How is this as a homemade incubator ?

[Canina]

First,,, wanted to welcome you to BYC.
Since you do like to experiment,,, consider what @yakitori did in thread below using crock pot.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/crockpot-slow-cooker-incubator-take-2.1485891/

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Hello, experienced and wise one!

Ooh, very interesting, thank you!

 

[yakitori]

I just wanted to report that I successfully incubated eggs using a Vivexotic repti home wooden vivarium!

... photos?

 

[Canina]

... photos?

Hi there

Yakitori is one of my favourite foods and I love Japanese culture

They incubated in the top tank

Hatch day

My little stinkers. I had them on paper towel for the first 24 hours but they seem fine on the Aspen. It’s not my favourite substrate and I might switch to coco fibre once my bale is used up. The tank below is usually on coco fibre but I have a structural damp problem being fixed right now so I’ve had to change out half of it to keep humidity down temporarily.

I’ve never hatched anything before nor have I kept birds before but loving it so far.

 

[yakitori]

Yakitori is one of my favourite foods and I love Japanese culture

Oh! I was wondering if someone would ever see the humor in my username, haha.

My little stinkers. I had them on paper towel for the first 24 hours but they seem fine on the Aspen.

They are so cute! I have mine on what is basically a coarser version of sawdust from day 1, never had a problem with chicks eating the bedding.

I love your set up, it looks great! I wouldn't mind having that in my living room, lol!

 

[NatJ]

will give an update in a few weeks on how it went.

I don't see an update from OP, and they have not been on this site recently, but a month and a half after posting about this incubator they were asking about the sex of some chicks they had hatched:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-gender-are-these.1485274/
The dates are right to have been set when this thread started, hatched, and be the age given in that other thread.

So maybe it worked?

 

[yakitori]

I don't see an update from OP, and they have not been on this site recently, but a month and a half after posting about this incubator they were asking about the sex of some chicks they had hatched:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-gender-are-these.1485274/
The dates are right to have been set when this thread started, hatched, and be the age given in that other thread.

So maybe it worked?

Thank you for the detective work! I guess anyone can hatch their own eggs with a bit of creativity, haha

 

[Canina]

Oh! I was wondering if someone would ever see the humor in my username, haha.


They are so cute! I have mine on what is basically a coarser version of sawdust from day 1, never had a problem with chicks eating the bedding.

I love your set up, it looks great! I wouldn't mind having that in my living room, lol!

Thankyou I picked them up on eBay for £56 each. And they have stolen my heart.

 

[dagger_e88]

@dagger_e88 how did this go?

Sorry all, never got any notifications for new replies here.

It did work perfectly for the first 18 days, but the space heater developed a problem after that; it would randomly shut off on its own at irregular intervals, say, once every 4 hours, then again after 5 hours, or something like that. I had been checking the eggs every hour or two anyway, so whenever that happened I caught it quick enough to be able to fix it and the temp never dropped low enough before I was able to heat it back up again. I wasn’t gonna risk it happening again during a time I wouldn’t be able to fix it fast enough, say overnight for example. So for the final 3 days of incubation (lockdown) I made a new/different type of incubator, this time combining one someone bought for me that read 40°C, but only actually got to around 34°C, so I used a red heat bulb (I think it was 150/175 watt) underneath it to get the temp up to 37.5°/38°. It had a lid and holes in the bottom area so I could add water with a syringe for humidity without having to open the lid. This worked with no problems, drew way less power than the space heater did, and I only checked it a few times per day to add water. I also remember with the space heater method the temperature inside the basket would fluctuate slightly (only by maybe 1°C, 2°C max) likely because of it being in the basement and the air temperature down there also regularly changing. I would have to move the heater forward or backward an inch or 2 to either heat up or cool the incubator slightly, then check again 20-30 mins later to make sure it worked. So the bulb method is probably better in almost every way, and could’ve been used for the first 18 days as well.

 

[NatJ]

Sorry all, never got any notifications for new replies here.

It did work perfectly for the first 18 days, but the space heater developed a problem after that; it would randomly shut off on its own at irregular intervals, say, once every 4 hours, then again after 5 hours, or something like that. I had been checking the eggs every hour or two anyway, so whenever that happened I caught it quick enough to be able to fix it and the temp never dropped low enough before I was able to heat it back up again. I wasn’t gonna risk it happening again during a time I wouldn’t be able to fix it fast enough, say overnight for example. So for the final 3 days of incubation (lockdown) I made a new/different type of incubator, this time combining one someone bought for me that read 40°C, but only actually got to around 34°C, so I used a red heat bulb (I think it was 150/175 watt) underneath it to get the temp up to 37.5°/38°. It had a lid and holes in the bottom area so I could add water with a syringe for humidity without having to open the lid. This worked with no problems, drew way less power than the space heater did, and I only checked it a few times per day to add water. I also remember with the space heater method the temperature inside the basket would fluctuate slightly (only by maybe 1°C, 2°C max) likely because of it being in the basement and the air temperature down there also regularly changing. I would have to move the heater forward or backward an inch or 2 to either heat up or cool the incubator slightly, then check again 20-30 mins later to make sure it worked. So the bulb method is probably better in almost every way, and could’ve been used for the first 18 days as well.

Thanks for the detailed update!

The only thing I don't see: did your eggs actually hatch successfully?

 

[dagger_e88]

Thanks for the detailed update!

The only thing I don't see: did your eggs actually hatch successfully?

Np
I started with 12 eggs, 9 ended up hatching. It probably would’ve been 10 or 11 but one had a blood ring after several days and another somehow cracked while in the incubator after a few days.
I kept all chicks for the first 2 weeks, then gave all but 2 away, back to the farmer I bought the eggs from, then once the final two were 6 weeks old I gave those away as well.