Incubators

Some home made Incubators

This is a still air manual incubator/hatcher with home made electronic thermostat, not very good at holding the temperature but it is what got me hooked,

I hatched some 50 -60 chicks in it but the overall percentage was about 60% with lots of problems with humidity control, it is made of chipboard and painted on the outside with hamerite and only a single pane glass in the door.

The fan you can see is what i placed in the bottom as a test to try to help even the temperature but it is a bit small for the job

In a fridge, Cool

Made in a fridge and powered by light bulbs, I then updated and fitted a resistance but left the bulb holders for emergency just in case, it has semi automatic turning too.

Great insulation and hardly uses any power once heated

There is a wire mesh cover for the motor and fan but I removed it for cleaning

This incubator uses a digital thermostat with PID control and performs better than the one I paid 1700€ for

The freezer on top will be used as a separate hatcher when I get round to it, all the bits are inside so I don't loose them I just need time to do it

some close ups of the details

Notice the wedge position in the tray when swung left or right

The Brute

You can tell the size of this one by the size of the egg carton, the hatcher next to it is 55cm high

It will hold more than 500 chicken eggs, needless to say i have never filled it yet