BUILD YOUR OWN INCUBATOR
(Page 2 of 3)
March/April 1982
Richard Compton
A sponge, sitting in an 8" X 8" bread pan filled with water, adds moisture to the incubator. Of course, the dimensions of the sponge will depend on just what the relative humidity is to start with, and you'll be able to get it right only after a bit of experimentation. I've found that a 1-1/2"-thick, 4" X 8" sponge suits both extremes of our western North Carolina climate . . . which is typically humid in the summer and relatively dry in the winter. Again, try out different sponges and keep careful track of humidity variation on the hygrometer (remember to use a wet-bulb thermometer with light cloth ... such as Sears Farm and Ranch Catalog No. 32AF88025, which sells for $4.69).
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Also, be sure to coat the inside and outside of all the wooden parts of the incubator with a plasticized sealer to hold in the humidity. I used a product called Plasticote, which has worked quite well.
MOVEMENT
The final major requirement for successful incubation is regular movement of the eggs. Studies have shown that a sitting hen will shift her charges an average of 96 times per day. Of course, that frequency can be reduced quite a bit without significantly affecting the hatch, but at least three movements per day are mandatory.
It's possible to get along without a mechanical egg-shifting system, but I've found that holding a steady job prevents me from turning the eggs frequently enough by hand. To solve the problem, I incorporated an automatic system into my mini-hatchery ... and the setup comes highly recommended by this backyard bird breeder!
The eggs in the incubator need to be shifted slowly and smoothly, since jostling would disturb the development of the chicks. I decided to power my system with a Dayton 1-RPM gear motor, coupled to a Dayton solid-state AC-DC and series DC motor control . . . a combination which cuts the oscillation down to about one movement every 45 seconds. [EDITOR'S NOTE: The foregoing items may be available locally. If not, they can be ordered — by a hardware store — from Granger's (the company is a wholesale-only outlet and thus requires a business identification).] The motor is linked to the egg basket by a bent length of 3/8" rod and some angle aluminum ... which form a crank that tilts the assembly approximately 40° in each direction.
TEN INCUBATOR TIPS FOR THE NEWCOMER
[1] Feed your laying hens a good balanced diet, and select only eggs from the best hens.
[2] Pick eggs with good shape and average size. Those that are either too large or too small don't seem to hatch as well.
[3] Never keep the eggs for more than ten days before incubating ... the less waiting, the better. And store them—until you're ready to start the hatching process—at 45 to 60 °F, with plenty of humidity.
[4] Keep the shells clean (but don't wash them). Write on them (to mark dates, etc.) only with soft pencil, and scrub your hands before picking them up.
[5] Preheat the incubator, and let the eggs slowly warm to room temperature before putting them into the hatchery.
[6] Make sure there's enough water in the humidity pan, adding only lukewarm liquid. Cold water could chill the incubator.
[7] Put chicken eggs in trimmed egg containers . . . quail eggs fit nicely in the chicken-wire screen. (The big end always goes up.)
[8] Move quail eggs to the lower rack on the 14th day . . . chickens should be shifted down on the 19th. Don't open the incubator after that point until the hatch is complete.
[9] Leave the brand-new chicks in the incubator for 24 hours . . . or until they dry. (Be sure the screened cover is in place, or they could jump out and drown in the water pan.)
[10] Clean the incubator thoroughly, after each hatching, with a dilute solution of chlorine bleach. And remember to rinse it well, too!
