Homemade incubator

[Festa X11]

If you have a look on uk ebay there is a seller on there who is selling a polystyrene forced air incubator for £24.99+5.99 post he seems to have good feedback. We was tempted to get one as a emergency spare

 

[richje100]

yeah i seen that one. theres also one on there for £5 second hand which ive emailed them about. have you had much success with hatching your own? theres also a number of people selling fertile eggs on ebay too, would you get them from there or from a farm?

 

[Festa X11]

So far we have had mixed results with hatching. Silkies have been the worse first batch we only got 2 out of 12... second batch we got 8 out of 30 silkies but 18 out of 18 for light sussex all were ebay eggs. We have some more silkie eggs on the way and I want some more Lincolnshire buffs.
The only thing I would say is there are a lot of con merchants on there so check feedback well before buying and make sure the pictures are of their own birds.

 

[richje100]

thanks. ill keep that in mind.

 

[Chic Chick]

Quote:
I can send some to you if you send me your email address, I can't take apart the receptacle with the wiring because I've got eggs in the bator and I'm using it but I will explain better.

 

[BirdBrain]

Chic Chick,

Don't even think about taking this to email. We all want to know exactly how you made it and what improvements you are making. For instance, do you find that the area in the corner to the left of the fan is a cool spot due to circulation? Are you having any circulation/cool spot issues. How does air return to the fan? Does it just come over the top of the barrior? How to you turn your eggs? Is that water tray adequate for lockdown humidity levels? If not, what did you do to boost it? Okay, I guess I have probably pummeled you enough for now.

More to come.

 

[bethsplace]

my first incubator was a bucket with a cup for water covered with a clear shower cap and a light hanging over head. hatched 2 out of 3 dominques. now I am hatching some out of my new incubator made out of an old metal cooler $4.00 computer fan $2.00 Adaptor for fan 1.00 2 thermometers $2.00, 4 corks $1.20 water dishes free, baking rack free humidity gauge free from my house humidifer, plexiglass 1.39, light fixture $6.00 we cut a window in the lid and taped plexiglas from the outside, cut several air holes installed light fixture and fan, put in bakers rack water pans thermometers and got the temp to be steady at 100 and put in our 6 eggs the ones that I can see in are doing great at day 14 the others are very dark eggs welsumer eggs and cukoo marans so we will wait and see next weekend to see what hatches!!!

 

[JCoogle]

this was my first homemade one. I already had the aquarium and just had to but a light. It worked great and I still use it has a seperate hatcher.

 

[richje100]

aquarium, excelent idea. but i got rid of mine 6mths ago.
chic chick, email is [email protected].

what about a few heatsink fans from a pc, will they work sufficient?

thanks

 

[Chic Chick]

Ok I will try to explain step by step....

I bought precut styrofoam insulation that came in 14 1/2" X 48" sheets. I cut 4 of them down to 34" for the length pieces, and used

2 of the 14" pieces for the ends of the incubator. I very carfully used a hot glue gun to make the box and then I taped over the

corners to make sure there were no gaps for air seepage. Then I cut out a rectangle on the "top" piece and taped in some

plexiglass. Because the plexiglass is so heavy and the cover so long, I glued wood reinforcements inside the cover which prevents

the cover from slipping off too! The total measurements when completed are 34" long X 14+1/2" wide and 15 +1/2 high.

I was going to line the inside with the silver bubble insulation but was too impatient and just lined the corner with tin foil. I glued a

partial wall cut from a remaining piece to make a 6" chamber for the heat bulb mainly to keep the direct heat off of the adjacent

eggs. In order to run the cord out from the light and fan I cut a small hole in the bottom corner of the chamber and then did not

seal it so I could have the fresh air coming in from that hole. Knowing that hot air rises I made 4 vent holes a few inches from the

top on the far end wall. Currently 2 of them are closed off . The fan blows onto the bulb and then the heated air over the water.

The light and the fan were put together by a dear brother because I have no experience with wiring. I had taken my computer fan

to him so it could be wired to an adapter and he ended up attaching the light socket and the fan and it was all closed up nice and

tidy in a receptacle box with only one cord to run everything. I will post a couple better pictures of it tomorrow.

The racks were made by cutting wire fencing to two 26" lenghts and bending them so they were at an angle with the high side

being 5 " high. Then I just put some coconut matting over top the racks so the egg cartons don't slide around. The second wire

rack stacks nicely on the lower rack and they can both have the lower sides raised up when lockdown begins. There is room for 6

dozen eggs on each rack, and I will have to place some wire to block the chicks from falling off the edge into the water tho....lol I

have 6 more days until lockdown! Did I explain good enough? There are more pictures of the bator in my page.

My improvements to come after this hatch is to surround the incubator with either wood or maybe just the silver bubble insulation. I

also want to make wooden trays on a dowel so that I can tilt the egg cartons without opening the lid, and I still have to insert a

small hose so I can add the extra water to the reservoir if it's needed during lockdown and hatching.

Overall I'm pleased with the way it's keeping a constant temperature without a thermostat, and I hope to have a good hatch on this

trial run.

I dropped and smashed an egg this morning while I was flipping the cartons but I saw movement in the 29 silkie eggs I

have remaining. The marans hatch will be a surprise because I can't candle them...


bethsplace - what a unique incubator that bucket was! I hope you have the same good hatching in your new one!

JCoogle - If that is your first incubator can you please show us pictures of your next one?