what features are important in a hatcher

I built mine using one of those medical styrofoam chests that 2inches thick.. its about 14 inches wide and 17 inches long i cut out part of the top and put plexiglass on outside and inside and sealed with silicone and metal tape. i put a computer fan at one end close to the top and drillled 5 small hole behind the fan to pull in fresh air i put a light socket on the side down from the fan them wired in a wafer themostate past the light the fan blows all the time and it blows the heat from the 40 watt light buld toward the wafer i drill a 3/4 inch hole on the other side for ventilation. i put a cookie sheet in the bottom with a small sponge and drilled a 1/2 inch hole in the end and put piece of pvc pipe in to add water without having to open it..i put 1/4 inch hardware cloth on the bottom over the water pan. i have hatched 4 batches of quail eggs so far and it holds perfect temp and humidity.. hope this helps ..

 

Mine is pretty simple and it works but it's much bigger than you have planned.

 

It would appear that good heat and humidity control (as well as the ability to routinely turn eggs) are the important factors in an incubator.

Gail

 

Aside from the most common features, I like my hatcher to be tall enough and big enough to provide plenty of room for them to hatch and move around without being able to jump or fall out. I also like a big clear window so I can watch for any problems, count and ID them as they hatch from the marked eggs.

Like this slide out feature and a huge HD viewing window.