- Jun 7, 2012
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- 81
When we started I wanted to do it cheap, but DH wanted to make it 'nice' so it ended up costing a little bit more. The wood could have been bought cheaper, but he wanted some nice stuff. We paid $8 for 4 pieces (might have been 5, but I cant remember). The light was about $6, the dimmer was another $6 (I think a two pack too), the fan was $15 (I've seen people who find them cheaper for like $7, but we only found this one on short notice). And the insulation was about another $7. The shelf liner I had already, but that's cheap too. He used an old extension cord to hook up to the light kit. You might be able to find all that sold together though. And the hinges really were not needed. We never have it hinged shut because it does better just the way it is for some reason. If I shut it all the way it gets a little to hot and I feel like the extra air flow (what little there is) is good for oxygen exchange. So everything was around $70. But you could cut that cost down significantly with using a different wood. Good luck.I like your incubator box. How much money did you put into it? 10 out of 15 (66%) seems like a good hatch rate, esp. for mailed eggs.
My DH is also a great handy-man but slow worker sometimes. He's still working on the coop (part of it is the extreme heat we've had, part of it is need $$$ (I only get paid once per month so once bills are paid, we buy what we can until the paycheck is gone and have to wait for the next paycheck) and part of it is trying to get hubby to see my vision and not make changes from what I want). We've got home improvement projects in various stages of completion. Coop is only 8ft by 8 ft and I'm close to max number (10 girls, 3 boys) already. Hubby caught me looking at a craig's listing that had chicks and he said "no more chickens" without even giving me a chance to explain.He's right, of course. I should be getting 4 dozen eggs each week when they all get going. If my calculations are right, I really shouldn't have to replace my hens until 2014 and if I get started early in the year (like Jan or Feb or even back up some more to Dec or Nov) maybe the new girls will start laying by the time the "old" girls start retiring (they'll be 18 months during Oct. of 2013). Knowing me, I probably won't be able to pass up the chicks at the farm stores next spring anyway.
I think I'll continue to follow your thread and learn all I can. I'll cheer when the hatching begins.
CG
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