AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

That's excellent CL

Darren looks into crystal ball : i can see something although it's coming in a little hazy....i see CL filling this incubator very quickly and needing another in 6 months:

Congrats mate

Thanks
P.A

Thanks again for answering.

It looked like my questions had been missed, so I gave the topic a bump. Seems to have worked.

You mentioned using an "element". I'm using 2 x 25w light bulbs, one at each end. The eggs are in the middle, with a vertical piece of plywood/mdf as a barrier between the bulbs and the eggs so they are not warmed directly by the heat from the lights.

See http://www.greenaus.com/chooks/incubator_inside.jpg

The fan is towards one end pointing in the general direction of one of the light bulbs.

Instead of continuing to use the egg cartons, I'm going use some left-over mouse/snake mesh to create narrow "baskets" for the eggs to sit in. That should allow better airflow to every surface of the eggs and reduce the possibility of temperature differences within the eggs.

Should I increase to 2 x 40w, 1 x 25w/1 x 40w, or leave it as is....2 x 25w?

Hi Greenaus, that will depend on whether the Bator is maintaining its temp with the number of eggs. Do you check it late at night or very early morning i.e. 4-5am this will be the critical time as out side temp greatly affects bators.

Thanks
P.A

Except tonight the last turn each night has been at around 2am. I have been recording temps before each turn.

No unusual variations observed as the microcomputer controlled digital thermostat is doing a great job of switching the light bulbs on and off.

I also began putting a blanket over the top and sides at night on about day 6.

The thermostat and the indoor-outdoor thermometer each have alarms. However, the latter is too quiet for me to hear, especially when asleep.

The incubator is in the sunroom, about 6 metres from where I sleep, sometimes with the door closed between. The thermostat alarm is loud enough, but so far only goes off while I have the lid off to turn the eggs.

The temp doesn't get that cool any other time, because the thermostat turns the lights back on.

OK so i think i'm going to invest in a incubator

I've been looking at second hand ones and they seem to cost just as much as a new one does.. Hubby thinks he might be able to make one but i'm thinking it might have to be tested for a while to make sure that it works how it needs to.. Are there any good links to home made incubators? I know greenaus has one but would like to see a few different homie jobs just to get an idea of whats involved..

Was wondering how long it would be till you got a bator

Kylie,

I do everything as cheaply as possible. That definitely doesn't mean I do things economically.

If you have the money, BUY an incubator. The biggest you can get without destroying your budget for the next decade. Read and follow the instructions and ask questions on APF.

I love my home-made incubator, don't get me wrong, but without having had experience with a real incubator first, I'm having lots of "Oh no" moments.

Like half an hour ago when the outdoor thermometer told me the temperature was 38.5!!! 38.5 if accurate is not a biggie for short periods, but my incubator had been sitting around 37.2 - 38.2 (usually 37.4-37. for the past week.

I think the embryos are at the stage I read about when they start producing heat as well.

Might be producing humidity, too, because the humidity has dramatically increased in the past 24 hours, too. I've had to cover more and more of the water tub.

Update: Yep, definitely something going on. Thermostat cuts in at 38.0 and off at 39.0, which usually resulted in the outdoor thermometer readings above. Lights just came on at 38.0 and the outdoor thermometer read 38.1. It has ALWAYS been 37.6 or lower before the lights come on.

Another update (the incubator is beside the computer, that's why there are ongoing updates as I type this): Lights just went off again after only a minute. Thermostat now says 39.3 (turns off lights at or above 39.0) and the outdoor thermometer is back at 38.5.

I read somewhere that I should drop the thermostat setting around now. However, my thermostat doesn't have 1/10 degree settings. I can only drop it by a whole degree. ie. down to 38.0 It would cut in a 37.0 and out at 38.0. The outdoor thermomenter would then read a maximum of 37.5 and a minimum of 37 or even lower. That is too low.

Any suggestions anyone?

Where can I put the thermostat sensor so that it will read the temp about .5 degrees higher so it cuts in and out .5 degrees sooner?

I'm scouring ebay and for sales as i type trying to find the deal of the century on a good bator.. fingers crossed