egg size needs to be for the number of days into incubation
candler--LED flashlight and a toilet roll
calibrated thermomters
hydrometer--because a range is ok, i don't calibrate ( aire cell growth most important indictor of %RH)
viewing window a must

I'm sure there is more; keep reading. Good luck!!