BUILD YOUR OWN INCUBATOR

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Here's how to turn your flock's extra eggs into a whole new generation of omelet providers:

Richard Compton

Most folks who keep small flocks of fowl (whether for eggs or meat or both) likely have—at one time or another—considered buying an incubator. The freedom that the devices offer (in maintaining a controlled breeding program and in exchanging less productive hens for better layers) can be a real boon to a farmstead bird operation. Unfortunately, you can purchase quite a few commercially hatched day-old chicks for the price of one quality incubator ... since a store bought apparatus can run from about $150 up (and I mean way up!).

Now it's true that an effective homestead hatchery has to be able to accomplish several jobs at the same time, and that it must do some of them very accurately, but don't let those concerns discourage you from building your own incubator. Once you match the necessary tasks with the various mechanical systems that can handle the chores, the contraption will begin to seem a whole lot less intimidating.

TEMPERATURE

In order to hatch a good percentage of fertile eggs, an incubator must be able to maintain a constant temperature. Though different sorts of eggs require different heat levels, most will grow and hatch well at 99 to 101°F. When incubating chickens and quail, I aim for a steady 99-3/4 °F . . . though the actual temperature may well fluctuate by as much as half a degree. Sure, that does sound imposingly precise, but such accuracy isn't all that difficult to achieve.

The incubator shown in the photos is heated by an old box-type hair dryer (not the fancy new gun variety), which is—in turn—controlled by a thermostat that I purchased from Sears, Roebuck and Co. (ask for Farm and Ranch Catalog No. 32AF88022), for $7.99. Unless the air around the dryer is very warm (it is, after all, designed to work at room temperature), the "high" setting works out fine.

Because even 1°F of inaccuracy in a thermometer could make a vital difference in the percentage of the hatch, it's a good idea to use three or four of the instruments and to average their readings. One quarter turn on the thermostat adjustment screw will produce about a 1°F change inside the incubator, so it is possible to home in pretty close to the right level of warmth. (Of course, you'll want to experiment a bit with the various controls before trying the heating system out on your first batch of eggs.)

HUMIDITY

If it's either too dry or too humid inside the incubator, the chicks will suffer. The humidity, measured with a wet-bulb thermometer, will ideally start at 85°F and then rise toward 90°F during the last few days of the incubation period. Low air moisture levels can cause the chicks to stick to their shells, and excessive dampness sometimes produces swelling. (It's important to remember that eggs are permeable and that water, and other substances as well, can get into the shell.)