If you raise chickens often, you know that there is no good incubator not enough. Either the hen did not arrive in time, or a breed of chickens with poorly developed brooding instincts (most laying hens), or the absence of adult chickens altogether. In this case, of course, you need to buy an incubator. But you can do it yourself. Let's try to figure out how to make an incubator with your own hands.

Peculiarities

This name will probably surprise many, at least. How can a refrigerator be an incubator? The answer is - maybe even so! But everything is in order. As for the homemade device, many of our domestic poultry farmers successfully raise chickens even in the simplest incubators. Such a homemade device can serve as a faithful assistant until the breeder acquires an automatic industrial production one.

We also recommend that you familiarize yourself with incubators on aliexpress.

What does it take to make a homemade incubator?

1. The first thing you need for a homemade incubator is a convenient suitable chamber, box or box. They can be either wooden or plastic. At the same time, if your box is cardboard, then it can also be easily adapted by covering it with plywood and thick paper. It is important to seal all cracks and openings with sealant to prevent heat leakage during container assembly.
2. An important component is water baths. Make them the size of your incubator and place them in the bottom of the box.
3. Trays are best made from planed boards, the height of the sides being 70 mm. We cover the lower part with a metal mesh with a 10x10 cell.
4. Inside the box we attach guides from metal corners. Our design should resemble the appearance of a bookcase.
5. For heating we use 4-5 light bulbs of 25 watts each. One of the lamps can be attached below so that the heat is evenly distributed throughout the entire structure.
6. Don't forget about the thermometer, it should always be inside the incubator.
7. We make exhaust holes at the bottom, about 16 holes of 25 mm each.
8. Also be sure to provide a viewing window in the top wall. This is important for additional control of incubation during the “hatching” of the eggs.

Drawing of a simple incubator by A. Varvarova

Materials and tools

As materials and tools during work we will need:

• cardboard or wooden box, sheets of plywood, plastic or foam.
• sealant;
• screws;
• metal mesh and corners;
• screwdriver;
• light bulbs;
• sharp knife;
• paper or foil;
• glass for viewing window;
• egg trays.

Manufacturing instructions

Incubator from the refrigerator

So if you have old refrigerator, then don’t rush to throw it away. From its chamber it is easy to build a homemade incubator for home poultry farming. The fact is that the design of the refrigerator itself maintains a constant temperature inside well, which is very convenient for our case. All you need is yourself former refrigerator, 100 Watt light bulbs (about 4 pieces), temperature controller, contactor-relay KR-6. So let's get started.

1. Remove the freezer compartment from the refrigerator, if there is one.
2. Inside we attach lamp sockets, a temperature controller and a contactor-relay KR-6.
3. We cut out a small viewing window on the front door.
4. We equip grates for the supply of eggs and trays.
5. Attach a thermometer.

For visual clarity, we suggest viewing a drawing of a homemade incubator.

Drawing of an incubator from a refrigerator

Automatic incubator from the refrigerator

A refrigerator incubator with automatic egg turning is very convenient and completely replaces a conventional industrial production device. However, in order to do it you will have to work a little. But as a result, depending on the brand of refrigerator, you will be able to warm up about 50 eggs at a time without any problems.

1. Everything is the same as in the first case, we remove everything unnecessary, including the freezer.
2. We cut out a window in the front door and glass it. We remove all cracks with sealant, and for a more accurate appearance We cover the edges of the window with a frame made from kitchen furniture skirting boards.
3. The main control unit in this design is an automatic thermostat, an automatic tray turner Mechta 12 with a 12V power supply, and a humidity regulator.
4. It is good to use two as a power source computer units(one for the Dream-12 bundle + heating, the second for turning over the trays).
5. By the way, it is better to buy trays ready for automatic incubators.
6. We attach two light bulbs at the top and four at the bottom. We make a series connection of 2 light bulbs.
7. We check the operation of the lamps by making a positive wire through the Dream 12 thermostat relay and connecting the thermostat to the power supply.
8. We fix the temperature sensors.
9. For everything else, see photos, videos, and drawings in more detail.

Diagram of the device of S. Kozin’s homemade incubator: 1-temperature regulator sensor; 2-thermostat; 3-incandescent lamps; 4-fan; 5-knob for rotating trays; 6-trays; 7-plate; 8-bath with water.

The simplest incubator out of the box

So, for example, one simple design offers us P. Yakimenko from Moscow. He made a homemade incubator from an ordinary cardboard box measuring 56x47x58 cm. The inside of the cardboard is covered with paper or felt in two layers. A 12x10 cm viewing window is made in the upper wall. Small holes are also provided for wires. With their help, three 25 W light bulbs are installed inside.

Lamps for heat transfer should be installed at a height of 15 centimeters from the surface of the eggs themselves. It is important to seal the holes where the wiring is inserted with cotton wool to prevent heat leakage. Then they make wooden trays, a convenient door, and slats for the trays.

In such a simple homemade device, it is also important to maintain a high temperature, so we attach a thermometer to a special bar. For high humidity, place a container of water inside the device. In the first 12 hours after laying the eggs, the temperature in the box should be approximately 41 degrees, in the subsequent hours it is reduced to 39 degrees.

It is important to install such a device yourself not on the floor, but not on small bars 15-20 centimeters high. There must be constant air circulation, both inside and outside the box.

Video “Example of a homemade incubator from a refrigerator”

Breeding poultry at home it starts with an incubator. For the purpose of “hatching” eggs, both compact industrial devices and do-it-yourself incubators are widely used today. In this article we will focus our attention specifically on homemade incubators. To do this, we will find out what the most common designs exist today, what requirements they must satisfy and, finally, how to make one or another type of incubator with your own hands.

Making an incubator with your own hands is a more effective option than buying industrial device, since the first option takes into account various individual characteristics location, device design and poultry breeding conditions. In this regard, several advantages of homemade incubators can be highlighted:

• reliable in operation;
• economical in energy consumption;
• have sufficient volumes to lay up to several hundred eggs;
• guarantee the maintenance of the microclimate necessary for 90% of the survival rate of young animals;
• quite universal, can be used for breeding different types 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 wide variety of auxiliary materials and previously used structures. Of course, only from 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, as a rule, they choose an option from the four most popular varieties of homemade incubators.

1. Products from an old non-working refrigerator.

   
   

2. Products made from cardboard boxes.

   
   

3. Incubator made of foam sheets.

   
   

4. Incubator made of plywood (wooden boards).

   
   

Depending on the economic needs and capabilities of the manufacturer, incubators can be single-tiered or multi-tiered.

However, the “homemade” status of compact incubators makes it possible to expand this list, giving any poultry farmer the opportunity to show all his technical imagination and ingenuity. Note that the correct choice of dimensions of the future incubator is of great importance. In this case, a number of factors should be clearly taken into account, first of all, the planned volume of laying eggs and the installation points of lamps for heating the incubation chamber.

Incubator size

For successful high-quality production of an incubation device, its dimensions must be calculated (planned) in advance. Meanwhile, this parameter depends on the production volumes targeted by the poultry farmer and on the number of eggs placed in the incubator at one time. Moreover, the second factor is decisive.

An incubator of medium dimensions (length - 450-470 mm, width - 300-400 mm) holds the following approximate number of eggs:

In addition, the dimensions of the device are influenced by the type of heating system and the location of the incandescent lamps. 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 the 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 creating in the chamber the same conditions that a brood 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 in such a way that the poultry farmer has the opportunity to constantly and without any obstacles control the temperature and humidity conditions of incubation. Here it must be borne in mind that the aging of eggs of most of the most popular poultry species among breeders occurs in the range between 37.1 and 39˚C.

In this case, in the first days of incubation, the eggs (before placing them in the chamber they can be stored for no more than 10 days) are warmed up to maximum temperature, calculated for a particular type of bird (see temperature table), and by the end of this period the temperature drops to minimum values. And only when hatching quails, a constant temperature of 37.5 degrees is maintained throughout the entire 17-day incubation period.

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. If overheated, surviving chicks will likely suffer from deformations 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 the chicks hatch. In particular, the optimal level of air humidity inside the incubator before the moment of hatching should be 40-60%, and between hatching and the moment of hatching it should remain at 80%. And only before sampling the young animals, the relative humidity should be lowered again to 55-60%.

A good help for high-quality hatching of chickens in a home incubator will be the installation of a system forced ventilation. The operation of the electric fan will ensure air movement inside the chamber at a speed of 5-6 m/sec, which will contribute to an ideal balance between the temperature and humidity of the atmosphere in the incubator.

Prices for egg incubators

Egg incubators

Where to start creating an incubator?

Any process of assembling a household incubator begins with determining the main material from which the device will be made. For example, large pieces of polystyrene foam (at least 25x40 cm in size) or an ordinary large-volume cardboard box are good for this purpose. Perhaps the ideal option is to have an old refrigerator that has expired. In any case, we must proceed from the determining factor that is inherent in any structure - its thermal insulation ability.

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 heating device) and about convenient temperature control (thermometer). In order not to burden yourself with the need to manually periodically turn the eggs, it is worth equipping the incubator with an automatic turning 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 work

Prices for popular models of jigsaws

Jigsaw

Lamps for heating the incubation chamber should be fixed no closer than 25 cm from the eggs.

Remember that before selecting everything you need from the list above, you need to decide on the optimal size of the incubator.

How to determine the optimal incubator size?

• In order to complete the design preparation as accurately as possible, you will need drawings with specified dimensions. For a clear example, below is a version of the drawing of a product, which has a relatively small volume (for 45 eggs), a length of 40 cm and a width of 25 cm;
• when calculating optimal sizes In 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 they make devices designed for hatching young birds, which are designed to lay up to 100 eggs. In this case, the cells for eggs are made with a diameter of 45 mm and a depth of 60-80 mm;
• the result is a structure measuring approximately 60x60 cm and weighing about 3 kg. By the way, it can be made quite universal. For this purpose, replaceable grid trays with cells are provided different sizes, thanks to which, if desired, the same incubator can be easily converted to accommodate not only chicken, but also duck, goose, turkey and quail eggs.

To accurately calculate the dimensions, you can use the following table:

With the same capacity of structures for chicken eggs, a product made of polystyrene foam will be more voluminous than its cardboard counterpart.

Incubator from a used refrigerator

The body of an old refrigerator is ideally suited for arranging an artificial “nest”. The fact is that this equipment, indispensable in everyday life, is designed to reliably maintain a given temperature in the internal space. This purpose, in particular, is served by special design thermal insulating walls of the refrigerator.

At the same time, the existing racks and shelves in the refrigerator can be easily adapted to serve as egg trays. Fastening grooves on the inner walls make it easy to evenly distribute the eggs over the entire height of the refrigerator chamber. 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, have their own characteristics. Let's get to know them in more detail.

Ventilation system

Installation of a device for the artificial breeding of young poultry cannot be imagined without the arrangement of, at least, the simplest system ventilation. It directly affects the state of the air inside the chamber, including temperature regime and humidity. This creates an ideal microclimate for egg ripening.

It has been established that the optimal average speed ventilation speed is 5 m/sec. The movement of the air mass is ensured by the operation of the fan. The upper and lower parts of the housing must be drilled ventilation holes.

To prevent air from being “pumped” into the layer of glass wool under the casing, it is recommended to insert plastic (metal) tubes of the appropriate diameter into the holes. By partially or completely blocking these holes, you can regulate the ventilation process.

The embryo in the egg begins to consume oxygen from outside on the sixth day of incubation.

Installation of a heating system and selection of a thermostat

To form the simplest heating system for the inner chamber, select 4 incandescent lamps with a power of 25 W or 2 lamps of 40 W. Good heating of the entire volume is ensured by the uniform distribution of light bulbs between the lower and upper parts of the refrigerator. In this case, the lamps fixed below should not interfere with the water container, which humidifies the air inside the incubator.

Prices for thermostats

Thermostat

The thermostat is also involved in the process of creating the optimal temperature regime. Traditionally, poultry farmers use 3 types of temperature regulators - 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 a given heating level is reached, the second turns off the heating at a certain temperature, the third closes the circuit with the occurrence of excessive pressure.

Egg turning mechanism

The standard incubation process involves mandatory egg turning 2-4 times a day. In a home device, this function is performed by a special mechanism instead of a brood bird.

The essence of the work this mechanism consists in the fact that an electric motor drives a special rod, which transmits the impulse of movement to the tray with eggs. To mount simplest mechanism, necessary:

1. Install the gearbox at the bottom of the chamber.
2. Install wooden frame holding the trays. They should be secured so that the trays can be tilted 60 degrees towards the door and 60 degrees in the opposite direction.
3. The gearbox must be firmly fixed.
4. 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 with our own hands based on a used refrigerator. Now you can contact step by step instructions on its assembly.

Sequencing

1. Drill several holes in the ceiling of the housing - for heating system lamps and through for ventilation.
2. Drill at least 3 ventilation holes with a diameter of 1.5 cm in the lower part.
3. For greater heat retention, it is advisable to line the walls inside the device with polystyrene foam.
4. Repurpose old shelves into egg trays.
5. Attach the thermostat to the outside of the housing and install the sensor inside.
6. To organize forced air circulation near the heating lamps, attach 1-2 fans (for example, from a computer) in the upper part of the chamber.
7. Cut a small opening in the refrigerator door for an inspection window. Close the opening with glass (transparent plastic).

Video - Incubator from the refrigerator

Cardboard box incubator

The next option for producing a small home incubator is the cheapest one offered. On average, it takes only a few hours to make. However, despite the cheapness of such a product and ease of assembly, cardboard is also the most fragile of the most common available materials.

Step 1. First of all, they find a box that is unnecessary on the farm, the size of which is, for example, 56x47x58 cm (depending on the number of eggs in the set, the dimensions may vary). The inside of the box is carefully covered with several layers of paper or felt.

Step 2. Next, you should make several holes for electrical wiring, and fix 3 lamps of 25 W each inside. The installation level of the lamps should be 15 cm above the level of laying the eggs. To eliminate unnecessary heat loss, excess cracks, including holes for wiring, are sealed with cotton wool. On the other hand, it is necessary to provide several ventilation holes.

Step 3. After this, wooden trays for eggs, mounting rails (the trays will be installed on them) and a door are made.

Chicken egg tray

Tray for quail eggs

Step 4. Temperature control will be carried out using a thermometer, which is placed inside the incubator. To maintain a given level of humidity, a water reservoir 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 comfortable materials Expanded polystyrene (foam plastic) is used to make an artificial “mother hen”.

It attracts not only its affordable price, but also its wonderful thermal insulation properties, so valuable in the production of incubation structures, as well as their low weight. It is impossible not to mention the ease of working with this material. The production of a foam plastic product is in many ways similar to the production of a cardboard counterpart.

Making a device from foam plastic

1. The expanded polystyrene sheet must be cut into four equal parts. The resulting parts are used to form the sides of the body.

   
   

2. The second sheet is divided into two identical halves. One of them is 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.

   
   

3. A 12x12 cm square hole is cut out in the future lid for an inspection window. It will also serve as a ventilation hole. The window is covered with glass (transparent plastic).
4. From equal parts, obtained after cutting the first sheet, are glued load-bearing frame. After the glue has hardened, glue the bottom. To do this, glue is applied to the edges of a sheet measuring 50x40 cm, after which the sheet is carefully inserted into the frame.

   
   

5. After forming the box, the body is carefully covered with tape, due to which the structure acquires significant rigidity.
6. 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).
7. In 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 should be the same. Based on the characteristics of the material, all holes are recommended
8. Burn with a soldering iron.
9. The lid will hold firmly to the body if foam plastic bars (2x2 or 3x3 cm in size) are glued along its edges. In order for the bars to accurately fit inside the incubator, tightly adjacent to its walls, the distance between the bars and the edge of the sheet should be 5 cm.
10. After that with inside sockets for heating lamps are mounted on the covers in any way.
11. A thermostat is attached to the outside of the lid. The sensitive thermostat sensor is fixed inside the container at a height of 1 cm from the level of the eggs.
12. When installing a tray loaded with eggs, you need to make sure that the gap between it and the machines is 4-5 cm. This is necessary to ensure normal ventilation.

If there is a desire or need, you can mount a fan inside the incubator. They do it in such a way that air flow was directed not at the eggs, but at the lamps. Otherwise the eggs may dry out.

The heat of the incubation chamber will be retained for a long time if all internal surfaces are covered with insulating foil.

Video - DIY foam incubator

Conclusion

Thus, self-production setting up an incubator does not seem to be too complicated or troublesome. Of course, such devices can be different - in size and degree of equipment - depending on the number of eggs being processed. Therefore, before assembling them, it is better to carefully work on the project, taking into account all possible pitfalls.

At the same time, such structures can be made from a variety of materials and with a variety of design “highlights” (if all sanitary and technological requirements are met). And this makes the whole process creative and very exciting.

If you want to buy an egg incubator for yourself, but you don’t have the money for this device, since this equipment is professional. There are many homemade incubators on the Internet, but they are difficult to make and require a lot of materials. I'll show you one good idea on how to make an incubator with your own hands and not spend a lot of money on its materials. In such an incubator, your chicks will hatch within 21 days.

Required materials and tools:
- foam boxes
- socket with light bulb
- 4 wooden blocks
- fabric is highly breathable
- heat and humidity sensor
- hacksaw for metal
- screws
- knife
- a regular photo frame with glass
- electrical tape or tape
- construction stapler
- water container

Step 1: First, we need to measure the dimensions of our box. The sizes may be different for everyone, it depends on what kind of box you have.

Step 2: From wooden blocks, you need to make a frame like this. The height of the frame should be slightly larger than the height of the container you chose for water.

Step 3: Now we take a fabric that allows air to pass through well. Lay the fabric on the work surface and cut it a little with the remainder to stretch it.

Step 4: Next, stretch the fabric and secure it to paper clips using a stapler, or for those who don’t have one, use small nails.

Step 5: Drill a small hole in one wall of the box for the chuck. It should be higher than the screen so that the light bulb does not come into contact with it. The power of the light bulb depends on the size of the box. For example, the box size is 30*25 cm, a 10-40 W light bulb is enough.

Step 6: Next, you need to insert the socket into the hole and screw in the light bulb. The light bulb should not come into contact with the foam box.

Step 7: Now you need to cut 2 holes in the wall of the box and 4 more in the lids.

Step 8: To observe what is happening in the incubator you need to make glass. We cut out a window on the lid for glass.

Step 9: Disassemble the photo frame and secure the glass with electrical tape.

Step 10: Now let's start assembling. Place a container of water at the bottom of the box. Put up a screen. Install the air humidity sensor and place the eggs on a cloth. Close the lid.

A homemade incubator can be made in several ways from scrap materials. It will work no worse than its store-bought counterpart, but it will be much more economical. The capacity is selected based on personal needs, and the tray rotation mechanism can be either manual or automatic.

At home, you can assemble an incubator from:

• Expanded polystyrene,
• thick cardboard,
• plywood sheets,
• washing machine,
• Old refrigerator.

The dimensions of the incubation machine are selected individually and depend on:

1. The required number of eggs to lay,
2. Location of heating elements.

An average incubator with dimensions: 45*30 cm contains:

• up to 70 chicken,
• up to 55 duck,
• up to 55 turkey,
• up to 40 goose,
• up to 200 quail eggs.

Regardless of material or size, each device consists of:

• Covers (with or without window),
• Housings,
• Tray and grates,
• lamps,
• Containers with water to maintain humidity,
• Thermometer.

Models with automatic or semi-automatic tray rotation are also equipped with a digital timer.

Models with manual tray rotation

Making simple incubators at home requires a minimum of materials and tools, and you can make them in a few hours. Disadvantages: insufficient thermal insulation, fragility and manual turning of the racks with eggs.

Foam Hatching Machine

The advantages of this model: lightness and compactness, inexpensive cost and ease of manufacture.

You can make an incubator from polystyrene foam as follows: the walls are cut out of a sheet of polystyrene foam, at least 5 cm thick. The recommended size of the sides is 50*50 cm, the end is 50*35 cm. Assemble the body and distribute it correctly inner space Drawings will help. The walls are held together with glue, or they can be glued together with wide tape. There are 3-4 ventilation holes in the bottom.

The foam incubator is equipped with a lid with a glass viewing window. The glass does not need to be firmly fixed: if there is a need to lower the temperature, it can be moved away. To ensure that the lid fits more tightly and does not loosen the structure, you can glue the sides made of wooden blocks. The thermostat and thermometer are installed next to the window.

Incubation of chicken eggs in a foam incubator occurs under the influence of three incandescent lamps with a power of 25 W. In this volume, this is enough to maintain the required temperature. A water container is installed at the bottom of the chamber. The egg grill is assembled from a solid galvanized mesh with a cell size of 2.5 * 1.6 mm. Each side of the tray is lined with strong gauze: if this is not done, the chicks may be injured. To install the trays on top of each other, sides are built up around the perimeter, at least 10 cm high.

Air circulation inside the incubation chamber will be better if you attach a regular computer fan to the bottom.

The foam incubator for chicken eggs can be equipped with an additional heated indicator, which is placed under the grates.

Hatching machine out of the box

An incubator for chicken eggs made of cardboard is economical and simple, and assembling this design does not take much time. The device is made from an ordinary box of household appliances. It is not recommended to take a large one - it will be difficult to warm up the volume, and use more powerful lamps dangerous. At a distance of 4-5 cm from the bottom, 6-7 ventilation holes are cut out, with a diameter of 3 to 7 mm.

Wooden slats are attached to the side walls from the inside at a height of 9-10 cm from the bottom. The bottom itself is covered with cellophane or oilcloth, and placed on top wooden beams. A bath of water is placed on the resulting tray, and a regular store-bought egg tray is placed on the slats. To allow fresh air to enter from above, another 3-4 holes, about 5 mm in diameter, are made in the lid. A thermometer is hung next to them and one additional hole is punched for the wire from the lamp.

To heat the incubator, incandescent lamps with a power of 25 W or more are used. Air humidity is regulated by opening the lid.

Plywood incubator

This model differs from the previous ones in greater strength and better heat-saving characteristics. How to make an incubator:

1. The walls are cut out of a sheet of plywood. Greater thermal insulation can be achieved by making them double,
2. The dimensions of the device are selected individually,
3. The lid is also cut out of plywood and made removable,
4. To control the process, a small window is cut into the lid,
5. Along the perimeter of the lid there are holes for ventilation, no more than a centimeter in diameter,
6. From the inside, yards for installing trays are mounted to the walls of a homemade incubator,
7. For air exchange, 4-5 holes are drilled in the floor,
8. The heating element for the incubator is usually incandescent lamps, but for large volumes a tubular electric heater (heating element) can also be used.
9. The minimum distance between lamps or heating elements and eggs is 25 cm,
10. The minimum distance between trays (if there are several of them) is 15 cm,
11. A frame-type egg tray, assembled from a metal grid and lined with gauze mesh,
12. Containers of the same size for water are placed at the bottom.
13. The finished egg incubator is placed in a warm room with good ventilation. flat surface, and connect to a regular electrical network.

Automated Models

There are several ways to make an incubator with your own hands with automatic egg turning, uninterruptible power supply and good heat saving.

Incubation apparatus from the refrigerator

How to make an incubator with backup power: the incubator body is assembled from a refrigerator. To do this, the internal space is cleaned and washed well with a disinfectant solution. A pair of viewing windows are cut into the door and glazed on the inside and outside.

From the inside, the chamber is divided into two parts. The lower one is an incubation one, equipped with trays. The top one is an output one; a fixed shelf is installed in it. The partition is cut out of a sheet of plywood, and several holes are punched in it for air exchange. To circulate air, a small fan is installed at the bottom of the incubation chamber, and next to it, a couple of holes about a centimeter in diameter are drilled in the side wall. To allow air to escape, similar holes are made in the upper part of the housing.

The electrical circuit looks like this:

1. Thermostat for hatching and incubation chambers,
2. Emergency thermostat,
3. Voltage stabilizer 10 V,
4. Heater for incubation compartment,
5. Heater for outlet compartment,
6. Spare heater connected to the backup power supply,
7. Backup battery for 12 V incubator,
8. Psychrometer,
9. Tray rotation mechanism,
10. Humidity level regulator inside the hatching and incubation chamber.

In automatic mode, the operation of the incubator with backup power is ensured by a control unit that controls all the main components. The set temperature in the chambers is maintained by independent thermostats and heating elements, and electronic thermometers are responsible for temperature control. You can assemble them yourself using various ready-made circuits, but if you have little experience working with microelectronics, it’s better to buy them. The heating system is assembled from 20-25 W light bulbs, or a heating cord is laid around the perimeter to save electricity.

The automatic egg turning mechanism in the incubator operates every two hours, turning the trays 45°.

A temporary electronic relay, which is assembled from a low-speed motor and gearbox, is responsible for the operation of the mechanism. The output gear shaft must make a full revolution around its axis at 4 o'clock. You can replace a homemade relay with a similar device from an old drum washing machine. The mechanism is driven by a motor from the car's windshield wiper. To lower the speed, it is supplemented with a step-type chain reducer.

The lower egg grid is installed on the main axis, to which the gearbox sprocket is attached. Two additional ones are hung above it, and the distance between them is at least 15 cm. For simultaneous rotation, all trays are connected by a rod.

The egg incubator design assumes the presence of two power sources: universal and uninterruptible. The incubator is powered by a battery or power supply. The power supply of the power supply is 120-150 W, and the battery for the incubator is from 12 V.

To maintain humidity, a container of water and a fan are placed at the bottom of the incubation chamber.

Automatic incubator

Another option is how to make your own incubator with automatic egg turning. The body can be a frame from a washing machine or an old beehive.

The incubator structure looks like this:

• Frame,
• Tray system,
• heating system,
• Fan,
• Lattice rotation mechanism.

In order to maintain the desired air temperature inside, it is necessary to insulate the walls of the incubator. For this purpose, they are lined with foam plastic. To ensure air exchange, we make holes on one side of the wall at the bottom, and on the other at the top. Diameter - no more than a centimeter. The holes can be equipped with plugs. An observation window is cut into the lid and glazed. The glass is not firmly fixed: if it is necessary to reduce the temperature inside the chamber, it is moved away.

The trays are assembled from a metal lattice with a cell pitch of about 2.5 cm, and covered mosquito net so that the hatched chicks do not damage their paws. Do-it-yourself auto-rotation for an incubator is done like this: holes are cut into the lattice frame, and they themselves are mounted on an axis. All parts of the mechanism are fastened together, and gear motors with a power of up to 20 W are used as a drive. For smooth movement of the tray, it is recommended to use a chain with a pitch of 0.52 mm. A temporary relay is responsible for automating the process.

All that remains is to install a heating system for the entire structure. The heating element for the incubator of this model is a spiral from old irons. The spirals are secured to the walls with ties or staples so that they can be easily replaced if necessary.

The minimum distance of the heating element from the tray is 20 cm.

In a chicken incubator made with your own hands according to this scheme, you must hang a thermometer and place a container of water on the bottom. For better air circulation, you can attach a fan to the bottom grille. There must be a psychrometer in the chamber. The device measures humidity levels, and you can buy it at any pet store.

On homestead farms, the use of large industrial incubators may be impractical due to their large capacity. To raise a small number of poultry, small incubators are needed, which you can make with your own hands, using available tools and materials.

We will present several methods for making incubators. However, even a homemade incubator must meet certain requirements, which you will learn about in this article.

How to make your own chicken egg incubator

Breeding poultry is a fairly profitable activity, but in order to uninterruptedly produce productive young animals, you need to buy or make your own device in which the young animals will be raised.

You will learn how to make an incubator for chicken eggs or quails with your own hands, using available materials, from the sections below.

What to pay attention to

To fully hatch young poultry, you should adhere to certain recommendations and requirements regarding the use of the incubator and its manufacture:

• The temperature at a distance of two centimeters from the eggs should not exceed 38.6 degrees, and the minimum temperature is 37.3 degrees;
• Only fresh eggs are suitable for incubation, which should not be stored for more than ten days;
• It is necessary to maintain an optimal level of humidity in the incubator. Before biting it is 40-60%, and after the start of biting it is 80%. Humidity levels must be reduced before chicks are collected.

The hatching of young poultry also depends on the location of the eggs inside the incubator. They must be placed vertically (sharp end down) or horizontally. If the eggs are located vertically, they should be tilted to the right or left by 45 degrees (when laying goose or duck eggs, the tilt degree is up to 90 degrees).

If the eggs are placed horizontally, they must be turned at least three times a day by 180 degrees. However, it is best to turn the eggs every hour. A few days before hatching, the eggs stop turning.

Rules

If you are interested in how to make a homemade egg incubator, you should know that this device is made according to certain rules.

To make an incubator you will need:

1. Body material, which retains heat well (wood or foam). This is necessary so that the temperature inside the device does not change during the hatching process. You can use an old refrigerator, microwave, or even a TV as a housing.
2. For heating eggs they use ordinary lamps (from 25 to 100 W depending on the size of the incubator), and to control the temperature, a regular thermometer is placed inside the device.
3. So that there is constant flow inside the incubator Fresh air , you need to arrange ventilation. For small devices, it is enough to drill holes in the side walls and bottom, and for large incubators (for example, made from a refrigerator), install several fans (under and above the egg rack).

Figure 1. Common types of incubators: 1 - with automatic egg turning, 2 - mini-incubator, 3 - industrial model

Trays or grates can be purchased or made from metal mesh. It is important that there is space between the trays for free air circulation.

Peculiarities

It is necessary to establish high-quality ventilation in the incubator. Preference should be given to forced ventilation, since constant air movement will ensure that the required temperature and humidity inside the incubator are maintained.

Figure 1 shows the main types of incubators that can be used for breeding young poultry on a backyard farm. Below is a video overview of the operation of an industrial incubator for a thousand eggs.

How to auto-rotate eggs in an incubator

Incubators without manual rotation eggs are not very convenient, since a person needs to constantly monitor the incubation process and manually turn all the eggs. It is much easier to immediately make a homemade incubator with auto-rotation (Figure 2).

Instructions

There are several options for arranging automatic rotation of eggs in an incubator. For small devices, you can simply equip a movable grid, which is driven by a small roller. As a result, the eggs move slowly and gradually turn over.

Note: The disadvantage of this method is that you still have to control the overturn, since the eggs can simply move from their place, but not turn over.

Roller rotation is considered more modern, for which special rollers are installed under the grate to rotate the eggs. To prevent damage to the shell, all rollers are covered with a mosquito net. However, this method also has a significant drawback: to manufacture an auto-rotate system, you will have to take up free space in the incubator by installing rollers.

Figure 2. Diagram of automatic egg turning in the incubator

The best method is considered to be the inversion method, in which the entire tray with eggs is tilted 45 degrees at once. The rotation is driven by a special mechanism located outside, and all eggs are guaranteed to warm up.

How to properly lay eggs in an incubator

Incubation of poultry eggs should be carried out taking into account certain characteristics and an optimal hatching regime should be maintained. The table in Figure 3 shows the basic requirements for hatching eggs from chickens, ducks and geese.

First of all, the correct temperature should be maintained during incubation (minimum 37.5 - maximum 37.8 degrees). It is also necessary to regularly check the humidity, determining it by the difference in temperature on the “wet” and “dry” bulbs. If the “wet” bulb shows a temperature of up to 29 degrees, then the humidity is about 60 percent.

Figure 3. Optimal incubation conditions

The incubation mode must also meet the following requirements:

• Eggs must be turned at least 8 times a day;
• When hatching young geese and ducks, the eggs must be periodically cooled using a combined method: the first half of incubation, the eggs are cooled with air for half an hour, and then irrigated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
• During breeding of young animals, the air temperature on the “dry” thermometer should not exceed 34 degrees, and humidity - within 78-90 degrees.

It is important that insufficient heating of eggs, regardless of the stage of incubation, can slow down the growth and development of embryos, since the chicks absorb and use protein less well. As a result of insufficient warming, most chicks die before hatching, and the surviving chicks hatch later, their umbilical cord does not heal and their abdomen enlarges.

Depending on the stage, underheating can cause some disturbances. In the first stage of incubation they include:

• The intestines fill with fluid and blood;
• The kidneys become enlarged and the liver becomes unevenly colored;
• Swelling appears on the neck.

During the second stage of incubation, underheating can provoke:

• Swelling of the umbilical ring;
• The intestines fill with bile;
• Enlargement of the heart due to underheating in the last few days of incubation.

Overheating of eggs during incubation can cause external deformities (eyes, jaws and head), and chicks begin hatching prematurely. If the temperature has been elevated in the last few days, the chicks may be deformed internal organs(heart, liver and stomach) and the walls of the abdominal cavity do not grow together.

Severe and short-term overheating can lead to the fact that the embryo dries to the inside of the shell, the chick will develop swelling and hemorrhages on the skin, and the embryo itself is located with its head in the yolk, which is not normal.

Figure 4. Normal development embryo (left) and possible defects if the humidity regime is violated (right)

Long term exposure high temperatures in the second half of incubation leads to early movement of the embryo in the air chamber, unused protein can be seen inside the egg. In addition, in the brood there are many chicks that pecked the shell, but died without retracting the yolk.

Violations of the humidity regime can also cause serious problems(Figure 4):

• High humidity causes slow development of embryos, embryos do not use protein well and often die in the middle and end of incubation;
• If the humidity was increased during pecking, the chicks' beaks may begin to stick to the shell, a goiter may develop, and excess fluid may be observed in the intestines and stomach. Swelling and hemorrhages may develop in the neck;
• Increased humidity often causes late hatching and the hatching of lethargic young with a swollen belly and too light down;
• If the humidity was low, pecking begins in the middle part of the egg, and the shell membranes are dry and too strong;
• When humidity is low, small and dry young hatch.

It is especially important to support optimal humidity(80-82%) during the hatching period. It is worth noting that during all periods of incubation one should strive to maintain the temperature and humidity conditions that exist during natural incubation.

Figure 5. Possible defects in eggs when examined with an ovoscope

The duration of incubation depends on the type of poultry. For example, for meat breed chickens it is 21 days and 8 hours. If the normal incubation regime was maintained, the beginning of pipping begins on the 19th day and 12 hours after laying the eggs, the chicks begin to hatch already on the 20th day, and after another 12 hours most of the young appear. During incubation, eggs must be periodically examined with an ovoscope in order to detect damage in time (Figure 5). You will learn more details about ventilation and temperature conditions during incubation from the video.

What is needed for this

To properly lay eggs in the incubator, you need to warm up the device in advance and prepare the eggs.

For breeding young animals of any poultry, only eggs that have been stored for no longer than a week in dark room with good ventilation at room temperature. Before laying, they must be examined with an ovoscope and eggs without damage, cracks or growths on the shell are selected.

Peculiarities

Only eggs can be placed in the incubator correct form and with a characteristic shell color for a certain type of bird.

In addition, you need to choose the right grill to match the size of the eggs. For example, quail requires a smaller grille, and turkey requires a larger one. It is also necessary to familiarize yourself in advance with the temperature and humidity conditions of incubation for each type of bird.

How to make a homemade incubator from a refrigerator

Very often, home incubators are made from old refrigerators, since the housing of these household appliances is quite spacious and allows large batches of young birds to be hatched at the same time.

You can watch how to make an incubator from a refrigerator with your own hands with detailed instructions in the video.

Instructions

Before starting to manufacture the incubator, you need to draw up a drawing and plan for connecting all the necessary elements. You also need to wash the body and remove all the shelves and freezer from it.

The procedure for making an incubator from an old refrigerator includes the following steps(Figure 6):

• Several holes are drilled in the ceiling for mounting lamps and arranging ventilation;
• The interior of the walls is finished thin sheets polystyrene foam to retain heat inside the device longer;
• Trays or racks for eggs are installed on the shelves;
• A temperature sensor is placed inside, and the thermostat is brought outside;
• Several ventilation holes are drilled in the lower part of the side walls, and in order to provide more high level air flow, fans are installed at the top and bottom.

Figure 6. Scheme for making a household incubator from an old refrigerator

It is also advisable to cut a small viewing window in the door to make it more convenient to observe the incubation process without opening the door.

How to make an incubator from foam plastic step by step

The body of a homemade incubator can be made from old box from under a TV or a polystyrene box, strengthening it with a frame made of wooden slats. Four porcelain light bulb sockets need to be fixed into the frame. Light bulbs for heating eggs are screwed into three sockets, and the fourth light bulb is used to heat water in the bath. The power of all light bulbs should not exceed 25 W. Examples and drawings for the manufacture of simple incubators are shown in Figure 7.

Note: The middle lamp is often turned on only at a certain time: from 17 to 23-00. A bath of water to maintain humidity can also be made from scrap materials. For example, using a herring jar and cutting off part of its lid. Water will evaporate better from such a container, and the lid will prevent local overheating of the eggs.

A grill for eggs is installed inside a homemade incubator. The surface of eggs on the grill should be at least 17 centimeters from the light bulb, and eggs under the grill should be at least 15 centimeters away.

To measure the temperature inside the incubator, use a regular thermometer. To make it convenient to use the incubator, its front wall must be made removable and covered with cardboard or other dense material. Twists are used for fastening. Similar removable wall allows you to place trays of eggs inside the incubator, place a bath and change the water in it, as well as carry out all other manipulations.

Figure 7. Schemes for making simple incubators from a refrigerator and a box

You need to make a window in the incubator lid that will serve for ventilation and temperature control. The length of the window is 12 centimeters and the width is 8 centimeters. It is better to cover it with glass, leaving a small gap along the width.

For additional ventilation along the long wall near the floor you should also make three small square holes(each side - 1.5 centimeters). They must be open at all times for a constant flow of fresh air.

How to make an incubator from a microwave oven

A microwave incubator is made according to the same principle as an appliance from a refrigerator. But it is worth considering that such an incubator will not fit many eggs, so at home it is used mainly for breeding quails.

When making an incubator from microwave oven some features need to be taken into account(Figure 8):

• The outside of the housing must be lined with thin sheets of foam to stabilize the temperature inside;
• Ventilation holes are left in the upper part, and the door is not insulated or sealed for additional fresh air;
• An egg tray is installed inside, but since there is not enough space in the chamber for cans of water, a container with liquid for moisturizing is placed directly under the tray.

Figure 8. The procedure for making an incubator from a microwave oven with your own hands

It is also necessary to protect eggs from overheating by installing barriers on incandescent lamps.

How to make ventilation in an incubator with your own hands

The homemade incubator also does not have a special cooling system for the eggs, since they cool for several minutes during the turning process. During the entire incubation, the temperature should be maintained at 39 degrees.

For ease of use, legs can be attached to the incubator. And since this equipment is very compact, and the process of incubating eggs is not accompanied by secretion unpleasant odors, young poultry can be raised even in a city apartment (Figure 9). The procedure for making a simple homemade incubator is shown in the video.

How to make a humidifier in an incubator

For normal operation of a homemade incubator, you should pour half a glass of water into the bath per day. If you need to increase the humidity level, you can put a rag in the bath, which is washed every two days.

To lay eggs, special slats are placed in the incubator, and the eggs are placed in the gaps between them. The slats should be made rounded on the sides. To make it easier to turn the eggs, you need to leave free space in the tray corresponding to one egg.

Note: Eggs in a homemade incubator are manually turned 180 degrees. It will be better if the eggs are turned over up to 6 times a day with an equal time interval (every 2-4 hours).

Figure 9. Drawings for making simple do-it-yourself incubators

To maintain humidity, no devices are provided in the homemade incubator, and this mode is maintained approximately. To evaporate the liquid, it is recommended to install 25 or 15 Watt bulbs. Before hatching begins, the evaporator is not turned on, and if you turn it off too early, the eggs will develop a shell that is too hard, which the chicks will not be able to break.

Breeding chickens is simply impossible without special equipment. Poultry farmers often purchase industrial devices because they consider this the only possible solution. But making such an incubator with your own hands is not at all difficult. In this case, the device will not only be much cheaper, but also fully meet the requirements of the breeder.

Breeding chickens is simply impossible without special equipment

To make the simplest homemade apparatus, foam is used. Making such an incubator yourself is very simple.

To make the simplest homemade apparatus, foam is used

• Styrofoam;
• cardboard boxes;
• scotch;
• light bulbs and sockets;
• thermostat;
• a pair of fans that are used in computers;
• container for liquid;
• thermometer;
• plastic trays.

The entire manufacturing process comes down to several stages:

1. Preparation of drawings taking into account all dimensions.
2. In accordance with the drawing and dimensions, the necessary elements are cut out of foam plastic and attached to each other with tape.
3. Electrical wiring is done in the finished box.
4. All walls of the box, both inside and outside, are covered with cardboard.
5. Holes are cut out in the cardboard for light bulbs and fixing trays.
6. A hole is cut out in the upper part and covered with plastic. This creates a viewing window.
7. Fans are fixed.
8. Liquid containers are installed in the lower part.
9. At the final stage, the trays are fixed and the light bulbs are screwed in.

Incubator from the refrigerator: how to make it yourself

For manufacturing, you can use a two-chamber or regular old refrigerator

For manufacturing, you can use a two-chamber or a regular old refrigerator. As in any other case, the work begins with preparing a drawing and drawing up a diagram according to which all the elements will be connected. All the shelves of the refrigerator itself are being pulled out.

To make such an incubator, you must follow the following instructions:

1. From the inside future design Several holes are drilled in the ceiling for lamps, as well as a through hole for ventilation.
2. The walls are covered with sheets of polystyrene foam, which will help retain heat.
3. An egg tray is made from old grates.
4. At the top, on the outside, the thermostat is fixed, and on the inside, the sensor is fixed.
5. Several holes are drilled in the bottom for ventilation.
6. A pair of fans are fixed at the bottom and top.

A small hole is cut out in the door, which is covered with plastic and coated with sealant.

Incubators with automatic egg turning: how to make it yourself

In order for the incubation process to be correct and successful, the eggs must be rotated periodically

In order for the incubation process to be correct and successful, the eggs must be rotated periodically. Doing this manually is both inconvenient and undesirable, since this disrupts the temperature regime. That is why it is recommended to independently assemble a device equipped with a rotating mechanism.

To do this you will need the following materials:

• sheets of plywood and blocks of wood;
• Styrofoam;
• tray;
• net;
• 4 lamps;
• metal plates;
• containers for liquid;
• motor with worm gear.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Using bars and plywood, the frame is assembled.
2. The structure is lined with foam plastic on the inside.
3. To turn the eggs automatically, they think through the main mechanism - install an electric motor.
4. An axis is made in the upper part of the box, on which the trays will be installed in the future. A mesh is used for this.
5. A pin is made from the plates and connected to the rotation axis and brought out.
6. A rod is screwed to the motor and connected to the tray and pin.
7. Light bulbs are installed at the bottom of the apparatus and covered with metal plates.
8. A thermometer and liquid containers are installed.
9. Small holes are made for ventilation.

Thanks to this automatic design, incubating even 1000 eggs will be easy and simple. After all, there is no need to constantly turn them manually.

Manufacturing of a multi-tier incubator

To increase productivity, devices consisting of several tiers are often used

To increase productivity, devices consisting of several tiers are often used. It is much more difficult to assemble such a structure, but if you take care of preparing the drawings, the installation process will become much easier.

Assembly is carried out according to the following scheme:

1. The body is constructed from plywood.
2. A removable door is made from the plate on the back side.
3. The space inside the box is divided into three compartments. The distance from the ceiling to the side partitions should be about five centimeters.
4. Trays are installed in the side compartments.
5. To ensure that the trays turn over at the same time, attach handles to each of the trays.
6. The middle compartment is equipped with a thermostat and heating elements.
7. Each compartment has its own door.

Heating system

Regardless of the type of incubator and materials used, special attention must be paid to the heating system

Regardless of the type of incubator and materials used, special attention must be paid to the heating system.

Eat whole line requirements that must be met:

1. Heating elements are placed both under the trays and on the sides, top and along the perimeter.
2. The distance from the heating system to the tray must be at least 25 centimeters when using light bulbs and 10 centimeters when heating using nichrome wire.
3. No drafts.
4. The error of the maintained temperature is no more than half a degree.

The regulator can be used in several types:

• bimetallic plates;
• barometric sensors;
• electric contactors.

Particular attention is paid to safety measures, since everything homemade devices are fire hazard.

Even a novice poultry farmer can make an incubator on his own. But there are a number of points on which productivity directly depends:

1. The heat must be maintained at all times, even if there are power outages. To do this, a special battery must be provided into which hot water. By covering the structure with a blanket, the temperature will remain for about twelve hours.
2. The heat must be distributed evenly. To avoid the need to constantly rearrange trays, it is recommended to equip the device with two heat sources. One is on top and the other is below.
3. An important point is also the optimization of temperature. To ensure the flow of warm air faster, during the manufacturing process of the trays, the bottom is equipped with a metal mesh. The trays themselves should be movable, not stationary. Due to this, problems with temperature fluctuations simply will not arise.

DIY small incubator (video)

A simple home incubator from a refrigerator (video)

The main advantage of a homemade incubator is its low cost. After all, you will only have to spend money on Consumables. In addition, only in this case can you accurately select the dimensions of the equipment and calculate required amount trays depending on the scale of production. Moreover, the work process is not at all complicated and exciting.

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Making an incubator with your own hands is very simple and even not very experienced poultry farmers can do it.

Homemade incubators have many advantages - low cost, reliability and simplicity, the ability to make a design on a large number of eggs

There are a huge variety of options for homemade devices. Sometimes the most unexpected materials are used to create them - refrigerators, buckets and even basins.

The article discusses how to make an incubator correctly at home.

Types and drawings of devices

Most breeders raise chicks at home. There is not always a hen ready to hatch birds. In addition, it is often necessary to obtain young animals within a certain time frame.

According to experienced bird breeders, a simple home hatchery incubator can sometimes produce up to 90% hatching rates.

Some manufacturers offer kits for making home incubators.

But the lever flap of the tray is difficult to assemble for a person who does not have special skills.

But if you have the appropriate diagram or the necessary drawings, then you can make an incubator with your own hands without any problems, even at home.

If you want to figure out how to make an incubator, you first need to complete the drawings of your future device.

Homemade home incubator can be made from various available materials - wood scraps, an old refrigerator or even out of a box.

It is important to ensure that your device is well insulated. The modern market offers a large selection of heat-insulating materials - polystyrene foam, mineral wool and much more.

The incubator is heated using conventional incandescent lamps with a power of 25-40 W. For a small device, 4 lamps are enough. You can also heat incubators with electric heating elements.

If you use lamps, the eggs should be located at least 25 cm from the heating element.

If the air is heated by nichrome wire, then the eggs can be at a distance of 10 cm from it. It is very important to avoid drafts, otherwise the chicks may not hatch.

From a cardboard box

The simplest version of such a device for home can be built from an ordinary cardboard box.
You should prepare a box measuring approximately 50 by 50 by 50 cm.

Cover the inside with paper and felt in several layers. Make a window at the top through which you will monitor the process.

For the wires, make small holes through which you will connect 25 W electric lamps. The lamps are installed 15 cm above the eggs.

Seal the holes around the wires with cotton wool so that the heat, which is important for future birds, does not escape.

Trays can be made from wooden slats; also attach slats to the walls of the box on which the trays will be attached.

In order to warm air distributed evenly throughout the box, you also need to install a fan.

You can use a fan from a broken computer. To increase the humidity inside the incubator, place a small container of water below.

Such an incubator should be installed not on the floor, but on wooden blocks, at a height of 15-20 cm from the floor in a place in your house where there are no drafts.

From a bowl or basin

Such homemade devices for the home are perfect if there are power outages.

To make it, you will need two bowls or similar containers of the same size, preferably metal.

Such round containers will heat up evenly, which means the eggs will too.

The bowls are placed one on top of the other so that a cavity is formed inside. On the one hand, they need to be fastened together with furniture canopies or in another way convenient for you.

This way you will get an opening lid.

Hang the cartridge in the center of the top bowl. You can attach it to the bracket using glue or silicone. This way your bowl will remain intact.

It is better, of course, to make a hole and insert a cartridge into it, but in this case you will no longer be able to use the bowl for its intended purpose.

In a deep container, the lamp can be installed horizontally, and in large basins, install several light bulbs (select their number by testing).

Pour 1.5-2 cm of sand into the bottom bowl, then put foil, and lay straw or hay on top.

Make several small holes in the foil to allow moisture to evaporate. You need to install the entire structure where your home maintains approximately the same temperature.

When you have assembled your device, warm it up and place a thermometer in the center at the height where the eggs will lie.

From time to time, water should be added to the dried sand. Sand not only humidifies the air in the incubator, but also serves as a heat accumulator.

If the lights are turned off in your home, you can place the incubator in a saucepan with warm water and cover with a blanket. This way you won’t have to worry about the safety of your eggs.

You can also place the incubator near the battery, and in the summer take it out into the sun. Every day, spray the eggs with water and turn them 180°.

Making an incubator using polystyrene foam

The frame of the foam egg incubator is made of wooden blocks, and it is lined with plywood inside and out.

Sheets of foam plastic are inserted into the cavity between the layers of plywood. Some poultry farmers cover the wooden frame with tin, and insulate the inside of the incubator with a layer of polystyrene foam.

An axle is inserted through the top wall of the foam structure, onto which the egg tray is attached. The handle of the axis is brought out, and with its help the eggs are turned over.

Trays should be made of dense mesh with cells 2 by 5 cm. Install the thermometer so that its scale looks out. At the bottom of the case there are 4 lamps of 25 W each.

Each lamp must be covered with a metal sheet 1 mm thick. To do this, place 2 bricks around the lamp and put metal on them.

Place tin baths for water between the lamps.

Give several pieces of copper wire a U-shaped bend and attach them to the baths, and cover them with pieces of fabric on top - this will help increase the evaporation area.

Make about 10 holes in the upper and lower walls of the incubator through which fresh and humidified air will move.

From the refrigerator

Very often, breeders use old refrigerators to build an egg incubator at home. In fact, this is a ready-made home incubator, which only needs to be slightly modified to make the process easier.

The freezer compartment is removed from the refrigerator. In its place are placed 4 lamps of 100 W each. You need to cut a small window in the refrigerator door in order to control the incubation process.

One 25 W lamp is also installed below.

A glass or tin partition is attached above it, on which a tray of water and a piece of wet cloth are placed to increase the amount of evaporation.

The egg tray is placed even higher, and a control thermometer is fixed at the same level. This is the most simple circuit incubator from the refrigerator. But there are also more complex options.

You can make a device with the ability to turn eggs during the process. First make the body more rigid.

To do this, boards are attached to the side walls, which are connected at the bottom by bars. Make recesses in the boards into which bearings are inserted, thanks to which the eggs will be turned.

After this, frames or trays for eggs are installed, a cable is attached to the frames, with the help of which the trays are turned over. The end of the cable is brought out and secured to the engine.

In order for the coup to be carried out correctly, you should prepare drawings of the device in advance and discuss them with a professional.

IN back wall a fan is built in.

Refrigerators have a trough that drains water, this should be set in the reverse direction and the fan will be fed water through it when the chicks begin to hatch.

Automatic incubators

To achieve maximum productivity, eggs must be kept in certain conditions.

The most important thing is to turn the eggs on time and maintain the required temperature, fluctuations of which should be within half a degree.

This is quite difficult, so some poultry farmers use homemade automatic devices with thermostat.

Bimetallic plates, barometric sensors and electrical contactors can act as a thermostat.

Ready-made thermostats can be easily purchased in stores or made yourself.

In addition to thermoregulation, the automation is also responsible for turning the trays over. To do this, you will need a Dream-12 device with a supply voltage of 12 V.

It is also necessary to install a humidity regulator. Computer blocks can be used to provide power.

It is better to buy trays for automatic incubators in a store.

The light bulbs are connected in series, 2 pieces at a time - 2 at the top and 4 at the bottom. Place baths of water at the bottom of the incubator, and an incubator at the top.

When your incubator is ready, you should test its operation for two to three days.

Install desired temperature and try to maintain it throughout the entire time. It is especially important that the eggs are not overheated.

If the eggs remain at a temperature of 41° for at least 10 minutes, the embryos will die. Trays must be turned over 2-3 times a day.

To achieve maximum chick hatching, you need to pay a lot of attention to the selection and storage of eggs in special conditions. Eggs should be stored lying down.

Storage temperature - no higher than 12°. Turn them over from time to time. Eggs with rough or thin shells irregular shape are rejected.

Using an ovoscope, eggs are examined for the presence of two yolks or an overly large air chamber.

Eggs should not be washed before the incubation process, as this will disrupt their natural protection.

Differences between incubators for quail eggs

Many poultry farmers are interested in how to make a quail incubator with their own hands.

To make a homemade quail incubator, the same materials are used as for chicken incubators. The main difference is the size.

A do-it-yourself quail incubator can be two to three times smaller in size than a chicken incubator.

If you make a quail incubator with your own hands at home, you can make it the same size as a chicken incubator, only you can fit three times as many eggs in the trays.

If you decide to breed birds at home, then for this purpose you will need an incubator with polystyrene foam as insulation. It can be used not only for breeding chickens, but also other birds. In this article we will tell you how to make an incubator from polystyrene foam.

What you will need

The first thing you need to do is decide on the number of eggs you plan to raise in a foam incubator. This factor will influence the appearance of the interior of this unit. If more than fifty eggs will be processed at the same time, you will definitely need to install a fan. Its presence is mandatory for uniform heating of the entire area. If you plan to heat a small number of eggs, then installing this additional unit will not be necessary. The main thing is to place the warming devices correctly.

This device consists of the following parts:

• body, with foam insulation;
• heating system;
• trays for placing eggs;
• additional devices for controlling humidity and temperature.

Before starting the assembly process, we recommend making a drawing of the future structure. To make the incubator body you can use different materials. Plywood, chipboard sheets, cardboard boxes, and an old refrigerator are perfect for this purpose. Main criterion, according to which the choice of material is made - ensuring proper thermal insulation. You can use felt, foam, batting.

Device

In order to ensure proper ventilation, we make a gap of up to eight centimeters between the wall and the tray. When working with a large incubator, on the foam that is used as insulation, it will also be necessary to make holes so that carbon dioxide can escape through them. A certain distance must also be between the bottom and the floor, as can be seen in the photo.

Heating system

Heating elements can be placed in different places of the incubator relative to the trays:

• above;
• evenly over the entire plane;
• at the bottom.

If you make this unit with your own hands, then the best option There will be a heating installation on top. It is in this case that the situation of bestowal will be achieved maximum quantity heat. To determine at what distance they need to be installed, you should analyze the power of the heater.

Egg Tray

The easiest and cheapest way is to make an egg tray with your own hands. In this case use wooden boards. The frame can be easily made from metal or nylon mesh, as shown in the video. The cells must be made in such a way that they can easily fit egg. Most convenient option- this is to make a design according to the drawings of a furniture box.

During the operation of the foam incubator, you will need to constantly turn the eggs. If in the future you plan to carry out this process yourself, then before starting it, place a cross on one of the sides of the egg.

If you wish, you can make a device to turn the entire tray over at the same time. To do this, we will make a movable frame without a bottom, with a width of 1-2 mm and a length of 10 cm. Next, the cells need to be fixed on it at a distance of up to 10 cm.

Additional devices

In order for an individual to develop normally, the incubation process must take place taking into account all the conditions necessary for this. Monitoring devices will help us with this.

To determine the humidity in the incubator, the main insulation, which is polystyrene foam, is used in a psychrometer. It is sold at any veterinary pharmacy. You can also make it yourself. To do this, you will need 2 thermometers, which will need to be attached to the board, as seen in the photo. Next, one of them is immersed in a bandage and then in water. Thermometer number two does not need to be immersed in water. Now, to determine how humid the air is, it will be enough to calculate the difference between these two indicators.

To ensure that the temperature in the incubator is constant, it is necessary to install a thermostat. This can be an electronic device with a power of no more than three hundred watts. He will have to keep the temperature within 35-40 degrees. The thermostat must be placed in a plastic base. It must also be equipped with a temperature control device, a sensor and a load indicator. This device will work continuously.

Advantages

Previously, in order to hatch quails, a bucket and a table lamp were enough. Now this method can be considered quite risky. It is better to make the device yourself, because materials such as polystyrene foam, plywood and iron are not very expensive and are widely available.

An incubator made independently has a number of advantages:

• the process of hatching chicks can be year-round, and in no way depend on the season;
• it is possible to always check the process - in real conditions you would not be able to do this;
• the incubator can be easily moved to a place convenient for you;
• low production cost and quick payback.

Let's sum it up

If you make an incubator with foam plastic with your own hands, you will get enough cheap way breeding domestic chickens. This unit can be used many times. You can support the resulting offspring yourself, thereby providing yourself and your entire family with healthy nutrition. It will also be very profitable to sell the resulting chicks. That is, a device made from ordinary material can become your home business.

Ravilov V.V. | 2015-03-17

Let's say the gentle March sun has awakened in you a craving for increasing the number of poultry, but there is no desire to tinker with a hacksaw on wood or metal, then you can make an incubator from sheet expanded polystyrene (foam).

Let's not reinvent the wheel and discover America, but use the successful experience of our Australian fellow craftsman. He independently, with his own hands, in a matter of hours, made an incubator of small capacity for chickens and made a photo and video report about his research. So, over to Candyman.

I made this incubator from polystyrene sheets and named it Esil Bator, after the hen that laid the eggs for my first egg incubation experience.

I secured the cut-to-size walls of the incubator with adhesive tape to ensure the required strength and tightness.

Fig.1. Styrofoam incubator

Fig.2. The incubator is quite simple

The incubator uses 60-watt incandescent light bulbs as a heating element and another one, I don’t know its power, the markings have worn off.

The temperature in my incubator is regulated using an industrial thermostat, and the uniform heating of the eggs is ensured by two fans, one of which is installed at an angle of 45 degrees, and the second pumps heated air from the compartment with the lamps to the compartment with the eggs.

The photo below shows a 60-watt light bulb with a reflector.

Fig.3. Top view of the finished incubator

Fig.4. Heating element lamp 60 watt

Second lamp, unknown power

Fig.5. Auxiliary incubator lamp (40 watts, no more)

The main fan, it pumps heated air from the heating compartment to the incubation compartment.

Fig.6. Main incubator fan

Both lamps, in addition to the thermostat, are connected via a dimmer. This simple addition gives me even more control over the temperature since I don't have central heating. When I need to quickly increase the temperature, I turn on the second lamp and make the light brighter.

Fig.7. Dimmer knob

In the incubator, on both sides, I installed containers with water. Firstly, it provides the required air humidity. Secondly, containers in water serve as heat accumulators and ensure uniform heat distribution, complementing the installed fans. I used regular PC fans with a diameter of 80mm.

To monitor the temperature and humidity in the incubator, I used two regular thermometers and one digital thermometer/hygrometer.

Fig.8. Temperature regulators

Fig.9. Thermometers

Fig. 10. Thermometers

Fig. 11. Thermometers

The eggs in my incubator are placed in standard plastic egg trays, which for ease of turning were installed on cardboard rolls with a diameter of 4 cm. Yes, I turned the eggs manually, the incubator is a quick one.

To hatch chickens, I used only fresh eggs. In order not to purchase an ovoscope, the built-in flashlight of the phone was used to candling the eggs.

Fig. 12. Mobile ovoscope

Eggs for 5 days.

Fig. 13. Candling eggs on the 5th day

Fig. 14. Candling eggs on the 5th day

Fig. 15. Candling eggs on the 5th day

On the seventh day, the blood ring became clearly visible.

Fig. 16. Candling eggs on the 7th day