Incubators Anonymous

[Sustained]

I have the same problem. I have figured out that by building a hatcher I can just cycle eggs through the incubator on a weekly basis. New fluffy butts every week! Has worked great for about 3 weeks! Until tonight when I figured out how to get even more eggs in my homemade cooler bator  . I really think I have a problem lol, so does my DW! I just really like hatching these little buggers out and passing on my love of backyard chickens to others! I currently have 152 eggs in my bater and 2 dozen in the hatcher set to hatch this weekend. Did i mention it is a homemade bator? I have $8 cost put into it!

$8??? I need another incubator like I need a hole in the head but... For that price tag I may have to build shelving in my hatching room to accommodate all the units I would surely have! I have roughly 110 egg capacity right now and a hatcher. And another incubator ordered and on its way

 

[bekkanblue]

When fitting in a second shelf in a cooler bator, how does that effect temps and air flow? Or do folks just rotate eggs/flats of eggs to compensate?

 

[SRHartley]

$8??? I need another incubator like I need a hole in the head but... For that price tag I may have to build shelving in my hatching room to accommodate all the units I would surely have! I have roughly 110 egg capacity right now and a hatcher. And another incubator ordered and on its way

Yep, a hot water heater thermostat at lowes cost me just under $8. All the rest were reuse items, light socket, old power cord, computer fan, and cooler. I figure for the price of some expensive bator I can turn my eggs at least 3x a day. Been averaging 80% hatch rate at the moment so I cannot complain!

 

[SRHartley]

When fitting in a second shelf in a cooler bator, how does that effect temps and air flow? Or do folks just rotate eggs/flats of eggs to compensate?

I can tell you what I do and it works for me. Try to follow I will explain the best I can

. To start I have a basic cooler bator as you could find on here, it is the hard shell type, not the cheap styrofoam. My cooler will fit 3 egg cartons side by side with 2 egg compartments cut off one end of each carton. So that is 30 eggs. Now I use the styrofoam cartons, just the bottoms, no modifications, just cut off the top and the 2 end egg holders. I stack these with just enough space between them to allow air flow. I can stack them 4 cartons high. 4 cartons high x 3 cartons per row =120. This time i got a little creative, I had extra eggs, what was I supposed to do.

I turned the end carton in the third row 90 degrees and was able to hang the end over where the light bulb is. I then was able to add an additional 10 egg carton. 120+10=130. Now since I still had a few eggs begging to be chicks

, I could squeeze in just enough on top between the plexi to get the last couple in. 130+some extra space+152. Now obviously you can not fit in a turner or open it to turn eggs every time so, just turn the whole bator. I have an extra egg carton, a book would do the same, I just tilt the cooler and slide the carton under the bater. Effectively turning all 152 eggs at once! Here is a quick pic.
!

I mark each batch of eggs I set with a different color for each batch. I try to candle at day 11 and day 18 when I remove for lockdown in my hatcher. Day 11 is usually on a day 18 for the previous batch. This allows me plenty of room to put in the next batch. I try to wait and set eggs on mondays so the hatches are evenly spaced. I end up each week hatching between 2-4 dozen eggs, depending on the room I had.

My hatcher is pretty much just another cooler bator. I just made 2 racks in it to allow chicks enough room to hatch. I have had as many as 64 eggs in it at one time

. When I do that many it can be a bit daunting as the eggs are placed fat end up on end. I try to check on them ALOT when hatching so none get stuck and can not get out. At least until there is a little wiggle room. it makes for lots of fluffy little chicks all the time very cheap (no pun intended). I work a full time job and try to turn my eggs at least 3 times a day.

Yes I know I may need a 12 steep program

but I love hatching those little fluffy butts

So far with this setup I am averaging 80% hatch rates. I can live with that!

 

[Sustained]

Yep, a hot water heater thermostat at lower cost me just under $8. All the rest were reuse items, light socket, old power cord, computer fan, and cooler. I figure for the price of some expensive bator I can turn my eggs at least 3x a day. Been averaging 80% hatch rate at the moment so I cannot complain!:yiipchick

I think I have all that on hand. Except the thermostat but Home Depot is right down the road. I might have to give it a try. Just have to figure some sort of egg tray so I can just tilt the actual bator to eliminate hand turning. I've read a lot that cooler bators do pretty good. I'm going to get rid of my LG's. The slightest breeze or temp change around them has them rocketing temps all over the place. Or maybe store them in case of emergency.

 

[SRHartley]

I think I have all that on hand. Except the thermostat but Home Depot is right down the road. I might have to give it a try. Just have to figure some sort of egg tray so I can just tilt the actual bator to eliminate hand turning. I've read a lot that cooler bators do pretty good. I'm going to get rid of my LG's. The slightest breeze or temp change around them has them rocketing temps all over the place. Or maybe store them in case of emergency.

I like both of mine. I can keep them within 2 degrees.I usually place a light throw blanket on top of them to help eliminate heat loss through the plexi on the top and it works great. Kids love watching them hatch and you can just slide it to the side to check temps. If you read my other post, just use styrofoam egg cartons. Again cheap and most people raising chickens have them. They are nice because you can just cut them to fit whatever size you need.

 

[Drewnkat]

I think I am starting to qualify for this thread.

My first batch of eggs hatched this week. Shockingly, all the chicks made it, despite my complete lack of experience. I enjoyed the process so much I just couldn't wait to do it all over again. I'm currently saving every egg my girls lay to fill up the incubator to maximum. I know this shocks none of you, so here's the shocking part:
I am doing this with the 100% support and blessing of my husband! I have this suspicion that despite his claims to barely tolerate my chicken obsession, and his love-hate relationship with the rooster, he actually does like them in his own way. Sure, he's not going to go out there and hand-feed them treats, but he did work pretty hard making their coop secure and comfy!

I told him I'd try to sell some of the baby chicks. Most of them will be Rhode Island Reds, but we have two EEs, so some will be EE/RIR cross, like the current batch. It seems like spring is the best time of year for this. You have the chickens feasting on new growth in the yard, plenty of bugs for protein, and all that good nutrition and exercise should make for some healthy eggs to incubate, right?

And if I am successful at selling some baby chicks, I'll have money to spend on upgrading/expanding out coop situation of course, which will mean plenty of room if I happened to incubate a few more eggs.

 

[randerson846]

I'm just wondering, how long can u store fertile eggs, before incubation?

 

[Sustained]

I'm just wondering, how long can u store fertile eggs, before incubation?

Up to 7 days in proper storing conditions. After that the viability of the eggs drops significantly every day.

 

[Sustained]

I like both of mine. I can keep them within 2 degrees.I usually place a light throw blanket on top of them to help eliminate heat loss through the plexi on the top and it works great. Kids love watching them hatch and you can just slide it to the side to check temps. If you read my other post, just use styrofoam egg cartons. Again cheap and most people raising chickens have them. They are nice because you can just cut them to fit whatever size you need.

yes I saw your second post after I responded to the first. I will be imparting your wisdom to my project

I think I am starting to qualify for this thread.

My first batch of eggs hatched this week. Shockingly, all the chicks made it, despite my complete lack of experience. I enjoyed the process so much I just couldn't wait to do it all over again. I'm currently saving every egg my girls lay to fill up the incubator to maximum. I know this shocks none of you, so here's the shocking part:
I am doing this with the 100% support and blessing of my husband! I have this suspicion that despite his claims to barely tolerate my chicken obsession, and his love-hate relationship with the rooster, he actually does like them in his own way. Sure, he's not going to go out there and hand-feed them treats, but he did work pretty hard making their coop secure and comfy!

I told him I'd try to sell some of the baby chicks. Most of them will be Rhode Island Reds, but we have two EEs, so some will be EE/RIR cross, like the current batch. It seems like spring is the best time of year for this. You have the chickens feasting on new growth in the yard, plenty of bugs for protein, and all that good nutrition and exercise should make for some healthy eggs to incubate, right?

And if I am successful at selling some baby chicks, I'll have money to spend on upgrading/expanding out coop situation of course, which will mean plenty of room if I happened to incubate a few more eggs.

congrats on your first hatch! And welcome to the dark side

hubby's who support the hatching addiction are awesome! Mine is 100% on board with hatching too. I just have a limit on how many I'm allowed to keep. I'm holding out hope that he will come to the realization that you really can't have too many chickens!

Do you happen to have any pics of your rir/EE mixes? I have one. She started out looking only rir so I didn't realize for a long time that she was a mix. At 5 months old she's starting to get slightly puffy cheeks and I'm hoping that they get puffier because it's just so cute. Also hoping she will start laying soon so I can see what color eggs she's going to give. I've only ever had brown and cream layers