lets have a look at the junky incubator i built!

[mark3208]

1/2 inch osb,aproximately 24"x24"x36" old storm window for the door. insulated with 1/2 inch thick foil covered foam insulation cheap at lowes.light fixture from lowes two of three dollars i think,two sixty watt bulbs,i used two for safety,just in case one blew,the eggs wouldnt chill befre i caught it.The thermostat is a waterbed thermostat i bought for $2.95 at the salvation army or voa,i see them in the thrift stores all the time for a little bit of nothing,and they work great! Small fan was like 6 dollars at walmart,and small white thermometer with humidity was only like 4 dollars at walmart also. i scrounged up most of this stuff for a little bit of nothing the most expensive part i already had,that was the egg turner,spend the 40 dolllars,i wouldnt turn eggs 3 times a day for every chicken in the holler[i

mg]http://www.bac

kyardchickens.

com/for

um/uploa

ds/14803

_b8.jpg[/img]

 

[Chicabee19]

that's quite large! And niiice... not junky.

It looks a lot like the Coleman cooler 'bator I got yesterday - it has a similar shape and setup.

is that 1/4" silvered insulation in there?

 

[mark3208]

I built it large so i could hatch a couple hundred eggs at a time if i wanted ,and i already had a small styrofoam one.its not very thick insulation, i said it was half inch,but you are right it was thinner,it was some insulation that they use under the metal roofing on pole buildings,my cousin had some scraps that i used,it is reflective,and works well.

 

[erthymom2]

keep us posted on how your temps and humidity stablize - love to learn how others do their hatching at home :O}

 

[Chicabee19]

we have a whole lot of that silver 1/4". But I think the (changed to read) Igloo is so thick I won't need to add anything to it.

YES... be sure to let us know how temp and humidity fare in that box!

 

[mark3208]

the temp doesnt fluctuate much ,the waterbed thermostat does an excellent job,the humidity has stayed around 43 to 45 percent, i just raised it to about 80% cuz these are to hatch in a couple days

 

[Foghorn Rock]

that looks good.Couple questions.I have never incubated so please bear with me if they are stupid questions.first ,I guess the lights are for the heat,I am not fimiliar with the waterbed thermostat.Does it plug in to an 110 outlet and then a wire goes to the light fixture and turn them on when needed?And how do you raise the humidity?Spray water ,or the bowls of water does it?Are you using any type gasket on the front door?seems like thats where you would loose the most heat from.

 

[banter]

I applaud you!!! It looks great! I bet you'll have a good hatch!

 

[rooster-red]

Looks good to me.

 

[mark3208]

Yes, Foghorn the waterbed thermostat plugs into 110,and then there is a cord that comes out and plugs into the heating pad for waterbed,which i discarded and wired the cord to the light fixture. It works beatifully. I did put some 1/4 inch self adhesive foam weatherstripping on the door but didnt go crazy sealing it up tight,cuz you need a small exchange of fresh air. As for the moisture, the more surface area of water you have,the higher the humidity is going to be.I had one small bowl,but added the other to raise the moisture for the hatch. Hope this was helpful.