DIY Incubator

Quick and simple

 

Today after coming home from a long day out, my other half found a slightly cracked bird egg in the garden. There was blood on the floor and we assumed the chick in the egg did not survive the attack. Threw the egg in the compost and went about doing our own things.

 

About an hour later, my other half called me and told me that the chick could still be alive after doing some research on google. First we have to seal the little crack on the top of the egg with wax. After that, we were hoping that we are able to find the nest so we can safely return the egg but no avail. Next best thing is to build an incubator. What do you need for a quick and simple incubator?

Parts required:

- Styrofoam cooler box

- Light holder

- Light (about 23w)

- Bowl of water

- Fertilised egg

- RH & temp meter

- Glass or plastic sheet

 

The process of building the incubator is simple. Take the Styrofoam cooler box and make a hole at the side big enough for the light holder to go through. Cut the top of the cooler box to the size of the glass or plastic sheet. This will act as your window into the incubator. Next put a bowl of water, RH & temperature meter and the egg into the incubator and turn it on.

 

The main purpose of the water is to retain the RH level. If the incubator gets too hot, you can either make holes along the side of the box or replace the light to a lower wattage light.

 

Here are some guidelines for successfully incubating chicken eggs by stormthecastle

1. Keep the temperature between 98 and 101 fahrenheit (The optimal temperature that you are striving for is 98.5)
2. Keep the humidity between 55 and 70%
3. It will take 21 days for the eggs to hatch
4. Gently rotate the eggs 1/4 to 1/2 turn three times a day for the first 18 days
5. For the last three days of incubation do not rotate the eggs
6. Don't wash the eggs before putting them in the incubator, leave them as they are
7. You can't use store bought eggs, you have to get them from somebody that raises chickens, ask for fertilized eggs because you want to incubate them. There is no way to guarantee fertilization but the chicken raiser will give you good eggs that have probably been fertilized
8. It is quite ok to keep the humidity on the low end of the scale 55-65 for the first 15 days but try to get the humidity up to around 65-70 for the last few days. This will help the hatching.

Below are some pictures of my incubator:

 Dumbbell is to even out the weight

 

 Viewing hole at top of the box

 

 

If you look carefully, you will be able to notice something is missing in my incubator. I don't have the RH & temperature meter. I'll have t get it first thing in the morning. I sure hope this little chick survives and hatch.