Looking to start incubating

[bfeusner]

I would really like to start incubating some eggs and begin raising baby chicks from birth...However I currently do not own or have access to an incubator...Would I be better off buying an incubator rather than trying to build one? If building one is a viable option does anyone have a design that they have had success with? Any help you can provide is appreciate as I would love to have some chicks but the end of December if possible...Happy Hatching!

 

[NancyP]

Hi, check out this link for home made incubators, maybe it will help you decide what to do. https://www.backyardchickens.com/chicken-coop-incubator.html
and

Nancy

 

[catwalk]

I have only used homemade incubators, and my hatches are not great. With the turner, thermostat, fan, etc., that I've purchased for it, I'd be as well off purchasing the $80 package from TSC. If you don't mind a learning curve, by all means make your own. Mine are just styrofoam boxes I put a LITTLE window at the top. A full size picture frame window lets out too much heat, and I have to lay a blanket over the whole thing. I use a little canister uplight for heat, and I found that a 23 watt spiral bulb works just fine; just be sure to eliminate fire/melting hazards! A thermostat is a must ($9 at Lowes) unless you can monitor the contraption at all times. Throw in a washcloth or sponge for humidity, and voilla! Your incubator is served! If you don't have a fan to even out the heat, rotate the eggs so they aren't always sitting in the hot/cold spot.

My skills are getting better. Serama eggs are notorious for not hatching, so I count anything over 50% as a success. If you can, lable the eggs with the hen it came from: I have found that certain hens are more successful than others. Good luck!

 

[mulia24]

i'd suggest to build your own one, as long as you can keep stable temp and humid and of course the thermo hygro is really accurate, there's no reason that the bator will give you low hatch rate except the quality of the eggs were low.

by building your own you can feel, satisfaction of being able to build an artificial *mom* yourself.

the key are stable temp and humid (accurate device to measure it) and good quality egg + regular turning and there's no need to buy a built-up bator.

good luck and godspeed.

 

[Surehatch]

I suggest buying an incubator. Companies like GQF have spent hours designing and perfecting their incubators. Unless you have the time and money to experiment with home made incubators I would suggest buying a new one off the shelf. I have heard of more people failing with hatches when using their home made incubators than ones succeeding. That's not to say that home made ones don't work, but you need to know what you're doing to make them work. You can get some pretty cheap starter incubators like the Hovabator Model 1588 and similar ones.