Homemade Incubator

Eggs can be a tiny bit off the recommended temperature, (99.5) but even one degree to low is pushing it.
It looks to me like it's around 96 degrees, and since that thermometer is not meant for low temps it might be incorrect. I would go to any store and even buy one of those thermometers you put outside a window to tell temps.
Those thermometers really aren't accurate enough. They're only to within a few degrees, not guaranteed perfect. And you don't have any guarantee that the one thermometer you have isn't off.

I'm mostly worried you're going to end up with chicks that develop most of the way, try to hatch, and die, or ones that hatch with birth defects from the wrong temperature and die. It'd be a shame for them to suffer from something that could be prevented by just getting a better thermometer and an actual method of measuring humidity, ya know?

It's not a very good experiment if you don't have enough equipment to know, if and when when it goes wrong, why that happened. Temperature? Humidity? Both? Neither?
What tool should I use to measure the humidity? And what should it be at? (First time incubating....)

Also, I will try and find a better thermometer.
Would it just be best to buy an incubator and just put them in a real one maybe at this point?
 
What tool should I use to measure the humidity? And what should it be at? (First time incubating....)

Also, I will try and find a better thermometer.
Would it just be best to buy an incubator and just put them in a real one maybe at this point?
You should also be able to find a Hygrometer in the thermometer section. Personally I'd buy an incubator. :)
 
Our neighbors have 2 ayam cemani roosters and one has decided to jump the fence often throughout the day and join my flock of hens. They don’t really notice him and because he is always over, I’ve necited I wanted to name him.
What are some good names?

This thread is an interesting one, I want to post and update on things like, I’ve made my own homemade incubator and am hatching the eggs of my chickens now that the rooster is somewhat a new member to my flock.
He doesn’t sleep in our chicken coop yet he hangs out with our girls. I think it’s adorable!

Anyway back to the incubator:
I will attach some photos of the setup.
What I am using is a heating pad and some rice. It is in a plastic tub that is small, I cut a hole in the side to get the heat pad’s wire through. I covered the tub with a blanket.
I also have a bowl of water for the humidity.
There are 6 eggs in there right now and as I candled them, I saw that only really 3 had lots of growth. I could see lots of vanes, especially in the oldest one that was laced on the 16th (4/16/19). The 4th one is really dark yet had something weird inside that I could hardly see.
The other 2... well, they are really dark from the start and I can’t see anything through the shell while candling, no yolk...they are about 3ish days old.

I will post on this thread updates about the incubation and the chicks, and when the rooster comes back over, I will try and get photos of him!



*pictures of the incubator setup*
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Gotta say ur luck u have an ayam cermai threading ur hens they are supposed to be very expensive if of top quality and I'm very impressed when someone builds there own incubater for me personally with everything I have going on it easier for me to just buy some but I'm definitely look forward for further updates
 
I understand it's just an experiment, and you aren't attached to outcome, but even so you'd feel really good if it works! If you can buy a digital thermometer and hygrometer, that should be worth the expense, and you can always use it elsewhere if you don't incubate any more.

So the rooster is ayam cemani, what are your hens? That sounds interesting .....
 
I understand it's just an experiment, and you aren't attached to outcome, but even so you'd feel really good if it works! If you can buy a digital thermometer and hygrometer, that should be worth the expense, and you can always use it elsewhere if you don't incubate any more.

So the rooster is ayam cemani, what are your hens? That sounds interesting .....
Well, my hens are all mix breeds (mutts)
Here’s another update,
My black hen went broody today!!!! :D

So I’m putting the eggs under her instead.
I’m so glad, now I don’t have to worry as much!
 

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