My fancy, home made incubator.

[cbiblis]

Check this out and let me know what you'll think. Also let me know what you'd pay for it. I'm planning on selling them locally.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=41326

 

[mahalo4]

awesome have you hatched in it yet?

what did it cost you in parts?

 

[cbiblis]

it cost about 200 in parts ( not counting the materials that i had on hand) and i just finished it today and put 23 eggs in it. it looks hopeful though. i keep looking at it and for the past 5 hours 51% humidity and 99.5 temp well see in 21 days i guess.

 

[FenDruadin]

Coooll!! Can't wait to hear how your hatches are in it. What kind of a thermostat are you using? And how is humidity managed? Kind of rookie questions, I know--I dream of making (or finding at an affordable price) the ultimate incubator, but I don't know what that would look like yet.

Thanks for sharing. I have no idea on price, as the only incubator I've ever purchased was a Hovabator. Yours is a VERY nice looking bator, though.

 

[cbiblis]

Well first off i took a thermostat off of a space heater.( i tried the hotwater heater thermo and the fish tank heater thermo but found that this one regulated the best.

Humidity is regulated via the manual vents on the back of the cabinet. In one of the pictures you'll see a tray in front of the fan and heater can. I found that surface area is an easy factor to adjust. the tray in the pic is 12 x 16 humidity was 82, with the bottom of a chick waterer was 58, and with a big yogart container 51%. cool huh?

Well as for searching, i've been looking at every name brand system out there they want from 400 to 1100 dollars and all of them are made of painted plywood. Most don't have egg turners. A friend of mine had a dickey's brand system and brought it over for me to study. He paid 400 10 years ago for it. I took one look at it and desided that i could build a system 5 times better looking than that one. so i got started. I researched all of the componants and found the best way i could to manage the three major things. (temperature,humidity, and ventalation)

There you have it.

 

[Kittymomma]

Very Nice!!

As much as I'd like one I know it will be some time before I can afford such a nice incubator and after reading all the horror stories of temp/humidity problems with the lower end units I don't want to go that route either.

We're pretty handy around here though so if you decide to make up some plans for that lovely unit I (and I'm sure LOTS of other people) would be interested in purchasing them.

Not sure about how much you should charge for a completed one. You said you had around $200 into it. Is that a true $200 or did you build part of it with leftovers from other projects? About how many hours did it take to complete? What do comparable (if any) units go for?

If you raise or have easy access to desirable hatching eggs you may be able to get a marketing edge by including some with the purchase of one of your incubators, though I imagine that you would have to ship them a week or so after the incubator so temp/humidity would be accurate.

Good luck and thanks for sharing!!

 

[cbiblis]

As for makeing plans, that would be hard to do the cabinet is what in differant than the others. I am a carpenter with all the tools and know how to construct such things. One of the things that makes this cabinet is the raised panel table that i have. They cost around 2500 dollars to purchase. Then theres the joiner table to glue the 11 1/2 " boards together to form a tight seal. Alot of factors i wouldn't be able to write down for a normal person to construct such a project. The internals are the same as others for the most part.
As for the 200, yes i had a lot of the material on hand. The wood cost me around 50 dollars however i buy in bulk from companies i've been dealing with for years. And the internals cost me 150 bucks.
As for time this project took me 35 hours to perfect. However now that i know all of the parts i need and the measurements i need to cut i might be able to take a day off of the next build.
As for comperability, i would say the GQF SPORTSMAN MODEL 1502 EGG INCUBATOR
Special Discount Price 605.00 However the cabnet is of 1/2" painted plywood that wouldn't keep you dry in the rain. The egg turner is the same i just built it from scratch and mine isn't computer operated though it's not complicated math involved.
Sorry about the spelling theres not a spell check here. I never was very good at spelling.
Anyhow thanks for the reply.

 

[Kullas]

Looks very nice Congrats on a great bator

 

[cbiblis]

Thanks kullas. Elljay huh? I'm in murphy,nc, just north of blue ridge. Ever come up this way? Do you order your quail eggs or have layers? If layers do you sell?

 

[Kullas]

I used to go up there all the time to the flea market but havent been in awhile. i dont have any layers right now. im getting my breeding stock this year and the spring time i can sell some eggs and birds then put some in the freezer.my uncle may be still getting some i will have to ask him