I need help getting started with an incubator.

[seminolewind]

Wow Paddock, sounds like you had fun and built something good! Nice hatch. If you have the time a pic would be appreciated.

Australorp, I just see so many big lorps that I'm not sure if I could tell the difference without looking at their feet, LOL

 

[australorp_breeder]

lol, didja already know the foot trick? Even though I have both breeds, before I memorized who was who, it took me a while to figure out who was which breed. If I was looking at someone elses' chickens and they had both breeds that were mixed I probably wouldn't be able to tell unless I did look at their feet. (LOL! At first I typed 'unless I did look at their gf) XD!

 

[seminolewind]

LOL, with my 3 JG girls, from babies on, the only way I could tell was by the eyes. Marishka has normal chicken eyes, Henrietta has slightly lower brows, and now has the lowest bokbok, and Charlene has very soft eyes, and more facial feathering, and a sweet expression.

With two of my Polish girls, there was nothing to tell them apart. The 3rd had all her toenails, the 2 identical were missing the same toenail, and were the same shade, Nothing. So I banded one. After 2 years, she outgrew the band, now they're identical again, and I don't know who's who of the two. Maybe I'll spot one with wood stain, LOL

 

[australorp_breeder]

Wood stain? lol, short reply I know.

 

[australorp_breeder]

I'm not sure if any of you are subscribed to this, but I ended up buying a Hova-Bator from MyPetChicken. I'm going to start incubating eggs Friday

!

 

[Penturner]

I built my own, but it was not really low cost since I duplicated a lot of stuff and bought several varieties of several components. I did this because I intended to experiment with different designs.Last week I ordered a dozen eggs which interrupted my experimenting and I had to set the incubator up with the most reliable design I had found so far so here it is even though it is a fairly common one in the homemade bator page.

I also have two Styrofoam containers and one more small ice maker in order to continue my experimenting. but that will be another day another post.

1. well insulated container (Styrofoam or ice chest is what to have in mind). better insulation prevents outside factors from effecting the inside of the incubator. willing to hunt could be free I have located 4 suitable containers and not paid anything yet.
2. windows are fun and at least a small one is necessary to check the eggs, but windows severely compromise insulation so keep it to one and small. plexiglass or picture frame to remove glass from maybe $5. warning plexi likes to warp at 100 degrees.
3. temp control, Water heater thermostat. $8
4. heat source, bottle lamp kit at home depot about $8
5. power source and fan from old computer. free if scavanged from old computer. otherwise you will have to buy a 12 volt dc power source and fan, maybe 30 or 40 dollars. not at all sure what surplus fans sell for.
6 Humidity. various size vcontainer to hold water but vary surface area. Raid the kitchen and keep it free.
7. egg holder. 12 inches of 3/4 to 1 inch pvc pipe and an egg carton.
digital thermometer at wall mart $8
8. light bulb, I hae used everythign from 40 to 90 watt bulbs. More power means more heat in less time.

cut holes for ventilation in egg carton cups and use twist ties to attach pvc pipe to the bottom of it. it will then rock back and forth and serve as a quick and easy turner.

install window in top of container so you will have good view of eggs, thermometer and water container. it is also helpful to be able to verify fan is running.

place fan. assembled lamp kit (per instructions) and thermostat at one side of incubator. Note cut the negative wire from the power cord and attach the wires to the thermostat at the two screws. does not matter which wire goes to which screw it is only important that you cut only the negative or ribbed wire and not the positive or smooth wire.

This is probably the single most important part of the assembly and will prevent huge 10 degree temperature swings.
place the thermostat so that the back metal plate is facing the bulb and only 1 to 2 inches away from and above it. this exposes the heat sensing area of the thermostat to the greatest heat. this will cause the light bulb to go on and off more often creating a more consistent heat generation. set the thermostat at about the middle of it's range which should actually make it run to hot at first. place fan so that it blows diagonally across incubator past light bulb but not necessarily directly at the bulb.

cut a piece of cardboard to use as a guard to keep eggs separated from fan and light bulb area. also shield eggs from direct light from the bulb.

turn on the bator and adjust thermostat so that thermometer reads a steady 99.5 degrees for at least 24 hours.

I had to set up mine in a hurry and did not have time to test it for long before setting eggs. it has ran 4 days now with no worrisome fluctuations but I did have the benefit of working out most of the kinks in this set up during my experimenting. basically I simply went back to what I had already found worked. any design does take a while to work out the kinks. it is easiest if you focus on just one problem at a time and not try to fix several things at once. Get temp under control then work on humidity that sort of thing.