My 14 yo sons homemade Bator- questions??

[momiphouph]

I think Im to impatient too! lol I really hate to spend the money and loose the eggs, but it is also a homeschool project so it an investment is in more then just getting chicks. The chicks are the bonus... hehehe

I have to see if I can find the paper egg cartons, our store only has styrofoam so I may have to do some hunting.

Thanks for the help!!!

 

[fivestring]

I had 14 eggs sitting in a styrofoam carton (10 on the lid and 4 in the cups) during lockdown. I put the carton in at lockdown but before that, they were in an LG egg turner.

I'm not saying the eggs wouldn't hatch in styrofoam, but I though it very strange that my first 16 eggs to hatch out of a total of 36 in the incubator were all sitting off the styro carton and just laying on a paper towel covering the screen floor. Eventually, all but 4 of the eggs did hatch. It just seemed to me the carton insulated the eggs from either the humidity or the carbon dioxide. I can't think it was a temp difference as I had a fan running in there the whole time.

I have since seen pictures of people using the paper fiber cartons and cut the bottoms out of the cups to let air circulate better around the egg.

I like the egg turner in your incubator. Great idea.

You might want to do some research on the position of the fan. My understanding is the air isn't to blow directly on the eggs. I had my computer fan blowing air up toward the lid, away from the eggs.

I really like the electronic thermostat, kelseygirl707. Gotta get me one of those!

 

[momiphouph]

Thanks! My dh and ds made it. I was suprised as to how he did it... but impressed! Ds told dad what he wanted and dad helped him "fix" it a bit.

Our plan during lockdown is to remove the turner, it slips right out. Then lay the eggs on the bottom of the bator. Will that work ok? But if the styrofoam gives issues I will have to keep an eye out for paper cartons. I can see how that could give the eggs more breathing room. We do plan to cut holes in the bottom of the carton, so good to know that will work better. Just working on having the best hatch we can get!

I will look into the fan, its on a hook to REAL easy to move! We have already adjusted it a few times, Im glad you mentioned it I think that was one question I forgot to ask. I may turn it to blow toward the door. I'll have to see what info I can find on that, or just post the question.

Any suggestions for keeping the humidity down? Seems like most people cant get it high enough? Ours shouldnt give us trouble come lockdown time... as soon as we add water it goes up to 80%. Crazy!

Thanks again!!! Keep the info coming!!

 

[kelseygirl707]

Humidity has nothing to do with how much water, it's all about the waters surface area. I read earlier, that somebody had to use a pill bottle, because anything bigger would make too much humidity. So just try smaller size containers, until you get a good humidity.

Also, putting eggs, on the bottom for hatch will work fine, just remember that the temp at the floor can be different than the temp at the elevated turning rack, so keep an eye on the floor temp when you go into lock down.

Good Luck!

 

[quiltnchik]

Quote:
I don’t get it; how does the thermostat work? Yes, I'm electronically challenged! *LoL*

 

[kelseygirl707]

The thermostat has a sensor that is fed into the incubator through a small vent, it is also wired to the light bulb. When the temp is perfect the light turns off, when it cools past the range you set (Mine is 4 tenths of a degree) it turns the light bulb on. Keeping the incubator at a stable temp throughout the hatch.

 

[quiltnchik]

Quote:
Aha! That makes perfect sense now - thanks for clarifying

I just couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what the thermostat was being attached to inside an incubator! *LoL*

 

[silkiechicken]

Sure looks a lot better than the bator I made from a card board box when I was 14 and hid in the closet in the attic so my mom wouldn't find out.

You' don't really need a wiggler, just put the thermometer probe at the top of egg level.

 

[kelseygirl707]

Quote:
Aha! That makes perfect sense now - thanks for clarifying

I just couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what the thermostat was being attached to inside an incubator! *LoL*

LOL, yah I know what you mean, the water heater ones are attached inside.

 

[fivestring]

On humidity, I ran mine without any water for the first 16 days. It stayed between 30-50% the whole time. Then when I got to lockdown I wanted it between 60-70% so I squirted some water into a couple of the cups of the styro carton. About 10 minutes later the hum. climbed quickly.

What kelseygirl said about water surface area was true for my experience. At one point in the middle of the hatch, my humidity dropped. A very small amount of water (maybe 1tsp) onto the paper towel area on the floor, which allowed the water to spread way out, bumped the humidity way up.

You'll see that when a chick hatches, it causes the humidity to rise (from 65% up to 85% in my LG bator) for maybe 10 minutes or so then start to go back down.

Different people have differing views about the best levels. I had an 89% hatch rate with the levels listed above so that is where I'll probably do my future hatches.