I finally made one! YAY!

[GreenGoddess]

Ok... It's nothing extravagant but it's my first one... It's a still air unless I HAVE to get a fan for temp) bator.. It cost me $11.07 for everything since I already had the lightbulb and light fixture. I've had to adjust a few times but I almost have everything where it should be.. I think I may have to get a different bulb thought because I can't get the temp above 98.2 but the humidity is perfect at 53% and I can always take some water out if I need to... Ok... my question is... I know for a still air bator, the temp should be around 100-101... how much is the 2-3 degrees going to hurt.. Should I get a stronger bulb... Right now it is one of the 20 watt energy savers.. Not really sure what it would be if it were a regular bulb... The light fixture is from one of those clamp on utility lights from wal-mart.. I kjust took the clamp and dome off of it... Below are some pics..

Anyone want to send me a few "test" eggs?? LOL

Goddess

 

[FenDruadin]

Great job! Wow, I'm impressed you made it so cheaply.

You could try a stronger bulb, or you could try more insulation. Can you wrap it in a blanket? Or more styrofoam? It looks pretty thin--can you salvage some styrofoam from shipping or packing boxes & cut to shape? With less heat loss, your existing bulb might do a better job.

And yes, those few degrees will make a big difference. Good luck getting your temp up!

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
Don't feel very comfortable with wrapping it in a blanket and unfortunately, i don't have any extra Styrofoam... But, i am thinking maybe a better bulb... I have the bulb on the opposite side of where I will put the eggs.. I know right above the bulb is much warmer as I can feel the heat on the glass... Hmmm... Perhaps covering some of the glass so the heat won't be escaping from it??? Might have to try that... Will keep you updated!

Goddess

 

[FenDruadin]

Yup--any form of insulation will help. Also, is your bulb in the bottom or the top? Bottom, of course, is better, but you probably already know that.

Honestly, though, I'm probably the wrong person to be giving advice

because I've never made one myself!

You might be able to find insulation materials around your house, or ask for them free on craigslist or freecycle or any group you're a member of (surely someone has extra bits of styrofoam lying around--I sure do--where are you located, maybe I could give you some, lol!).

But if getting another bulb is easy and cheap, by all means give it a shot.

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
Ok.. I think I finally fixed the problem... I took the top part that I cut off and cut all the holes (cup indentations) out and then put the top back on over the glass... Then I put some of the cut out pieces back so that I can adjust the temp as needed... YAY!!! Check it out!!

Forgot to add these! lol

And, i just checked it... Up to 100.8 ... YAY!!!!!! Now I need eggs!!!

Goddess

 

[FenDruadin]

Awesome idea! I love it! Good job.

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
Thank you! As of right now, temp is stabilized at 100.6 but humidity dropped to 40% so, i added some water.. Will see how it does overnight and will update tomorrow...

Goddess

 

[GreenGoddess]

ok.. so, I contacted someone local that had eggs... She told me to give her a call before I went there incase she might not be home.. So, I got the two dollars (really can't afford a lot) and called her.. she answered and i told her I would like to come pick them up... She proceeded to tell me that her husband was not home and she didn't have any eggs in the house so she would call me when I could pick them up another day...

what the heck... So, now, i have $2 in my pocket, an incubator that is on and waiting and no eggs...

This sux!

Goddess

 

[FenDruadin]

Ack! That's so frustrating! I do know, though, that I sometimes don't have eggs available either--I use them up, eat them up, give them away, put them all in the incubator, lol, etc. Had you made arrangements in advance with her?

Well, anyway, this may not help but... I'm in Charlotte, about 3 hours from St Paul's... and I have duck eggs if you had a way to get them. And I'm sure they are fertile--I have not had even one infertile egg in all the time since I learned how to tell. I would be glad to let you test a few of mine in your awesome cheap new bator.

I have fewer than a dozen, and only get about two fresh eggs a day, so it would be a small batch, but it would be something. And you won't even have to pay me $2.

But... you would have to figure out how to get them--I suspect gasoline for a 6-hour trip (3 hours each way) would cost more than $2... you might check on the Charlotte craigslist though, and advertise for someone who is traveling from Charlotte to St Pauls anyway that might be willing to carry some eggs for a small (maybe $2?? lol) fee.

Anyway, if you can work it out one way or another, I'll be glad to spare you some eggs. I would offer to ship, but I don't know if I could do a good enough job packaging, and it just seems like we're so close it would be silly to mail them to Atlanta and then back up again (which is almost certainly what would happen to them).

Oh, they are Indian Runner eggs, some of them blue/blue crosses, some fawn & white/blue crosses. They will hatch out some combination of blacks, blues, silvers, and "mutt"-colored (but they are all pure Runner).

You might also check the farm & garden section of your local craigslist. Any farm fresh eggs from a local chicken owner should be fertile (assuming they have a rooster) and hatchable. Good luck, and let me know if you figure out a way to get some eggs from me.

 

[GreenGoddess]

Quote:
She posted on Bragg yard sales today and actually had "CALL brenda xxx-xxx-xxxx to stop by anytime to get your eggs!"... Well, I called her this morning and asked her a few questions.. Asked her if they were fertile or not and she kinda giggle and said she wasn't sure... I then asked her if there was a rooster with the hens and she said yes so, i assumed they were most likely fertile... There's a good chance at least some of them are... then she told me to call before i came out there to make sure she would be home... So, I called and asked her if it would be ok to stop by and get some eggs... She told me that she did not have any eggs in the house and her husband wasn't home.. She would have to call me and have me pick them up another day... Now, something i didn't mention earlier was that I tried to call several times and didn't get an answer.. I waited about 5 minutes and blocked my number and she picked up.. Perhaps this is coincidence or maybe she just wasn't happy that i would be putting them in a bator.. i dunno... But, if it's the latter, it's none of her business what I do with the eggs.. If someone is going to advertise a product, then they should sell that product to whoever wants it, as advertised... It's not like she put "Farm fresh eggs for **eating** for sale"...

As for the duck eggs, i greatly appreciate it.. Unfortunately, if i hatched ducks out, I would fall in love with them and want to keep them and DH would kill me..

I need to go out around 7:30am and find out where that dang rooster around the corner from my house is.. Maybe they have hens and would be willing to sell me some eggs...

Goddess