Homemade Incubator

[kitkat2498]

Yay! Time to show off my homemade bator!
So I decided to go with the cooler design (it just seemed so easy) and here's the result:


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My temperature stays at a pretty constant 100 degrees,but occasionally drops to 98 or rises to 102. But these changes don't last long and it always evens back out at 100. It's a dry incubator,so I don't have to worry about water and humidity. I handturn the eggs three times a day,as I'm sure you guessed by seeing the letters on them. Here's a view through the looking glass:

And here are my babies:



I candled one the other day and the heart and veins had formed! I am so excited!!

 

[gingerly1983]

Exciting!!! I am too much of a scaredy cat to make my own incubator.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Awesome!!! Good luck with your hatch!!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

oh and do you have a fan in it? temps should hold 102 top of eggs if you dont or you will delay incubation and it could cause losses. Have u added a thermostat? this link will explain the types https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubator-incubator

also Dry incubation does absolutely not imply no water..... please refer to https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101
this is a paste....

What Dry Incubation implies.
Humidity is NOT A SET NUMBER, you need it YES!
However, you use it to "adjust" egg weight loss during incubation. We candle on days 7,10,14,18 To WATCH WEIGHT LOSS IN EVERY EGG! An EGG MUST lose approximately 13-14% of its weight during the incubation process. THIS IS YOUR GOAL!! You can monitor this by marking Air cells and also by weighing. Please refer to CANDLING section of this Article for more Air Cell info.

Size of air cell on day 7, 14, and 18 of incubation

I choose the easier method, keeping a close eye on air cell growth during incubation. You begin by ONLY adding a small amount of water and keep Humidity between 28%-45% and adjusting as you weigh or candle depending on moisture loss. So if your air cells look too large you must add humidity, too small lower it, and if your weighing you adjust as needed. UNTIL DAY 18 LOCKDOWN,
then stop turning and raise humidity to 65-70%

I have read and re-read this article numerous times!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-incubate-hatch-eggs-using-the-dry-incubation-method
And read this entire thread with over 300 posts of information
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/113681/humidity-in-bator-excellent-info-here-everyone-should-read-this

Humidity will naturally fluctuate in your incubator as it fluctuates widely with weather conditions.
If it is slightly lower or higher some days then don't worry about it. Do your best to keep the humidity level in the incubating room around 50%. You may actually need to dehumidify. By controlling the room humidity, you can be more accurate with humidity inside the incubator. Just remember high humidity is MUCH worse than low humidity as higher humidity hinders the evaporation inside of the egg. Each egg must lose approximately 13-14% of its weight
during the incubation process. You can monitor this by marking Air cells and also by weighing.
Please refer to CANDLING section of this Article for more Air Cell info.
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NOTES: It’s a good idea to keep the incubator plugged into a surge protector. Use distilled water in your incubator to help prevent bacteria growth. Omphalitis, Mushy Chick Disease and Yolk Sack Infection may be caused by a bacterium that enters through the porous egg shell. Unfortunately, incubation conditions are ideal for breeding bacteria as well as incubating eggs. Brinsea sells a disinfectant, formulated to be used for cleaning eggs, incubators, safe and effective against yeasts, fungi, viruses and bacteria which can cause fatal damage to the growing embryo. Pennies can be added to water wells. Copper helps to destroy the cell walls of bacteria, thus keeping bacteria out of the incubator. Pennies before 1982 have more copper content and pure copper kills 99.9% of bacteria.
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[kitkat2498]

Awesome!!! Good luck with your hatch!!

Oh,thank you for the help! As for humidity,I know it is a pretty big deal...I live in Florida (very humid place). Will the outside humidity affect the inside of my bator? And my water...how much is a little? A small dish? Or a jar? I tried a fan once...it burned out the charger I had it wired to. I followed all the instructions on how to set up a pc fan, and it was working,but like I said,it literally burned the chord. Is there someplace I could find a small fan to use instead? I'm sure theres something online, but I'd rather just go to a store. Thanks!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

you must have wired it wrong, you need a converter from an old house phone or something, please see the link for details on fan installation.

also its not about how much is in the bator at first.... read the above, its important you understand its a matter of air cell grown and weight loss in the egg. you will need to add or dry incubation as necessary, you may not need any humidity until day 18 since you say its humid there, but again its all in the candling weighing and marking air cells.... that information in the hatching 101 article is VERY IMPORTANT for successful hatches, I would take the time to read through and understand what is necessary. I bet if you put time into research you will have a WONDERFUL hatch rate if you can get temps perfect!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

oh and your very welcome!!!