Just another homemade incubator

Hello everyone - I am a relative newcomer to poultry husbandry - but decided to get my feet wet a couple of weeks ago. I was gifted a "cull" serama bantam that didn't fit a local breeders guidelines, and immediately became fascinated by this miniature chicken. "Tiny Tim" stands about 7" tall and is fully grown. For anyone interested in seramas, just google them, there are a million links to the worlds smallest chicken. Anyhow - I purchased some serama eggs on ebay and eggbid.com (61 total with the extras) and acquired a used little giant still air incubator w/turner. If you know anything about incubators (most small incubators with a turner hold about 48 eggs) and math, you will notice a discrepancy in capacity requirements (actually, I won too many auctions), which required me to be forced into exploring incubator construction. I have enjoyed reading the other threads in re: to this topic and was hoping to share my experiences thus far. I am going to post several pics and descriptions. The hatch is going well so far, and I am cramped up from crossing my toes and fingers.

You can see the inside here

The heat source is a 60 watt bulb. The temp control is a dimmer switch, which maintains any temp you choose, provided the room temp stays within 5 degrees or so.

The cooler is quite large as you can see compared to a normal commercial incubator. The cooler was acquired from a container used to ship perishable items (in this case it was blood for a dialysis patient -yuck), you can get them from hospitals or sick relatives :(

This message was edited Feb 18, 2008 11:14 PM

Humidity/Temperature are monitored via a $7.00 Home Depot digital combo, additionally I cross-check temp with a regular incubator thermometer. The fan was removed from an old computer and then wired up with an old 12V wall-charger cord from a spotlight that I had which crapped out long ago (my recessive pack-rat gene prevented me from being able to toss out the charger).

The window is an old piece of plexiglass, set into a notch with a duct tape hinge. There are vent holes in the bottom and top, that were melted through with a hot nail (wear gloves!), and the humidity is maintained by plugging some of the holes with rubber corks from the hardware store. The screen is hardware cloth that leaves a three inch space between itself and the bottom of the cooler. This allows for proper air and moisture distribution, with the moisture supplied by a tupperware container filled with warm water and a sponge, which creates additional water surface area - evaporation - humidity. You may also notice that the wire has small 1/2" x 1/2" pieces of wood stapled in place for stiffness and also to flatten it so the eggs don't roll around.

This message was edited Feb 18, 2008 11:15 PM

Oh yeah - here's a little trick I figured out for the commercial incubator with the auto-turner. If you are concerned with losing humidity every time you can't keep yourself from opening up the incubator up for only GOD knows what reason, do what I did. This picture shows a section of surgical tubing taped to a piece of wire clothes hanger, which is then attached to a clean squirt bottle. You can "fish" the tubing down thru one of the vent holes in the top of the incubator to dispense water directly into the foam channel, WITHOUT removing the top of the incubator, thereby maintaining your temp and humidity level. You need not attach the tubing to the bottle permanently, simply remove the screw on portion of the spray bottle nozzle, and hold the tubing in place with your fingers while dispensing the water. Works like a charm....Scott

This message was edited Feb 18, 2008 11:14 PM

Next project is already underway for my turkey eggs, including significant product improvements - side view window and manual turner. The side view window will prevent excessive heat loss thru the top window model, as we all know - heat rises. The manual turner will prevent opening the incubator to turn eggs three times a day and constantly fighting to get the heat back up and stabilize the humidity level.

The manual tuner is still under design, but for the current model I took strips of styroboard and ripped them down with a saw, then heated up a bolt/nut and melted a hole into the end of the styroboard. I then epoxied in the nut, melted holes into the side of the cooler with the bolt and threaded the bolt into the nut which had been secured in the foam.. Presto - now all there is to do is wait for the turkey eggs, and make a pattern to drill the holes in the styro strips for holding the eggs.

Turning the eggs is accomplished by a simple turn by hand of the head on the bolt which is left exposed on the outside of the incubator. I hope this works in real life as well as it does in theory....Scott

Maineiac, that is wonderful! I was thinking of using a lab bottle to add water (the one with the downward sloping nozzle) through a hole in the wall, but the tubing sounds easier. I am going to study your turner, My incubator is so small however, that I don't seem to have wall space to insert turners. But you have certainly inspired me to continue tinkering. I just got the thermostat installed---now have to figure how to moderate the temp with that and the dimmer switch, which as you say, works wonderfully well if you have stable room temp. Let us know how you hatch goes......Sooo interesting.

You can purchase the tubing at a pet supply store, it is the same as used for fish tank bubblers etc.. I have no idea if the turner is going to work, but it certainly gives me an excuse to slip out into my workshop and kill some time working on these little projects. I hope the snow melts soon!!!

Sounds like you've been bitten by the bug! :o) Good luck
with your eggs and I think you are the first to have 2 bators
going. Spring does come in an egg, after all!

may princess tammy have awesome bators!

Thanks Truest.
I candled the oldest batch which are in the little giant - and out of an original 45 which went in, 36 are alive and active (so far) as of day 14. The eggs were sent to me during that horrendous cold snap two weeks ago, the day they arrived it had been around zero degrees for three nights, thank goodness the eggs were viable. Unfortunately, my 40 Wyandotte chicks from McMurrays weren't so fortunate and all arrived frozen! I feel so bad about that, I should've waited until warmer weather to order them. They did go good for them though, and the new babies are being sent first week in March - hope it's a little warmer then!!!

Aw, maine, sorry they froze. I hope you get better weather,
everyone is dealing with awful conditions up there.
I know when they arrive, thoughts of deep freezes will melt.:o)

may princess tammy have sunshine in winter.

My 8 year old daughter (Grace) was the most upset. She asked if we were going to have 40 funerals! From the mouth of babes!

The timing is actually better for them to be re-shipped that first week of March, as I have 50 other Wyandottes coming from Ideal and Welp hatcheries, so all 90 should land here within a couple of days of each other. My second batch of Serama bantams (in the homemade bator) are also due to hatch that same time. That will be a busy week!! For anyone reading this that may be asking themselves if I am crazy, the answer is absolutely yes. I am raising most of these biddies to sell as started layers, or freezer birds depending on how many we keep for ourselves. Here is one of the brooders that I made out of a roll of old carpet.

Well, kids are more resilient than we sometimes give
them credit for. LOL :o) Mind if I ask how you went about
finding buyers, and marketing your brood? How much do
you sell them for? Are there many who prefer your home
grown birds? I want to raise my -lets see-28 + birds for
dual prupose. Some for my freezer, and I would like to sell
organic free range eggs. I have checked into licensing reqmnts,
and if I sell to the organic cafe I need one, but if I sell direct,
I don't.

may princess tammy have a sales manager. teehee

I grew up on a farm, and we were almost completely self-sufficient. So, I am fortunate to have a large circle of family and friends that appreciate homegrown produce as much as we do. I have taken on a similar project a couple of times before with pigs, with excellent results. So as for marketing - just word of mouth locally, and that word spreads like wildfire in these parts. I will assess price once I figure in my time, overhead, etc., but I have given everyone the preliminary price of $6-$8 - for 5 month old pullets and have yet to quote a price on the roos (mostly free I assume). My other motive in getting this many birds to raise, is so I can have multiple choice picks for breeders, then sell the surplus birds to get my investment back (and maybe pay for those I keep to boot). I want to establish a breeding flock of many different colors of Wyandottes, here in Maine, as I had a difficult time trying to obtain all the colors of chicks I wanted. At some point, I would like to start showing birds with my children at the local fairs, etc..

gotta run.......Scott

Truest, all I did when I had eggs to sell was to make a large sign (about 2x2ft), put it on a post out front of my property and the buyers came to me. Recently, the people who had the eggs business pretty much tied up haven't had any farm eggs to sell, so their customers have been coming to me for eggs. Mine aren't strictly organic nor are they totally free-range. We have them penned in a large pen (40x100ft) and let them run free in the evenings when the weather permits. I do, however, give them commercial layer feed and cracked corn.

We can't get the prices for eggs that some other places can. Ours are now selling for $1.50 a dozen and the stores are in the $2.00 plus range, but people simply won't spend more than that on eggs. Of course, we are in the poorest county in Michigan and that has something to do with the prices.

Hopefully, you will be able to do what you want to with your hatch.

I have a friend that sells his eggs to the local "green" store and food co-op store. He gets top dollar, like $3.00 a dozen, plus he sells them guinea eggs and quail too... I have no idea what certifications he has if any at all. I agree with GG that the best way may be as simple as a sign at the end of your road....Scott

I checked with our local organic market, and they were getting
$3. a doz three years ago. They offered to give me all the org.
scraps I wanted for the chickens. I know to claim organic I may
have to jump through hoops, and to sell to a middleman I
would need a state license. I like the idea starting off with a
sign and word of mouth. Gives you a chance to get comfortable.:o)

How are your 2 bators working, Maine? Sorry to get off topic.
I hope your hatch goes well and you get those wonderful
serama's. I read what you wrote, and I'm going to have to take
a look at them.

So far, so good. I have three bators up and running now! A friend of mine has some Ameraucana eggs that he wants me to hatch out for him, so those are going in once they get up to room temp. I also put in the "TAC" bantam Rock eggs last night, probably a waste of time, but hopefully they will hatch...Scott

"TAC" bantam. We have a new catch phrase- one to be
avoided at all costs.LOL
I recvd some ameraucana chicks with my live order. S'posed
to be 1 roo and 8 pullets. They appear to have eye tufts. All
are the boldest, friendliest and heaviest of my 2 week old chicks.

I am bidding on some pure white Ameraucana eggs on egg-bid. What special looking birds.

These other eggs from my friend are a little of all colors, including some that are likely cross-breeds with a beautiful SL Wyandotte Roo. His Amer. Roos are awesome looking birds too. Should be some super chicks...Scott

All my 2 week olds are fluttering about the brooder, (i have
expanded it to a generous 36x48) but when the amer's land,
they go 'THUD'. It is somehow strangely pleasing. I bet the white
are lovely. Perhaps I will hear you have hatching eggs in the not
too distant future. :-)

Do you have any pictures of them that you are willing to share?

As requested.

I was using my left hand, sorry I cut off his beak.

Hi truest. Is that an Ameracauna? I didn't get one this time--but there is something very appealing about their plumage, sort of muted and rich at the same time.

Yes, an ameraucana it is. I like their 'camo' look, too. I didn't
see the green in this one's legs at first, I think it's neat.

i'm told the shade of the leg is the shade of the egg!

maniac, if you are looking for eggs, look no further than our own DG egg swap, hosted by silkie chick!

tf

I haven't sent in my $20 to Dave. I get paid this coming Friday, may have the extra money there. Then I can get to the egg swap... I did win the all-white ameraucanas though, so looking forward to getting those warmed-up...Scott

Good luck there, Scott, we're pulling for you.

I need to stop bidding on biddies

Hahaha, too funny, maineiac. Glad you got the white amer's.
Thanks, TF, that's a good adage about the eggs to remember.

DH is a bit overwhelmed by the number of birds I now have.
But, I'm the one who cares for them, and that number will be
halved when I process for the freezer. I hope your amer eggs
are in much better shape when they arrive than the seramas.