HOMEMADE INCUBATORS??!?!?

[t-dawg]

yo, i was reading other peeps things, and i was thinking that it would be better if i hatched them then raised them, that way they wouldn't have social problems. however, im not up to the idea of paying $30.00+ for an incubator. i've seen some homemade incubators and they are expensive. So how do you make a low cost, real efficent, and awesome incubator?(i raised chicks awhile back, so no need to be afraid...)

 

[BirdBoy88]

Hey go to this link it shows you how to make a homemade bator that is really cheap

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8510

( although i wish incubators cost $30 here..lol )

 

[speckledhen]

The link in my sig line shows two bators we've made, one from a 48 qt cooler and one from a dorm size fridge.

 

[eggonomist]

A lot depends on what you can scrounge, if you change a light fitting, keep the old one, and you have your heat. Next a box, cooler or a few sheets of plywood and some glass for a window. Your thermostat will cost anywhere between 10-100, or you could use a dimmer switch. next a soap dish and sponge for humidity and your pretty much done. I have a lot of material at my disposal so I have played at making turners and different shapes of incubators and heat supplys. I think my next design will be one that if works I will offer as a flat pack, need to do some more R+D first. If your looking for wood I would recomend melomine and silocone seal the edges to stop damp getting into the wood and it's easy to wipe clean. If I drill a hold I make sure it's the same size as a syringe so I can line the hole with plastic and use the plunger as a plug if needed. The trays could also be foil ones so you can recycle them after the hatch. now all you need is some wire mesh that I have yet to find a free supply of. A PC fan can usually be found for free on really old PC's if you get the power supply you also have the 12v adapter, if not the older cell phone chargers would work, even better is using a powerpack that you charge the car (again only if you alreadyy have one, and power the light from the mains plug and the fan from the cigarette lighter and if the power fails you have a back up. If you make it with internal dimensions of around 16 inches you can add an auto turner later if you desire. I like the idea of heating the air and then moving the heated air around the eggs rather than expose the eggs to direct heat as that would encourage hot spots in the incubator, however this is jsut design preferance, either seems to work very well.
Let us know how you get on

 

[perfectly_polish]

Quote:
Well if you can't afford an incubator, and $30 is very cheap for a 'bator. Then it would probably be easiest to buy day old chicks from your local feed store, they don't have social problems if raised correctly.

 

[ButtonQuailBoy]

Can't promiss the greatest outcome but I have a chick-u-bator for $20 plus shipping...If I get your addy I could go check the Shipping price!

 

[conny63malies]

You can get aay for cheap, go to a fish/petstore
and ask if they have those styrofoam coolers the fish come in . Usually you can get them for free. Do you have a old 4x6 or or so picture frame with glass/ You can use that as a picture window. Just cut a whole a little smaller than the glass and tape it down with duct tape. Get a old table lamp from goodwill and take it apart you can use the cable and the light bulb part for heating, cost nothing to maybe 5$, for a tray where the eggs lay on you could use a cooling rack for cookies or a piece of hardware cloth cut to size. If you are handy you can put a dimmer switch on to regulate the output.
All you need now is a thermometer.
Stay away from the chickbator dome incubators, they are a waste of money.

 

[rooster-red]

If you don't want to spend $30 on an incubator, you'd be better off getting chicks from a feed store as has already been sugguested.

The cheapest thermostat you can get is a water heater thermostat, about $9.

I built one out of a discarded plastic 48 qt cooler.