


It's important to remember that in any clutch of eggs there will be some which don't hatch for all kinds of reasons which are nothing whatever to do with the incubator: low fertility levels, time of year, handling and transporting problems, poor storage, bacteria infecting porous eggs and so on.
#DIY EGG INCUBATOR HOW TO#
Ill teach you how to build a successful egg incubator in less than. Some studies put it as low as 33%, although others claim to have a much higher success rate. Hatching Reptile eggs or even Bird eggs with a DIY egg incubator is cheap, easy and fast.

In this article, I examine the positives and drawbacks of doing it yourself, and provide three sets of instructions to help you make your own if you decide that's the way you want to go.Īnd I talk to our local Farmers' Union about the fish tank incubator they have used successfully for generations. Is it really that simple? Have we become too reliant on commercially-produced gadgets to perform what is essentially a very natural process? Our friend Claudio tells me his mother (in rural Italy) used to hatch chicks in the warm space under the kitchen fireplace if there was no broody hen available. So can a homemade incubator be less expensive while still providing the optimum levels of heat, humidity and security needed for a successful hatch? The information in this article is taken from reading extensively about DIY incubators, talking to members of our local farmers' union about their "fish tank incubator" (see below), and hearing from friends and neighbours who have used them - and still do. But many of my friends here in Italy have - in fact, my Brinsea incubators became something of a celebrity because they are such an unusual sight. This needs to be placed near the eggs for a true reading, as still air homemade incubator models tend to have hot and cold spots.Some models also include a fan – generally a computer fan – to circulate the warm air more effectively, and sometimes a small motor for some kind of turning mechanism – otherwise the eggs have to be turned manually.I have never made an incubator myself. Placing it on the floor with mesh on top is a good solution.Ī thermometer and hygrometer to read temperature and humidity levels respectively.

The bowl must be kept away from the hatching chicks, otherwise it’s easy for them to drown. I have also personally seen an electric heating pad used./ raising-happy-chickensĪ bowl and sponge to hold water and keep humidity at the right level. The most popular choice is a standard 60 watt bulb attached to a lamp fitting, slotted into a corner of the container. Popular choices are picnic cool boxes, styrofoam containers and disused refrigerators. You probably already have the ingredients sitting around your house right now.The container itself : it needs to be well insulated in order to keep heat and humidity levels constant. While the costs of buying an incubator are quite high, it is a relatively simple process to make one at home. Hatching chickens can be a fun family project, too.
