incubrooder?

You may have already gotten your answer by now, but NO a cardboard box will not work! There isn't a way to control the humidity. If by luck 1 or a few hatch, there is always better results by maintaining humidity. A styrofoam container with 25 watt incandescent bulb is better for home made incubator.

 

I tried cardboard as incubator and as brooder , it work for both process. but be totally sure that styrofoam is much better than carton box for bator , but for brooder I think it work.

I have never used styrofoam as brooder for several reasons :-

1-ventilation , air exchanging in styrofoam is lower than carton.
2- friction, in styofoam box , there are bigger chance that new chicks got legs problems as spraddle legs.
3- brightness, the styofoam always brighter than carton box , that make legs have difficultly to sleep at nights and hurt their eyes if they stay in it for such a long time.
4-getting styofoam large box in usually difficult and expensive and isn't easy to change it with another one every weeks.

 

Cardboard makes a good brooder but not so good an incubator. As a brooder, so long as there is something on the floor to prevent straddle leg from occurring, you just toss the darn thing away when it gets messy and get another box. Saves on decontamination and cleanup. Now there are some who have had success with the shoebox method (what I call it) but unless the box is one of those plastic lined ones so the cardboard doesn't soak up all your humidity, it's not that great. Styrofoam, even one of those cheap picnic beer boxes works better.

Styrofoam makes a great incubator but not so great for a brooder. Even if you line the darn thing with cardboard or some other material to reduce the glare and put a shelf liner on the bottom to help prevent straddle leg, you are essentially putting the chicks inside what they will consider a large popcorn ball. They'll eat it and ask for more. As an incubator, quick and easy decontamination and clean up with the bonus of it being a waterproof material for maintaining humidity

A good brooder that is relatively easy to make would be to use a big Rubbermaid box and some of that nubby rubbery shelf liner (think it is like $5 for a 12in x 10ft roll at the Wallyworld). Depending on where you brood the chicks at, you can cut "peepholes" for air circulation along the sides, rig up a light that can hang through the lid, or even just rig a light to hang over the thing and use the lid somewhere else (makes a great dining mat for the dog bowls). Made of the material it is, you can hose the thing out, wipe it with a disinfectant, and have it all good to go for the next batch of chicks (and there will be more, gotta remember how chicken math works )

 

Quote:I'm sorry. I was reading over the post on my phone while I was walking to the stands at a rodeo. I totally missed the brooder part! I was thinking you were only asking about using the box as a incubator and I have killed eggs that way so I thought I would speak up.
Brooders can be made out of cardboard boxes, rubbermaid totes, and wood. I guess it's just up to what you feel like you can keep clean easier. Again sorry for the confusion on my part, I must have sounded like a big dummy

 

you can get a hovabator styrofoam incubator (model 1602) from LLL Reptile Supply (google it) for about $40 plus shipping. or if you want to build your own but don't want to use light bulbs most pet stores that carry reptile supplies carry "heat emmitters". they screw into a regular light fixture, come in a variety of wattages (40, 60, etc) but are actually ceramic with a heat element running inside. they make no light at all but lots and lots of heat. and even if the power goes out they stay warm much longer than a light bulb. i'm planning a homebrew 'hatchabator' that will use at least one of these...