How to HATCH CHICKS in a Homemade Incubator
(Page 2 of 6)
March/April 1975
by Vikki & Ted Purve - Smith
CONVECTION. This type of incubator has ventilation holes in the top and bottom to provide a continuous flow of fresh air and an even distribution of beat. The upward draft in the chamber causes fresh air to be drawn in at the base of the device. It's then warmed by radiation and circulated around the interior. Placement of the eggs and the thermometer are thus much less crucial than in the still-air machine. The disadvantage of this method is the higher rate of evaporation created by the air currents. This means that relative humidity must be maintained by the use of evaporation trays and carefully monitored with a device called a hygrometer.
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FORCED-AIR. Incubators of this type are also vented, but air and heat are circulated with a fan instead of by convection. Again, care must be taken to maintain proper humidity.
OUR HOMEMADE INCUBATOR
The mini-hatchery we built to increase our flock is of the convection type. It was inexpensive to construct, isn't at all elaborate and-while far from ideal-gives good results with careful attention and maintenance. First-because accurate temperature control is vital-we ordered an electric thermostat switch from Sears (check for such items in farm supply catalogs). This was our only piece of store-bought equipment. While we waited for the thermostat to arrive, we lugged down from the attic a deep wooden packing case that had contained bottles of a one-time popular soda beverage called Clicquot ("pronounced Klee-Ko," we were told by the lettering on the box). We cut a lid to fit from scrap lumber and lined both the antique crate and its cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil to provide reflection of internal heat. An aluminum pie plate was placed on the floor to serve as an evaporator tray. Then we took two screens of half-inch wire mesh and fitted them on a ledge of 1 X 2's laid on edge at the incubator's bottom. Our heat source was four small 15-watt light bulbs (any size up to 25 watts would do), one placed near each corner of the lid and connected to the thermostat installed in the center. We hinged the cover and drilled one half-inch ventilation hole in each of its corners also two quarter-inch holes in each side of the box, about an inch above the level where the tops of the eggs would be. Our incubator was complete. From that time on, our success in hatching chicks would depend on how we handled the eggs before and during their three weeks of development.
HANDLE WITH CARE!
The incubation of chicks requires care, patience and, of course, good fertile eggs to start with. In fact, the success of the hatch really begins with your flock's nutrition and the health and management of your breeders. Hatching eggs must contain certain elements in the proper quantities to produce vigorous chicks, and they must have good strong shells to be able to support live embryos.M/p>
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