Homemade Incubator

[bunnyluva13]

We bought a 'bator years ago but never got it to hatch so we gave up and let the hens do it. The month I have been looking into incubators, the prices seem high, but making one seems complex. Anyone willing to share what they did? I need someone cheap and easy to make. I am not mechanicly inclined so all this wiring the digital thermostat to the light bulb and wire this for that and all this is just to confusing to me. I need something simple, yet, effective. Something that will maybe hold 10 eggs, a little or or less. I would just like to be able to hatch if I want to, when I want to. I have read about fans and all this stuff. Please, save me.

Oh, and I am new to here, HI *waves*

 

[babsbag]

Did you read all the pages on BYC that show the incubators that people have made? There are some great ideas in there.

 

[underground chickenman]

I have debated this myself many times. I finally came to the conclusion that my best option for my first bator would be a purchased one. Even though the good ones are not cheap, they are probably cheaper than what I would end up spending on a homemade one. Especially considering that a bator without an automatic egg turner is impractical for me. I am just not going to be able to turn the eggs on any kind of schedule. Therefore, any homemade bator would have to include the turner, which would drive costs up even more. Finally, if I were to make one, i would want it to be a big one. Yep, more expense. I also figured I ought to take as much of the guess work as possible out of my first incubating experience. Finally, store bought is faster.

Long story short, after much research, I settled on the Genesis 1588 with the 1610 (regular and quail eggs) automatic turner and......it arrived TODAY!!!

Good luck with whatever you decide.

UGCM

 

[kelseygirl707]

I wish there was a way to get around all the wiring and things, but if you want an effective home made incubator, it will need some sort of thermostat, and the heat source will need to be wired too. Also for best results, A fan can really help, but that needs wiring too. I am not a build it yourself kinda girl, my daddy always made things for me, but if you look at my BYC page, you will see, that even I managed to make an incubator. I was really confused at first, and waited almost a year to attempt to make one out of fear, but I finally just decided to try it. I had lots and lots of questions along the way, especially about wiring the thermostat, but I posted every question I had here on BYC, and with the help of other BYCers, I managed to make one awesome incubator. I actually have chicks from it hatching as we speak!

I say give it a try, and feel free to ask any and all questions along the way. With over 50,000 members, there is always somebody around with knowledge and willing to help.

Good Luck,
Kelsey

 

[pdsavage]

I used MissPrissy incubator plan called chic-chick-bator made one just like hers, and then I made another one similar to it but bigger and it holds 3 dozen LF eggs and 1 dozen bantam eggs.
Now I hate doing wiring cause im scared ill shock my self...but I did it all by my self and only blew one fuse mabey 2.
I just hand turn them in the smaller one but the big coolerbator I put a big book uner one side then switch it back and forth every few hours.4 dozen eggs is a bit much to turn all by hand.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/chicken-coop-incubator.html