Incubator building time!!!!!!!!!(PICS) Inside! NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[k2chickens]

Just bought my first house, very excited, been living here for a few weeks and could not think of what to do with this i fond in the garage. Then it hit me......BUILD AN INCUBATOR!!

lol!

Here is what im working with

Defiantly an old tv stand. Now with this type, i would put a shelf in the middle that would hold two automatic egg turners "like the type you put in Styrofoam bator" side by side since this enclosure is wider and should fit them, and then a big clear plexiglass window for more of a viewing hatcher/bator. I would love to see people come in my house and take one look at that piece of furniture with baby chicks hatching in plain sight in our living room.

The pro's of the tv stand is it would be way more unique, look amazing in my living room and make a great conversational piece. Who wouldn't want to watch chicks hatch while you watch the 10 o"clock news at the same time!

It would be alot easier to make functional too with the egg turner method i mentioned before, all i would have to do is lead the power cords out the back and plug them into a power strip. The con's i can think of are that the area inside the tv stand is much more broad and larger than the cabinet one i was thinking about and im not sure if i could find a heating element that could heat the inside enough to where it can hold the right temp. Also im not sure how tight i can seal everything to where it can hold humidity correctly, where as the cabinet draw already seems to be sealed up quite nicely.

So what do you guy's think? Wat should i do? Where should i go? What should i buy? What do i need to do??? lol enough question's for ya? Really tho, and help/information or comment's you guy's could give would help me out tremendously. Thanks

So what do you guy's think?

 

[VioletandBodie]

i would not put a tv and the stand if you use it, vibrations and nose could e a majore problem i persily like the look and ideal of t but if you want funchinal i would for the first

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Well if your gonna hatch you need a brooder....I think the TV stand would make an excellent brooder conversion, and the cabinet would make a nice bator.

 

[k2chickens]

Quote:
I've been hatching for a while now so I have good brooder I use each time that can hold about 30 chicks untill 3 weeks of age. And if I turned the tv stand into a brooder I think it wood get smelly and be odd to clean and there would basicly be no need to put time and effort into building just a brooder.

 

[k2chickens]

I still need a lot of help/ideas

 

[Kyhen]

I am in the same boat as you. I bought heavy plywood today to build my incubator.
I like the TV stand for you too. You can buy clear sealant from Lowes to put on the seams. I plan on buying a sheet of the silver insulation to cover the inside walls. That should help with the humidity too.
I hope to get more info from the homemade bator thread.
Good Luck.

 

[FenDruadin]

Well, I have no personal experience, but it sounds to me like you're really digging the idea of turning the TV stand into a bator, and if you're digging it then I think you should try. As for the thermostat, I'd think your bigger issue would be ensuring that the heating element can heat the whole thing, and that your fans can eliminate cold spots. That might take some playing around.

But it sounds like some elements would be less work, so the extra work on the heat issue might not be a big deal.

And it would be a super awesome conversation piece!

I do wonder about the insulation, but then people hatch in aquariums and all kinds of things, so it might not be too bad. Anyway--good luck. Sorry I don't have practical advice. Just think you should do it if you like the idea. People have built bators out of weirder things.

 

[k2chickens]

Quote:
Lol thank you, I guess I could always build without insulation, then spot temp check the entire inside. But I'm afraid I might as well do it with the insulation because the area inside is on the larger side. My most important step thoe is trying to figure how and where to mount that thermostat/fan combo I listed above in the link from the incubatorwarehouse.com

 

[k2chickens]

i know that the water heater thermostats used in most DIY home made bators for 8 bucks do the trick but im over the top when it comes to knowing that im trusting my egg's to an 8 dollar thermostat. Are there any other units i can buy that would have like a lcd/led interface that's is just push and play and have an actual readout that i can see? " not saying im going to trust that read out 100% flat out, but i just thought it would be neat to have an electronic heating thermostat that had a readout screen that i could mount to to the side of the bator that i can adjust by hitting a button.

I found this, but not sure if it's going to work....plus the wattage is kinda high...but then im going to have a decent amount of room to heat in my bator.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260641161793&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

now i know it's meant for a fish tank to heat the water inside of it, but isin't it the same thing as the 8 dollar water heater thermostat's thats commonly used?? Or is this just a huge overkill?? I just thought the LCD screen readout and push button temperature control was awesome....except for im not sure if it would work right since it's meant to measure the temp underwater?? Its pritty expensive too.

 

[k2chickens]

Ahhhhhh....... I need your guys input!