In our difficult times, when prices for goods are growing at an inexorable pace, you will always find an area in which you can profitably apply your practical skills and theoretical knowledge. Looking at the cost of an incubator manufactured in an industrial environment, you can easily calculate the benefits of making such a device yourself. Moreover, making a home incubator with your own hands is not so difficult.
This is what he says about his homemade incubator with mechanical egg flipping forum user genius.
genius
In short: an incubator for 60-70 chicken eggs, mechanical overturn with a special grate, I don’t do automatic in principle. Heating with bulbs, two chains. Temperature control with an electrocontact thermometer. I don't trust electronics. The temperature run-up in the corners is 0.5 degrees. Cheap and cheerful. If the components are available, the incubator can be made in 3 - 4 hours.
The most important thing in manufacturing is to ensure the ability to maintain optimal humidity and temperature indicators inside the device, as well as create conditions for the timely turning of the eggs in order to evenly warm them.
Incubator body
In most cases, the body is the basis of everything. And the incubator is no exception in this case.
When manufacturing the case, special attention should be paid to ensuring good thermal insulation for the future device. This will allow you to avoid further troubles associated with compliance with strict temperature regime in the incubation chamber.
For the manufacture of the case, porous polymeric materials, penoplex (expanded polystyrene) with a thickness of 20 mm, etc. are quite suitable. You can also use fiberboard or chipboard sheets, but double walls should be created with foam, felt or foam filling.
The size of the incubator will directly depend on the number of eggs that are planned to be simultaneously placed in the chamber. In terms of the height of the inner chamber, 50 cm will be enough. The area of the inner base will be equal to the area of the egg tray. But to it it is necessary to add about 50 mm on each side. It is this gap that must be between the tray and the incubator body to ensure air circulation. In the lower base of the incubator, it is imperative to drill several holes with a diameter of 10 mm, through which air exchange will take place between the inner space of the chamber and the external environment (the incubator must be constantly enriched with oxygen). For an incubator for 50 eggs, 6 holes are sufficient.
Attention! The bottom openings should be positioned so that they do not overlap with the pan (plate) filled with water, which will be installed in the chamber to maintain a sufficient level of humidity.
To ensure unimpeded air movement between the bottom of the device and the surface on which it will be installed, there must be a gap of 30 ... 50 mm. A viewing window 100x100 mm, covered with glass, should be made in its top cover. If there is no forced ventilation in the incubator, then the glass should be slightly opened during operation, leaving a gap of 10 ... 15 mm.
And one more nuance: one of the side surfaces of the incubator must have a door for changing water and other actions related to the maintenance of the chamber.
Incubator Tray
In order for the eggs to be neatly placed in the inner space of the incubator, we need to make a special tray. In our case, it can be made on the basis of a wooden frame, which is covered with a fine mesh from below. As a mesh, both an ordinary mosquito used in the construction of modern window glass units and a metal (maybe different) mesh with a cell size comparable to 5x5 mm (but no more) are suitable. In order to eliminate the sagging of the mesh, a couple of small slats can be nailed from the bottom of the tray, which will comprehensively strengthen the structure of the tray.
To make it easier to turn the eggs during incubation, the tray should be equipped with a plug-in wooden grate. For convenience, you can make several grids at once with different sizes of internal cells. So, for quail eggs, a lattice with a cell size of 45x35 mm is suitable, for a chicken egg, cells with a size of 67x75 mm are needed. If you want to lay goose eggs in the incubator, then the cells must be of the appropriate size - 90x60 mm. The width of the grate should be 5 mm smaller than the tray itself. In length, it should be shorter by 50 ... 60 mm - for quail, by 80 ... 90 mm - for chicken eggs and by 100 ... 110 mm - for goose eggs. Thus, by moving the wire rack along the tray, you can turn the eggs 180 degrees. In order to evenly warm the eggs over time, a similar procedure should be performed approximately once every 2 to 3 hours.
Egg Turning Tray
The height of the sides of the tray itself should be 70–80 mm. The tray should be installed on 100 mm high feet.
This is the most simple construction tray that allows you to turn all eggs at the same time. But in order to make the design of the incubator more modern, the process of turning the eggs can be automated. This will require some technical improvements.
How to make a flip in an incubator
In order to automate the process of turning eggs in an incubator, an electromechanical drive must be introduced into its design, which is triggered after a certain period of time (as we have already said, it takes 2-3 hours). The accuracy of the time interval will be ensured by a special time relay. The relay can be purchased ready-made. Those who like to "dig deeper" in microcircuits can make it on their own, taking as a basis an electronic or even a mechanical watch, which is easy to buy both in Moscow and in any village.
Here is what the FORUMHOUSE user writes about this.
mednagolov
Now on sale it is easy to buy Chinese electromechanical relays with a cycle of 24 hours. In fact, this is an elementary watch with a plug that is plugged into an outlet, and on the case of this watch there is a socket into which the consumer is plugged in, inside the watch a tiny electric motor is spinning. There is no need to wind them up, there are “push buttons” along the circle of the dial, lined up for 24 hours, with which you set the time intervals.
The electric motor must necessarily transmit torque through the gearbox. This will help smooth the movement of the grate and keep the eggs intact.
The grid of the tray should slide along the guides. The walls of the tray can play the role of guides. But in order to avoid accidental jamming, this mechanism can be improved. For this, a metal axis protruding from both ends should be attached along the central axis of the lattice. She will play the role of a reliable guide. The axis will be inserted into special grooves made on the sides of the tray. Such a design is reliable, it can be easily assembled and, if necessary, quickly disassembled.
In order to set in motion the grate with eggs, we need a reciprocating mechanism consisting of an electric motor, a gearbox, a crank mechanism and a rod connecting the drive to the tray grate.
A device for turning eggs in an incubator.
As an electric motor, you can use special "motors" for microwave ovens, which are available on the market. Also, some craftsmen create an electromechanical drive based on a mechanism that is part of car wipers. Or, what a way out of the situation was invented by the forum member mednagolov: the drive of the egg-turning mechanism from the email. remote control ball valve motor d = 3/4 220v (has an extremely powerful and durable gearbox, as well as end position microswitches).
He used the power supply from an old computer, and the time relay was a mechanism from the Chinese clock, which was written about just above.
The mechanism functions as follows: the relay closes the electrical circuit after a specified period of time. The mechanism is set in motion and moves the grid of the tray, turning the eggs over. Then the end position switches (limit switches) are triggered and the grille is locked in the opposite end position. After a specified time, the cycle is repeated, and the grate returns to its original position. The whole process in a homemade product takes place without human participation.
Incubator heating
The correct placement of the heating elements in the incubator chamber is the key to success in producing healthy and robust chicks. It is customary to use ordinary incandescent bulbs as heating elements. Ideally, they are best placed over the egg tray, evenly spaced around the perimeter of the incubator. The tray and the heating element must be separated by a distance of at least 25 cm. In a homemade incubator, use low-power bulbs, 25 watts, etc. The total power of the heating elements used in such an incubator should be 80 watts - for a device designed for the simultaneous hatching of 50 chicks.
The lower the power of the heating elements, the more evenly the heat is distributed in the incubation chamber.
When placing lamps on the walls of the chamber, you should also ensure that they are evenly spaced around the entire perimeter. Be aware that using a series electrical connection of heating elements can significantly extend their lifespan. But the power of each consumer in this case will be halved. This should be taken into account when calculating the number of heating elements, because with the appropriate connection method, the number of consumers will have to double.
Control over temperature indicators
As we already know, the temperature in the incubator chamber must exactly match the specified parameters. Otherwise, such a device is worthless. The optimum temperature for hatching chickens in artificial conditions is from 37.5 to 38.3 ° C. But it should be strictly observed. A conventional thermostat will help maintain the specified range, which can be purchased without any problems in the store. It is essential that this instrument provides an accuracy of temperature values corresponding to 0.2 ° C. An error greater than this value can be detrimental to developing embryos.
To connect the thermostat to the heating elements for a person who decided to make an incubator with his own hands, we think, will not be difficult. The main thing is to ensure that the temperature sensors are near the egg tray. For more accurate readings, the sensors can even be mounted on the tray. A conventional thermometer should be used as an additional control. Better if it is electronic, capable of showing tenths of a degree. But in extreme cases, an ordinary alcohol thermometer is also suitable. It should be fixed in the chamber in such a way that it is located directly above the tray. In this case, its readings can be taken by looking through the viewing glass.
Heat accumulator
JG_ member of FORUMHOUSE
In order for the temperature to drop more slowly, a heat accumulator must be used. I used water as a TA. It gives humidification and still gains temperature, and when it is turned off, it gives it away for a long time, preventing the temperature from dropping quickly. Only the container with water should be large. You can just put a metal pancake or a dumbbell inside - why not TA?
It remains to add that without a humidifier in an incubator, all your efforts are doomed to failure. Therefore, a baking sheet or an open plate filled with water can be considered one of the essential elements involved in the incubation process. As for the heat accumulator, a heating pad or plastic bottle with water will never be superfluous in interior space your incubator.
Humidity control can be done with a psychrometer, which can be purchased at a hardware store. The optimum humidity in the incubator should be between 50-55% (just before hatching, it can be increased to 65-70%).
Incubator ventilation
Many owners of homemade incubators believe that the fan is an integral part of such a device. But practice shows that a small incubator, the number of eggs in which does not exceed 50 pieces, can do without forced ventilation. Convection of air in it occurs naturally and this is enough to support the vital activity of the embryos.
If the chamber of your incubator is designed for a larger number of eggs, or if you want to create an ideal microclimate inside the device by all means, then for this purpose you can use special fans with a diameter of 80 to 200 mm (depending on the volume of the chamber).
The fan can be installed in the top cover of the incubator so that it draws air from the inside of the chamber. Part of the air flow will go out, and its main volume will be reflected from the cover and pass over the lower inlets, mixing warm air with cold and enriching it with oxygen.
That's probably all. You can find out the different opinions of our users regarding the design, as well as get acquainted with their practical developments, in this topic. We also have information for those interested in productivity. If you want to create at home more, in the design of which there are powerful components and complex ventilation schemes, then you should visit this section.
Breeding poultry at home begins with an incubator. For the purpose of "incubating" eggs, both compact industrial devices and a do-it-yourself incubator are widely used today. In this article, we will focus specifically on homemade incubators. To do this, we will find out what are the most common designs today, what requirements they must satisfy, and, finally, how to make one or another type of incubator with our own hands.
Making an incubator with your own hands is a more effective option than buying an industrial device, since the first option takes into account the various individual characteristics of the location, device design and breeding conditions for poultry. In this regard, there are several advantages of homemade incubators:
- reliable in operation;
- economical in energy consumption;
- have sufficient volumes for laying up to several hundred eggs;
- guarantee the maintenance of the microclimate necessary for 90% of the survival rate of young animals;
- are quite universal, can be used for breeding different types of domestic, as well as some varieties of exotic (parrots, ostriches) birds.
Types of incubators and the most general rules for their manufacture
An important positive feature homemade incubators for individual projects is that they can be made from a variety of auxiliary materials and structures that have already been used. Of course, only those that meet the strict sanitary requirements for effective and healthy breeding of young poultry.
At the same time, the fairly common practice of producing such devices by private poultry farmers themselves shows that they usually choose an option from the four most popular varieties of homemade incubators.
- Items from an old non-working refrigerator.
- Products from a cardboard box.
- Incubator made of foam sheets.
- Plywood incubator (wooden planks).
Depending on the economic needs and capabilities of the manufacturer, incubators can be single-tier or multi-tier.
However, the “home-made” status of compact incubators allows expanding this list, allowing any poultry farmer to show all his technical imagination and ingenuity. Note that of great importance is right choice dimensions of the future incubator. In this case, a number of factors should be clearly taken into account, first of all, the planned volume of laying eggs and the point of installation of lamps for heating the incubation chamber.
Incubator size
For successful high-quality manufacturing of the incubation device, its dimensions must be calculated (planned) in advance. Meanwhile, the specified parameter depends on the production volumes that the poultry farmer is aiming at and on the number of eggs laid in the incubator at a time. Moreover, the second factor is decisive.
A medium-sized incubator (length - 450-470 mm, width - 300-400 mm) holds the following, approximate number of eggs:
In addition, the type of heating system and the location of the incandescent lamps affect the dimensions of the device. The material from which the device is supposed to be made is also important for determining the dimensions.
General manufacturing rules
Basic requirements for an incubator
When starting to make a home incubator with your own hands, you should always keep in mind that the end result of this work should be an apparatus in which all conditions are created for the full development of the embryo in the egg and the birth of a healthy chick in due time.
In other words, the design of the incubator and its equipment should be subordinated to the goal of forming in the chamber the same conditions that a brooding bird creates for its future offspring. And among these factors, the most important are temperature and humidity.
It is necessary to design the future incubator so that the poultry farmer has the opportunity to constantly and without any obstacles control the temperature and humidity conditions of the incubation. It should be borne in mind here that egg maturation of most of the most popular poultry species among breeders occurs in the range between 37.1 and 39 ° C.
At the same time, in the first days of incubation, eggs (before they are placed in the chamber, they can be stored for no more than 10 days) are warmed up to the maximum temperature calculated for a particular type of bird (see the temperature table), and by the end of this period the temperature drops to minimum values. And only when breeding quails during the entire 17-day incubation period, a constant temperature is maintained - 37.5 degrees.
Underheating of eggs is unacceptable, overheating is undesirable. In the first case, the development of embryos slows down with all the ensuing consequences, many individuals simply die. When overheated, the surviving chicks will most likely suffer from deformities of the heart, stomach, liver, and deformities of various parts of the body.
As for another important parameter - humidity, it also changes throughout the entire period before hatching. In particular, the optimal level of air humidity inside the incubator until the moment of peeling should be 40-60%, and between pecking and the moment of hatching, it should remain at the level of 80%. And only before sampling the young, the relative humidity should be lowered again to 55-60%.
A good help for high-quality hatching of chicks in a home incubator will be the installation of a forced ventilation system. The operation of the electric fan will ensure the movement of air inside the chamber at a speed of 5-6 m / s, which will contribute to the ideal balance between temperature and humidity in the atmosphere in the incubator.
Egg incubators prices
Egg incubators
How to start creating an incubator?
Any process of assembling a household incubator begins with determining the main material from which the apparatus will be made. For example, large pieces of foam (at least 25x40 cm in size) or ordinary foam are good for this purpose. cardboard box large volume. Almost an ideal option is the presence of an old, out-of-date refrigerator. In any case, one must proceed from the determining factor that is inherent in any structure - its thermal insulation capacity.
Comparing the material for the manufacture of incubators, it can be argued that foam products are characterized by the lowest heat loss. At the same time, cardboard boxes are the cheapest raw material.
In addition, care should be taken to provide heating devices for the incubation chamber (lamp or heater) and convenient temperature control (thermometer). In order not to burden yourself with the need to manually turn eggs periodically, it is worth equipping the incubator with an automatic turnover system. Such a mechanism will save a person's time. True, such devices are usually installed in large incubators - for 200 or more eggs.
Components and tools required for the job
Prices for popular models of jigsaws
Jigsaw
Lamps for heating the incubation chamber should be fixed at least 25 cm from the eggs.
Remember that before choosing everything you need from the above list, you need to decide on the optimal size of the incubator.
How to determine the optimal incubator size?
- to carry out the design preparation as accurately as possible, you will need drawings with specified dimensions. For illustrative example below is a version of the drawing of the product, which differs in a relatively small volume (45 eggs), 40 cm long and 25 cm wide;
- when calculating the optimal size of the incubator, it must be borne in mind that at a distance of 2 cm from the egg, the thermometer should show 37.3 - 38.6 degrees Celsius;
- most often poultry farmers in their household make devices designed for hatching young poultry, which are designed for laying up to 100 eggs. In this case, cells for eggs are made with a diameter of 45 mm and a depth of 60-80 mm;
- the result is a construction measuring approximately 60x60 cm and weighing about 3 kg. By the way, it can be made quite versatile. For this, interchangeable lattice trays with cells of different sizes are provided, due to which, if desired, the same incubator can be easily re-equipped to accommodate not only chicken, but also duck, goose, turkey and quail eggs.
For an accurate calculation of the dimensions, you can use the following table:
With the same capacity of structures for chicken eggs, a product made of expanded polystyrene will turn out to be more voluminous than a cardboard analogue.
Incubator from a used refrigerator
The body of the old refrigerator is the best suited for the arrangement of an artificial "nest". The fact is that this equipment, indispensable in everyday life, is designed in such a way as to reliably maintain a given temperature in the internal space. This purpose, in particular, is the special design of the thermo-insulating walls of the refrigerator.
At the same time, the racks and shelves in the refrigerator can be easily adapted to egg trays. The fixing grooves on the inner walls make it easy to evenly distribute the set of eggs over the entire height of the refrigerator compartment. At the same time, its volume is quite enough to install a liquid exchange system below - with its help a balanced level of humidity will be ensured.
Each component of a homemade incubator made from an old refrigerator, as well as the stages of its assembly, has its own characteristics. Let's get to know them in more detail.
Ventilation system
Installation of a device for artificial breeding of young poultry cannot be imagined without arranging, at least, the simplest ventilation system. It directly affects the state of the air inside the chamber, including temperature and humidity. Thus, an ideal microclimate for egg ripening is formed.
It was found that the optimal average ventilation speed is 5 m / s. The movement of the air mass is ensured by the operation of the fan. Ventilation holes must be drilled in the top and bottom of the case.
To prevent air from being "pumped" into the glass wool layer under the casing, it is recommended to insert plastic (metal) tubes of the appropriate diameter into the holes. By partially or completely blocking these openings, you can regulate the ventilation process.
The embryo in the egg begins to consume oxygen from the outside on the sixth day of incubation.
Heating system installation and thermostat selection
To form the simplest heating system for the inner chamber, 4 incandescent lamps with a power of 25 W or 2 lamps of 40 W are selected. Good heating of the entire volume is ensured by an even distribution of bulbs between the lower and upper parts of the refrigerator. At the same time, the lamps fixed at the bottom should not interfere with the container with water, which humidifies the air inside the incubator.
Prices for thermostats
Thermostat
A thermostat is also involved in the process of creating an optimal temperature regime. Traditionally, poultry farmers use 3 types of thermostats - a bimetallic plate, an electric contactor (a mercury-based thermometer with an electrode) or a barometric sensor. The first type closes the electrical circuit when the preset heating level is reached, the second turns off the heating when a certain temperature, the third closes the circuit with the occurrence of excessive pressure.
Egg turning mechanism
The standard incubation process involves the obligatory turning of the egg with a frequency of 2-4 times a day. Instead of a brooding bird, this function is performed by a special mechanism in the home device.
The essence of this mechanism is that the electric motor drives a special rod, which transmits the impulse of movement to the tray with eggs. To mount the simplest mechanism, you must:
- Install the reducer at the bottom of the chamber.
- Install wooden frame holding the trays. They should be fixed so that the trays can be tilted 60 degrees towards the door and 60 degrees in the opposite direction.
- The gearbox must be firmly fixed.
- Attach a rod to the electric motor, connected at the other end to the egg tray.
So, we found out some of the features of making a household incubator on the basis of a used refrigerator with our own hands. Now you can turn to step by step instructions on its assembly.
Sequencing
- Drill several holes in the ceiling of the housing - for the lamps of the heating system and through for ventilation.
- Drill at least 3 ventilation holes with a diameter of 1.5 cm in the lower part.
- For greater preservation of heat, it is desirable to trim the walls inside the apparatus with expanded polystyrene.
- Convert old shelves into egg trays.
- Fasten the thermostat outside the housing, install the sensor inside.
- To organize forced air circulation near the heating lamps in the upper part of the chamber, fix 1-2 fans (for example, from a computer).
- Cut a small opening in the refrigerator door for the viewing window. Close the opening with glass (transparent plastic).
Video - Incubator from the refrigerator
Incubator from a cardboard box
The next option for producing a small home incubator is the cheapest one offered. On average, it only takes a few hours to make. However, for all the cheapness of such a product and the ease of assembly, cardboard is also the most fragile of the most common materials at hand.
Step 1. First of all, they find a box that is unnecessary in the household, the size of which is, for example, 56x47x58 cm (depending on the number of eggs in the bookmark, the dimensions may vary). From the inside, the box is carefully pasted over in several layers with paper or felt.
Step 2. Next, you should make several holes for the wiring, fix 3 lamps of 25 W each inside. The lamp level should be 15 cm above the egg setting. To eliminate unnecessary heat loss, excess gaps, including wiring holes, are plugged with cotton wool. On the other hand, several ventilation openings must be provided.
Step 3... After that, wooden egg trays, mounting rails (trays will be installed on them) and a door are made.
Chicken egg tray
Quail egg tray
Step 4. Temperature control will be carried out using a thermometer, which is placed inside the incubator. To maintain the specified humidity level, a reservoir with water is installed at the bottom of the box. Everything that happens inside the cardboard chamber can be observed through a 12x10 cm viewing window, which is cut in the upper wall.
One of the most popular and convenient materials for making an artificial "brood hen" is expanded polystyrene (polystyrene).
It attracts not only for its quite affordable cost, but also for its remarkable thermal insulation properties, which are so valuable in the production of incubation structures, as well as its low weight. It is impossible not to mention the simplicity of working with this material. The production of a foam product is in many ways similar to the production of a cardboard analogue.
Making a foam device
- The expanded polystyrene sheet must be cut into four equal parts. The resulting parts are used to form the sidewalls of the body.
- The second sheet is divided into two identical halves. One of them is once again divided into two parts so that the width of one is 60 cm, the width of the other is 40 cm. A fragment with a size of 50x40 cm will go to the bottom of the box, and a part with a size of 50x60 cm will become its lid.
- A 12x12 cm square hole is cut out under the viewing window in the future cover. It will also serve as a ventilation hole. The window is closed with glass (transparent plastic).
- The supporting frame is glued from equal parts obtained after cutting the first sheet. After the glue has set, glue the bottom. To do this, glue is applied to the edges of a sheet with a size of 50x40 cm, after which the sheet is carefully inserted into the frame.
- After the formation of the box, the body is carefully glued with tape, due to which the structure gains significant rigidity.
- Cut out two foam blocks 6 cm high and 4 cm wide. Improvised legs, necessary for normal ventilation and uniform heating of the tray with eggs, are glued inside the incubator, to the bottom along the long sides (50 cm).
- In the shortened walls 40 cm long at a height of 1 cm from the bottom of the device, 3 holes with a diameter of 1.2 cm are made to organize ventilation. The distance between the holes must be the same. All holes are recommended based on material characteristics.
- Burn with a soldering iron.
- The lid will firmly adhere to the body if foam beams (2x2 or 3x3 cm in size) are glued along its edges. In order for the bars to fit exactly inside the incubator, tightly fitting to its walls, the distance between the bars and the edge of the sheet should be 5 cm.
- After that, holders for heating lamps are mounted on the inside of the cover in an arbitrary way.
- A thermostat is fixed on the outside of the lid. The sensitive sensor of the thermostat is fixed inside the container at a height of 1 cm from the level of the eggs.
- When installing a tray loaded with eggs, make sure that the gap between it and the machines is 4-5 cm. This is necessary to ensure proper ventilation.
If there is a desire or need, you can mount a fan inside the incubator. This is done so that the air flow is directed not at the eggs, but at the lamps. Otherwise, the eggs may dry out.
The heat of the incubation chamber will remain long enough if all internal surfaces are covered with thermal insulation foil.
Video - DIY Styrofoam Incubator
Conclusion
Thus, making an incubator on your own does not seem to be too difficult and troublesome. Of course, such devices can be different - in size and the degree of equipment with different equipment - depending on the number of processed eggs. Therefore, before assembling them, it is better to work carefully on the project, taking into account all possible pitfalls.
At the same time, such structures can be made from the most different materials and with a variety of design "highlights" (while meeting all sanitary and technological requirements). And that makes the whole process creative and very fun.
For those who work on poultry farms or are themselves engaged in breeding birds on a large scale, it is known that one cannot do without such a miracle of technology as an incubator. Many people know or have heard that it is this device that guarantees that all eggs will eventually become chicks. However, some people dream of doing poultry farming at home or in the country, and are not ready to invest a lot of money in this business. For such self-taught amateurs today there are many ways how to make an incubator with your own hands with minimal cost forces and means.
Is it worth doing an incubator yourself or is it a risky undertaking?
Many novice poultry farmers are deeply mistaken in thinking that a homemade incubator is a rather complex design, and only a person with special knowledge and skills can make it. This is absolutely not the case. In order to make an incubator, you will not need unusual tools or materials, and even more so special knowledge. In addition, you yourself can choose the size of the device, as well as its functionality. Plus you will save a lot and be proud of your creation.
DIY incubator - as easy as shelling pears
What is needed to ensure that all the chicks are surely born, and not a single egg is wasted? There are three main conditions: warmth, humidity, and regular egg turning. Accordingly, all this should be clearly calculated and taken into account before proceeding with the implementation of the plan. At any stage of the incubation period, underheating or overheating in the device is absolutely not allowed. There should be no excess or lack of moisture, as well as deviations from the temperature regime, otherwise it threatens with high mortality of embryos and chicks.
A box, foam sheets, glass jar, Bee hive, plywood and even old refrigerator, that is, a home incubator can be made from anything. Consider the most popular methods of making such a device with your own hands.
Incubator from a cardboard box
The easiest way to make your own incubator is to use a large cardboard box as a basis. Let's start assembling:
- Cut a small ventilation hole in the side or top of the box, and fix 4 fireproof lamp holders on the lid.
- Install 25 W lamps (lamps should be 15 cm away from the tray).
- Make the front wall removable or install a door there that will fit well to the structure.
- In the middle of the box (15-18 cm from the top and 15-18 cm from the bottom) an egg tray is installed (to measure the temperature in the incubator, put a thermometer next to it).
- Place a container with water under the tray (humidity in the incubator is measured with a hygrometer).
- Open the lid of the crate only to turn the eggs, which should be done regularly.
This method of raising chickens is quite suitable for home use, such an incubator will be enough. can be made from wooden planks. Fits up to 60 eggs in such a homemade tray.
It is very important to put the entire structure not on the floor, but on a stand made of bars, for example. Also, do not forget about the need for constant air circulation, not only inside, but also outside the box. After each use, the incubator must be cleaned and disinfected without fail.
Incubator from an old refrigerator
A very good option is the ability to make an incubator from an old refrigerator, so if you have one in your house, do not rush to throw it away. Thanks to its design, the refrigerator is ideal as an incubator. In this case, there are also several options for the device, consider the easiest way to make an incubator with your own hands from the refrigerator:
- We dismantle the entire internal filling of the refrigerator, including the freezer.
- From above we install sockets for 4 lamps, as well as a temperature controller and a contactor relay.
- Cut out a small viewing window on the front door.
- We equip grids for installing trays.
- We fix the thermometer so that it is clearly visible through the window.
There is also a more advanced version of the automatic incubator made from a refrigerator. This design is, of course, very convenient, since the eggs in it turn over automatically, which significantly reduces possible losses. This incubator is capable of completely replacing an industrial one, however, in order to make it, you will have to spend more time and effort. The main control units in this device will be: automatic, automatic tray flipping and humidity regulator.
In order to make it clearer how to assemble an incubator with your own hands video
Incubators for birds: convenient and profitable
Why make an incubator yourself, isn't it easier to buy ready-made chicks? We discussed above how to make an incubator, and now let's see what its advantage is, and whether it is worth the effort and time spent.
Firstly, buying chicks on the market during the season is a costly business, since the cost for them grows every year. Therefore, even with constant energy costs, chicks will be cheaper.
Secondly, no one gives you a guarantee that all purchased chicks will survive. Unfortunately, due to non-compliance the right conditions during the incubation period, many chicks die. If you yourself incubate eggs, this process can be controlled.
Thirdly, with the presence of your own incubator, it is possible to get chicks earlier than the generally accepted season.
Plus, a good incubator can be a source of income.
A do-it-yourself incubator can be used not only for chicken eggs, you can lay duck, goose, quail and any other eggs there. The main thing that the poultry farmer should know is that each type of egg requires its own specific incubation period. To forget about such subtleties is not worth it, otherwise it may not work.
Chicken egg incubator
Incubators breed different types poultry, but the most popular was and remains the laying of chicken eggs. Breeding chicken chickens at home is not at all difficult.
Hatchability of chicks subject to all necessary conditions can sometimes reach 100%. used industrial or do-it-yourself. The latter are very often used, because they are quite simple to make.
An important condition for the successful incubation of chicken eggs, as for any other, is a perfectly matched material. The shelf life of eggs intended for incubation should not be more than 7 days, and it is even better if these eggs lie for no more than two days before they are laid in the incubator. Full incubation period chicken eggs is 21 days. If you adhere to all the necessary conditions (temperature, humidity, egg turning and their quality), then after three weeks you can get a healthy and strong brood of chickens.
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Intending to make an incubator with their own hands, the owners are often interested in what materials and type of construction to choose for the manufacture of the device and what conditions need to be created for the successful incubation of healthy chicks. Different types incubators differ in their operational characteristics and the specificity of handling eggs. The article lists these differences and describes the process of creating an incubator with your own hands at home.
How to start creating an incubator?
Before starting work on creating a system for hatching chicks at home, you need:
- Select camera material. The most important criterion is the ability to keep warm. Large chunks of Styrofoam are the preferred choice, and a cardboard box is the worst (it's easiest to make an incubator out of it). Disused refrigerators are also used.
- Decide on the size of the structure - it depends on the number of eggs placed at a time and the type of bird.
- Select devices to maintain the required air temperature. A thermometer is used to measure indicators, and lamps are used for heating. Sometimes they get a thermostat.
- Decide if the structure will be equipped with an automatic egg turning mechanism. It will require investment, but will save time resources. Most often, the mechanism is used for large systems where two hundred eggs are placed.
What you need to create a homemade incubator
To design a homemade incubator with your own hands, you will need to purchase or make its elements:
- Egg trays - made of wood and plastic. The bottom is rack or mesh. You can purchase a version with automated turning (eggs turn after a time interval specified by the user). A water tray is also installed.
- A housing with good thermal insulation properties, which ensures a constant temperature inside the structure without sudden jumps. It is made from foam or plywood sheet.
- Incandescent lamps installed at the corners (for a small device, a 25 W element is suitable, for a large one, a 100 W model is used). The distance from the lamp to the tray should be at least 15 centimeters.
- Thermometer.
- Fans - required if the structure is made from the refrigerator body. Then they will need to be installed at the top and bottom. In other cases, to ensure ventilation, it is enough to make holes with a diameter of 1 to 2 centimeters in the lid and on the wall next to the bottom.
What conditions need to be maintained in a homemade incubator
Compliance with the temperature regime is of great importance for the normal formation of chickens. The first two days for chicken and goose eggs, you need to keep the temperature at 38-38.5 degrees Celsius, gradually lowering it by 19-21 days to 37.5. For ducks and turkeys, these parameters are 37.8 at the beginning and 37 at the end. Quail eggs are kept at a temperature of 37.5 for the entire incubation period (16-18 days). Humidity is also important - at the beginning it should be in the range of 45-60%, by the last days it is increased to a value of 75-80%.
How to make your own incubator for chicken eggs: step by step instructions
The manufacturing methods of the unit differ depending on the source material for the housing. Below are the most available options.
How to make a Styrofoam incubator with your own hands
The advantages of foam as a material for a bird hatcher are excellent thermal insulation properties, low cost and lightness. To make an incubator from foam with your own hands, you will need tools and accessories:
- two sheets of material 5 cm thick;
- four incandescent lamps - for the considered small design, 25 W lamps are sufficient;
- Scotch;
- soldering iron for cutting holes (material crumbles easily when cutting with a knife);
- set of trays;
- thermometer;
- liquid glue;
- fan.
Sequence of work:
- Side walls are made from the first sheet, cutting it into 4 equal parts.
- The walls are glued together.
- From the second sheet, make a base 40 cm wide and a cover 60 cm wide (the length of both parts is 50 cm).
- The sides of the base are coated with glue and inserted into the workpiece from the walls.
- The resulting box is pasted over with tape for greater structural rigidity (starting from the bottom).
- 6 cm high foam beams are installed at the bottom, on which the trays will be placed.
- 2 holes for ventilation with a diameter of 1-1.5 cm are drilled at a centimeter height from the bottom.
- Install lamps.
- The thermostat is placed on the outside of the lid, while the sensor is placed on the inside, making a small hole under it.
- They put a tray - it should be at least 4 cm from the walls.
DIY incubator with automatic and manual flip
To make a homemade incubator with automatic egg turning, you will need to purchase a turning device. Types of egg turning mechanisms are used:
- Movable Net - Suitable for small incubators. When it moves slowly (automatic or manual), the position of the eggs changes.
- The roller mechanism is used less often: its independent production requires many small parts.
- An automatic mechanism that rotates the trays after a specified time is used in large units.
How to make a device for removing chicks from a refrigerator or plywood
The structure from the refrigerator is prepared as follows:
- Shelves and containers for storing food are removed from the chamber.
- 3-4 bottom ventilation holes are drilled.
- Fans and lamps are installed. Depending on the size of the chamber, 2-4 fans are required, placed next to the lamps.
- A viewing window is mounted in the cover or wall.
You can construct a model from plywood sheets. Its size and arrangement differ little from those for foam. The walls of the case should consist of two layers of material, between which the insulation is mounted. A viewing window with a sliding glass is installed in the roof, allowing the incubator to be ventilated.
How to make an incubator out of the box - the easiest way
The simplest do-it-yourself incubator is constructed from cardboard. This material has the lowest strength and does not retain heat well. The process differs from working with foam:
- Blow holes are made at a height of 3-4 cm from the bottom.
- The slats for the tray are fixed 6-7 cm above the bottom level; a magazine box for eggs is used as a tray.
- Holes are made in the roof for a lamp (in the center) and a thermometer (on the edge), as well as a viewing window.
Advantages and disadvantages of homemade incubators
Making your own hands is beneficial for the following reasons:
- Cost savings in comparison with the factory version by 2-3 times.
- The ability to breed several species of birds in one incubator, provided that the recommended temperature conditions are similar.
- High survival rate of chicks - up to 90%.
- Low power consumption.
- Ease of manufacture.
As a minus, one can designate the need to take care of turning the eggs - do it regularly (the recommended frequency is once every 8 hours) manually or purchase a special mechanism.
When breeding on a personal farm or on a bird farm, an incubator is simply needed in which the chicks are artificially hatched. For a small amount of eggs, buying it is impractical. Therefore, many poultry farmers who know the device of this device prefer to make it with their own hands.
If you know how to hold a tool in your hands, then it will not be difficult for you to make an incubator, especially since it is also economically profitable. The entire process of hatching chicks in the incubator will be supervised, and the young will grow up healthy and strong.
Benefits of homemade incubators
Many poultry farmers believe that an incubator is a complex device, therefore, it is unrealistic to make it yourself at home. In fact, making an incubator with your own hands is quite simple, and this can be done with minimal cost.
At self-production the device can be selected in the desired dimensions and supplemented with the necessary functions in the form of temperature control or egg turning. Since such a structure will consist of practically available materials, it will turn out to be economically profitable, which is one of the advantages of the device.
Other benefits of a DIY incubator include:
- reliability in application;
- breeding possibility different types birds;
- receiving chicks on time;
- ensuring the survival rate of young animals up to 90%;
- independently selected sizes for laying the required number of eggs.
- low power consumption.
Preparatory work
Special materials and tools for the manufacture of the structure are not required. Materials that are found in almost every home are suitable.
First of all, it is necessary determine the size of the device for hatching chickens. They depend on the type of future farmed poultry, the number of young animals and the placement conditions of the incubator itself. So, for example, the design for quail eggs should be smaller than for chicken and duck eggs. The slope of the trays is also taken into account, which should be different for each type of bird.
To provide the eggs with constant heat and moisture, the incubator is best made with a housing that can be homemade or taken from an old refrigerator.
The main components of the incubator are:
- housing with insulation;
- egg trays;
- heating system;
- devices for monitoring temperature and humidity in the structure.
Making incubators with your own hands
At home, the body can be made from cardboard boxes, a basin, chipboard sheets, polystyrene, wooden beams. Applying imagination and using materials at hand, you can make a high-quality incubator.
From a basin or bowl
The easiest chicken breeding device to make can only be used if there is a potential for power outages. Incubator is being made from two containers of the same size, as which you can take basins or bowls. It is desirable that they be metallic.
Bowls are stacked one on top of the other, and on one side are held together by canopies or other fixtures. There should be a space between the bowls to hold the eggs. The top bowl in this design will serve as a lid. Since the containers are round, the eggs in them will warm up evenly.
A 2 cm layer of sand is poured into the bottom bowl, which is covered with foil. Hay or straw is laid on top. To evaporate moisture, several holes are made in the foil.
A cartridge will be inserted into the upper bowl, for which you need to make a hole. If the container is large, then several bulbs will be needed.
A thermometer should be placed in the center of the assembled structure at the height where the eggs will lie. The incubator is installed in a place where constantly the same temperature... Then it should be warmed up, after which it can be filled with eggs of quails, chickens or other birds.
If the lights are turned off at home, the device will need to be covered with a blanket and placed in a pot of warm water. In the summer it can be taken out in the sun, and in the winter it can be placed near the battery.
Sand in this design serves as a humidifier and heat accumulator, so it needs to be humidified regularly. Turn and sprinkle eggs daily.
Incubator out of the box
This is economically advantageous device you can do it yourself pretty quickly.
Manufacturing steps:
Styrofoam incubator
There is a good thermal insulation material in almost every private house. Therefore, it will not be difficult to make an incubator for chicken or quail eggs with your own hands. In addition, you can choose its size yourself.
Manufacturing steps:
- The cut pieces of foam are held together in any convenient way.
- Bulbs are inserted into the top cover at a distance of 15 cm from each other. You can buy a special heater for the incubator. However, light bulbs do quite well with their functions, and are the most budgetary option.
- The tray can be purchased or made from wood planks. For quails, the size of the cells should be 5x5 mm.
- The tray with eggs is placed in the middle of the structure so that the distance to the heating elements is equal to the distance to the container with water.
- Space must be left between the laid eggs and the walls of the homemade box to ventilate the air.
We use an old refrigerator
Making a device from an old refrigerator is the best option... This is explained by the ability to use several chambers and ready-made thermal insulation. It is very convenient to use the refrigerator even if if the electricity goes out in the house... You can simply put a closed container with hot water, which will keep the eggs warm for a long time.
You only need to make ventilation holes, install incandescent lamps, a fan, trays of water and a thermostat.
Stages of work:
- The freezer and other unnecessary parts are dismantled.
- A window is cut out and sealed with glass in the door.
- The egg trays are fixed.
- Two bulbs are installed in the upper part of the refrigerator, and four in the lower part.
- The gyroscope and thermometer are attached so that they can be seen through the window.
- A container with water is installed at the bottom of the refrigerator.
Can buy special trays with egg turning mechanism and place them in the incubator from the refrigerator. They will make it easier for those who cannot pay enough attention to the hatching of the bird. In addition, when installing an automatic overturn, the number of openings will be minimized, which is very important when breeding birds.
Quail incubator
Many poultry farmers are interested in the question of what should be an incubator for quail eggs? Structures for birds of this species are made according to the same principle. They differ only in size.
A quail incubator should be two to three times smaller than a chicken incubator. In a ready-made incubator that was intended for chickens, quail eggs will include three times more.
When making an incubator with your own hands, it should be borne in mind that its assembly requires attention and accuracy. The slightest disturbance in humidity or temperature can lead to egg spoilage.
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