My homemade version of an incubator

[redneck]

Not sure where you are from, but in the U.S. you can try Radio Shack. Or you could use a regular light switch, like the ones used in your house. Also make sure your plug in transformer is rated at 110V or 220V in and 12V DC out. Try goggling Radio Shack or electronic supply, for the switches and lights.

 

[aran]

cheers mate will do. Im from New Zealand but now live in New York.

By they way and this again may sound stupid...I just put the digital hygro/thermometer in the brooder with the day old chicks to see if its working ok and its 98F and 54% humidity in there. How come one cant just hatch the eggs in the brooder? ( obviously when there is no chicks in there!)

 

[redneck]

I don't think you would have very good control over the temp and humidity in the brooder. Don't know much about hatching (just started looking into it) but you will need to maintain a temp of 99.5 deg. I think the only way to do that is to have an enclosed environment in an incubator. Someone correct me if I'm wrong...I'm just learning.

 

[aran]

yeah im sure you are right...i checked this am and the humidity is only 38% now and the temp 95F so there is significant variation in the brooder for sure!

So I have managed to collect all the necessary components for making the incubator ( thanks so much for the ideas and tips) except the light fitting and the acdc adaptor/transformer.

As soon as i have those I will be able to complete the incubator and give this hatching lark a go!

i cant wait!

 

[McSpin]

Update - with eggs.

Shown through the side window. I'll report on the hatch rate in 3 weeks.

 

[aran]

looks terrific mate...i see you have a water weasel in there...did you hook the puter fan up in the end?


aran

 

[McSpin]

Yes, I mounted the fan to the box lid. It wasn't one from a computer, but is very similar. The water weasel with a medical thermometer is allowing me to very accurately control the temperature. The egg rack is also great. Turning the eggs, takes all of about 6 seconds. So far, I'm very happy with the set-up, but only time will tell if I got it right.

 

[Arklady]

Hey what kind of eggs ya got in there?? Some sure are dark.

Arklady

 

[McSpin]

The dark ones are Penedesencas and Wellsummers.

 

[McSpin]

Okay, here's an update on the hatch results.

Eight of the twelve eggs hatched perfectly and all on day 21. I opened the 4 that didn't hatch and none had any development. I'm guessing they were infertile. The 8 that hatched were all out within 18 hours of each other.

The wet-bulb thermometer worked very well. It held at 86-87 (approx. 60% humidity) degrees for the first 18 days and then I raised it to 92 degrees for the last 3. To obtain a wet-bulb of 86, it took filling two of the small dishes under the wire. To get it to 92 on the wet-bulb, I had to fill one more dish - all very easy. All the while, the little electronic hygrometers readings were all over the place. I put them in there just for comparison reasons. I'm convinced the wet-bulb thermometer is the way to go. The eggs would pip a small crack and then sit for a few hours without any further cracking. Then all of a sudden the chick would zip open the top and be out within about 15-30 minutes. I'm convinced the membranes were of the right moisture content to easily open.

The egg turning stand worked great. It took only a couple seconds to complete a turn, so the incubator lost very little humidity or heat when I did it.

Now for the negative. The dimmer switch wasn't as carefree as I had hoped. The first 16 days, it only took very minor adjustments to keep the water wiggle at the correct internal temp. However, for some reason the last 4-5 days, it started increasing temps at night much more than I'd like. I think it probably had to do with increased voltage during times of low electric consumption. I compensated by simply lowering the dimmer switch more than I thought I'd have to, before going to bed. Next time, I'll try rigging up a thermostat that can be set with a narrow range for switching on/off.

Overall, I think getting a 100% hatch on the only eggs that looked fertile means this incubator will be a keeper for me.


End result: