Selfsufficientish.com

I found a site online and based on their instructions, I've had a go at building a homemade incubator. Its probably cost around 20 quid, I've borrowed a Brinsea incubator at the moment, but I'm going to use my 'homegrown' one as a brooder as you can fiddle with the temperature.
Here's what I used....

1 large polystyrene box used to transport tropical fish (begged from pet shop-free!)
1 thermostat kit from velleman (with highter rage thermistor) £10
1 12v downlighter kit with 25w bulb (£2-ebay)
1 wine making thermometer (already had)
2 brackets for thermometer( £2 fish shop)
Weld mesh panel for floor (£3 from B&Q)
wooden floor supports (already had)
cake tin for water (to go under the floor)
1 piece plexiglass for viewer

I put together the electronics kit in one afternoon- it was really straight forward as it's for kids use as an educational thing so it comes with full instructions. Wired up the transformer to bulb and board. Made holes in the box- for ventilation and to put the light in. Then I cut a ledge in the lid to fit the viewer in and taped it down. Measured the floor and cut a piece of weld mesh the same size and fitted supports cut from wood to lift the mesh off the floor and the cake tin can slide under. Fitted the thermometer and tested! IT WORKS!! I can maintain a constant temperature! WOW, I am so chuffed at this project I had to share it, I'm now considering getting complicated and adding another 12v power source to support an old chip fan from our old PC to make it a forced air model.....sounds simple I might just have a go...I'll probably change to a wetbulb thermometer as I've seen those on ebay too....

Full of pride in my own ingenuity
kind thoughts
Deb

That's great Deb!

How about a couple of photos?

Nev

I love it when people show the sort of resoucefulness that can make something out of a pile of bits like that.

I'd love to show off my creation, however our digital camera has gone la la since OH took it away for the weekend (coincidence? I think not!) have seen a cheap one in T***o (£39!) and as soon as possible will post some piccies. Thanks for the encouragement guys!

Kind thoughts
Deb

Onya mate! look forward to the piccies!

Nev

I've had a go taking some piccies.....I'm no David Bailey but I hope you get the idea!
Assembled bits- black box is 12v transformer.
Close up of thermostat. Wire with blue bulb is the thermistor- I have now added a longer wire so the unit sits outside the box

How I put it all together

Switched on! you can just make out the thermometer through the plexiglass viewer. Yipee!

is the heat provided by the buld only?
i didnt see anythin gelse on the parts list.

wold chooks not mind lights going on and off all the time?


mark

Nice one Deb....

(missed this when you originally posted the pics or I would have commented sooner)

Very impressed!!! Fingers crossed you will hear the patter of tiny chook feet in due course!!

Yes the bulb is the source of heat. I was surprised how hot it actually got!

Unfortunately the eggs we put in didn't hatch, Eggs were turned, temp was OK, ?Humidity I'll need to tinker a bit..... when OH did the postmortem on the eggs there was no development at all so there is some doubt over the fertility of the eggs -they did come from ebay so that is possible. Now trying some eggs from a local breeder so we'll see how we go (due April 6th)

If they dont, back to the drawing board......
Kind thoughts
Deb

good luck with your next batch!!!!

did you give the ebay eggs time to settle before putting them into the incubator?? If there was no development at all it points more to the non-fertility of the eggs.. (what is the sellers feedback like??)

Have you candled the eggs at all??

Good luck Deb,

I gotta try that myself one of these days!

Nev

His feedback was OK, and I left them for 24 hours so maybe early season or something. I haven't candled this next lot-making one of those will be my next project!
Have you hatched any from 'posted' eggs?

kind thoughts
Deb

Hey Deb,
We hatch in a home made incubator too! Ours is an old fridge converted with a waterbed heater.

Here's a few tricks we have picked up through trial and error.

You must have a tray of water beneath your eggs that is topped up regularly...You may be able to fit an old baking tray in there? Chook eggs more than duck eggs need a higher humid environment. Another alternative is to actually spray with a mist spray bottle... but not sure if that would be a good idea in a small incubator...

Turn your eggs at least every 4 hours. I do a late turn before bed and the girls turn again first thing on the way to loo in the morning (which sometimes means 6 hours...). Mark your eggs so you can turn them left to right and then front to back at each turn.

Candling is very easy and your munchkins will love it. Get a small solid cardboard box and seal it right up. Push a pen through one end and cut a globe size hole in the other. Put the box over a bare bulb and you can look into the egg by holding it over the pen hole. It directs light through the shell and gives you a movie show of what's happening inside! If the egg is fertilised, you will see a dark dot which you and your kids can continue to watch grow on a weekly basis. Candling doesn't hurt the embryo, and is a great way to monitor progress. And it saves any explosions that can result from not checking... This is also a good way of checking the eggs you buy as fertilised ARE actually fertilised!

The shell quality and egg shape is a good sign of hatching potential. Always choose well formed eggs. Ditch any crazed or warty eggs and when the shells begin to thin (as in old layers) they are less likely to make it through the assisted incubation process.

Hope some of that helps. A good incubator strike rate is usually about 75%, but hey - I'm happy with 50! The only funny thing about mine, is they rarely ever hatch together. They tend to begin hatching and slowly hatch over a week to ten days... no idea why that is, as they don't do that under their ma, but they still come. Just have to keep your eye out for the week, as they keep popping out!

Thanks for the instructions Boots!....I can feel a hunt for cardbord boxes coming on!

thanks again
Kind thoughts
Deb

Thanks for the instructions Boots!....I can feel a hunt for cardbord boxes coming on!

thanks again
Kind thoughts
Deb