Home Made INCUBATOR?

[pinkfox]

ive seen alot of "how toos" online for home made incubators...
anyone ever made thier own and any feedback.

im not deep enough into this to warrent any kind of expensive incubator...but a lightbulb and a styrafoam box i could probably handle lol...just thinking ahead...ive got a week before my ucklings come home, let alone how long untill they start laying...but runners are apartnely bad mommas so ill be planning on running a little incubator a couple of times a year.

 

[Wannabefree]

I've seen it work, but never made one. The most difficult part of a bulb in a box bator is keeping temp steady. You can rig up a thermostat to turn the light bulb off when not needed. You wanna just borrow one of mine? I tend to loan one to folks I know will return it since I have two. AND I have the turner, so no having to remember three times a day to turn the eggs. That was a pain till I got the turner! Anyway, just let me know. I don't mind

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Sure the styrafoam and light bulb incubators work. I would make sure you add a thermostat.

You never know though. Both my runner ducks were good sitters . . . otherwise bad mommas. LOL I have had better success with runner duck broodies than with my other ducks.

 

[pinkfox]

id have to learn how to rig up a thermostat...
i was actually thinking of running a dimmer switch, i have one on my brooder box lamp its a realy simple way of adjusting th temp very easily, and its a dial so intensity can be varied quite nicely with it...i thought somehting like that might work for getting the temps correct.

i might take you up on the loaner WBF lol!

 

[mrscoyote]

This is the best directions I have found for a homemade incubator. http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/8510/chic-chick-bator-updated
Nancy

 

[BirdBrain]

A dimmer switch is not a good option as you will be needing to constantly adjust it. I bought a wafer thermostat for around 20 bucks and it works great. I made an incubator a couple of years ago with the kids as a homeschool project. So, your biggest expense would probably be a good thermostat (hot water heater thermostats are too variable). Then swipe the fan out of an old computer. Get a couple of lights, one should be a night light that will remain on continuously and an incandesent bulb and fixture. Ask at the fish department in Walmart for a large styrofoam cooler. You probably want a window in the top. You can use old picture glass or get some plexiglass cut at your Lowes or Home Depot. We have loved using ours!!

 

[pinkfox]

mrscoyote, thats one of the ones i was looking at...
my biggest concern is the wiring...i know its "basic wiring" be me and electrikery dont play well together, im worried ill wire it backwards and blow up my entire house, especially since my house is literally on fuses...no im not talking a fuse box with little swtches...im talking actual glass fuses LOL...when i moved in i had NO idea what i was looking at LOL.

gonna see if i cna find a "how to wire a thermostat to a lamp fixture for dummies" diagram...

if its as simple as red to red blue to blue i can do it...im good with colors...but left wire to right little screwy dodad and right wire to thatthing that sticks out under the left dodad...yeah that would be me lost lol.

why would i constantly have to adjust the dimmer, id think once you got the temperature right assuming your not opening the box every 1/2 an hour it shoudl stay pretty constant once youve got the switch in the exact right position?
or is it more a case of surrounding air temperature having a large effect on the temp inside the incubator?
im just curious as it works REALY well for th brooder box, kept a steady temp and as the chicks get bigger you just turn it down a tad lol.
and is the laptop fan nessicary, wouldnt it just be a "still air" incubator without one...

i helped my cousin set up one made out of a BIG plastic rolly cooler before moving to the US, but it was for incubating his snakes eggs and it was a long time ago.


seems to me looking at the potential cost of parts it might be cheaper to just by a used hova bator, lol, if the thermostat alone is about $20...
Guess its just like everything else...it IS the cheaper option IF you have all the bits to make it with...however if you have to buy al the bits new...it might not be the cheaper purchase lol.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Sorry I don't know about posting links and sharing pics and such, but years ago my father started making incubators, using lights, thermostats and fans with broken refrigerators. I think the first one was one of those little 3 foot refrigerators and then he went for a full sized one, which doubled as a hatcher for some of the shelves. He didn't buy automatic turners, but he rigged up cranks on the outside to turn the eggs a few times a day. I thought it was good use of something that would have otherwise been junk.....plus it did increase Mom's flock, give her something to do and add money to their pockets. (Actually it added money twice, because 1st time was thru chick sales and 2nd time from selling the incubators)