How to make your own egg incubator. Do-it-yourself incubators at home: features and options

If you plan to breed chickens at home or in the country, then you can design an incubator with your own hands. So you can save a lot of money and create exactly such a device that is best suited to your goals. In our article you will find a description of several interesting designs that you can do yourself.

Myth or reality?

Many novice farmers believe that a homemade incubator is a very complex device that requires expensive materials and tools. But in fact, it can be made at home with your own hands and at minimal cost. At the same time, you can make both a simple incubator and a complex device with automatic egg flipping and temperature control.

A homemade incubator will allow you to choose the desired dimensions of the device, as well as the presence of various additional functions in it. In addition, this design will allow you to save a lot, because there will be almost no expensive materials in it. But at the same time, when assembling, everything must be done very accurately, because the slightest violation of temperature or humidity can lead to damage to the eggs.

Device manufacturing

There are several options for creating an incubator with your own hands at home. You can use an old refrigerator or a box as a base. Also, this device can be assembled using foam. Below are diagrams of the most popular designs that you can do yourself.

incubator out of the box

This type of device will be the most profitable from an economic point of view. Do-it-yourself manufacturing does not require expensive materials and will take place as quickly as possible.

First you need to cut a small hole in the side of the box for ventilation, and fix the bulb holders in the lid of the box.
For 60 chicken eggs, you will need to insert 3 light bulbs with a power of 25 watts. They should be located at a distance of 15 cm from the tray.
For reliability, it is recommended to sheathe all edges of the box with plywood or chipboard sheets.
Below the eggs, you need to place a container of water. The area of the evaporated surface depends on the volume of the housing and is selected empirically using a hygrometer.
The egg tray is installed in the middle of the box.
It is recommended to choose a gyroscope and a thermometer that can be viewed without opening the box. It is recommended to tear off the lid of the box only for turning the eggs.

Simple incubator out of the box

Styrofoam

Styrofoam has excellent thermal insulation properties, moreover, most farmers will be able to find this material at home. That is why do-it-yourself incubators are very often made of foam. The principle of its manufacture is in many ways similar to the creation of a structure from a cardboard box. But you can choose the size of the shell yourself based on the desired number of eggs.

First you need to make a box out of foam sheets. This can be done without problems with your own hands, using adhesive tape. Just cut the edges to the desired size and fasten them into the box in a way that is convenient for you.
This design will provide high thermal insulation and allow the use of light bulbs with a power of about 20 watts for heating. Of course, you can include special heaters in the design, but the option with light bulbs is the most budgetary and they do their job perfectly.
As in the previous design, it is recommended to insert light bulbs into the top cover at a distance of about 15 cm from the eggs.
As a tray, you can use a finished structure, or make it from wooden planks. It is best to place the tray in the middle of a homemade box so that the distance to the water containers and heating elements is approximately the same.
When making such an incubator with your own hands, do not forget to leave space between the tray and the walls, because air circulation is very important when hatching chickens at home.

With automatic flip

The most difficult thing is to make an incubator with automatic egg flipping at home. But such a design will help to breed chickens at home as conditionally as possible, because regular egg turning is the most important factor. Such a mechanism will be indispensable for people who are often absent and cannot pay enough attention to hatching chickens from eggs. In addition, this design will minimize the number of lid openings, which is also a very important factor.

The easiest way to implement automatic flipping is to buy ready-made trays with a special mechanism. Such a device will cost many times less than a ready-made incubator, but you will need to create a suitable case, as well as purchase a thermometer and a gyroscope. The case of an old refrigerator is perfect for assembling a house. It has good thermal insulation, as well as a convenient door. You will need to perform the following sequence of actions:

Dismantle unnecessary parts, including the freezer.
Cut a window in the door and glaze it.
Fix the trays with automatic flipping where the shelves used to be.
Install 4 bulbs at the bottom of the refrigerator and 2 at the top.
Place a water tank at the bottom.
Mount the thermometer and gyroscope so that they can be seen through the window.

You can also try to assemble a do-it-yourself automatic flip device at home, but its manufacture will require special tools, materials and skills. On the forums of craftsmen, you can find a variety of diagrams, drawings and videos that will help realize this idea. But in most cases, it is easier and more profitable to install a ready-made tray with an automatic flip.

Photo gallery

The photographs and drawings below will help you make a device for hatching chicks at home. You can find more information in the video.

Video "An example of a finished incubator from the refrigerator"

In the next video, you can look at a working device that was assembled by hand at home from improvised materials.

" Equipment

In this article, we will talk about what the simplest household incubator consists of and how you can make it yourself without large investments. The components of a household incubator can vary depending on whether you want to make it fully manual, semi-automatic or automatic.

You will need:

lid with a viewing window;
frame;
lattice for eggs;
light bulbs with chambers;
containers for water;
fan at 12 V;
Regulator voltage 12 V;
thermometer;
thermostat;
temperature sensor;
controller flipping frequency (digital timer).

What can you make this useful thing at home?

from polystyrene;
from cardboard boxes;
from plywood or tree;
from the old refrigerator.

This list is not final. The specified list of different materials implies the manufacture of the cover and body from these materials. A detailed description, characteristics and device of each type of incubator can be found below.

Incubator Dimensions will depend primarily on:

number of eggs that you will put.
from location light bulbs that heat the incubator.

For reference: with an average length of the incubator of 450 - 470 mm and a width of 300 - 400 mm, egg capacity, pcs. (depending on size):

chicken up to 70;
duck or turkey up to 55;
goose up to 40;
quail up to 200.

Homemade foam incubator, description and drawings

You will need: sheets of foam (expanded polystyrene) measuring 50 x 100 cm. Thickness - 50 mm.

We mark the sheet with a pencil and a ruler. We take arbitrary sizes. Example:

Side wall: Length - 50 cm, height -50 cm.

End wall: length - 35 cm, height - 50 cm.

Cut the foam to size with a sharp knife. If the foam is not extruded, then it is better to cut stationery knife- it is very sharp, the blade is thin.

We do the same with the second sheet.

Further assemble the body according to the drawing shown. This is done with rubber glue or simply wrap the joints with wide tape. Thus, we get the side, end sides and bottom of the case. At the bottom of the hull, which is also cut to fit the walls, be sure to make 2-3 holes for air ventilation.

Lid we manufacture separately with a viewing window and a pair of holes for ventilation as shown in the diagram below.

Glass You don't need to "tightly" fix it. After the chicks appear, we adjust the temperature in the incubator by moving it a quarter or half. The proposed design of the incubator assumes that it will be heated by three electric 25 watt bulbs, this is enough to maintain the required temperature. The lid must be made with partially cut out sides so that it does not move along the body. For this purpose, you can also glue bumpers. The material used is wooden blocks or foam blocks.

On the lid, fasten three electric chuck with light bulbs.

We install a thermostat on top (if the design suggests it).

The egg rack is made from welded galvanized mesh 16 x 24 mm, closed from the inside with a plastic mosquito net. The net is needed so that small chicks do not fall into the cells with their paws. In addition, they stick their heads in the cells, which ends up badly for them (and for you). Growing on the grid bumpers(walls), the height of which should be at least 8 - 10 cm, otherwise the chicks will jump over it. If you do not plan to roll the eggs by turning the grate along its axis, then we make the sides smaller than the grate around the entire perimeter, and the grate will cover the entire interior of the incubator and will lie on the bars. In this design, you have to turn each egg by hand, marking them on one side with a plus (+), and on the other, respectively, with a minus (-). Come up with your notation.

This design can improve, equipping it with an ordinary computer 12-volt fan, using a voltage regulator, an adapter (respectively, 12 volts) and a thermostat.

It is possible to construct an indicator with heating from light bulbs, which will be located below, under the tray (lattice) with eggs. Then the design will be more compact. Its height may not exceed 25-30 cm. Bulbs and chambers for them can be taken as in a conventional household refrigerator. You can use a different type of heater (film from underfloor heating systems).

To do not turn each egg, you can put the grate (tray) not on the bars at the bottom, but make holes closer to the bottom of the incubator, insert bushings there, attach the grate to the bushings with corners or other clamps. Outside, attach handles or holders. Thus, the grate can be rotated along its axis, changing the degree of inclination of the eggs and, accordingly, heating one side of the eggs, then the other. The grate in this case should be smaller in size than the inner walls of the incubator so that it can change the angle of inclination without interference. Lattice sides then they should be higher than 5 cm, because otherwise the chicks can roll over the side and fall to the bottom of the incubator to the light bulbs and water containers.

From a cardboard box, diagram and device

Perhaps the simplest and cheap incubator- This is a cardboard box. Cardboard is very inferior in strength to all other materials, so this type of incubator has certain features.

Ventilation holes are located from the bottom by 3-4 cm; on the side walls, at a distance of 6-7 cm from the bottom, we attach wooden slats to the walls. Instead of rails, you can put bars on the bottom of the box, which we cover with foil. It should be larger than the bottom so that its edges go onto the walls. per pallet install any container with water.

We lay the usual egg packaging on slats or bars. Cut a hole in the middle for better air ventilation. He makes a lid on the box with two holes: in the middle, for the lamp, and on the side for the thermometer.

From plywood do it yourself

If you make an incubator from this material, then it walls should be double. The top cover, as in the previous versions, is removable. A viewing window with glass is cut through it. Doing ventilation holes similar to the previous options.

Mounted on the inside of the incubator lamp holders, and slats for the tray are nailed below. We also drill holes in the plywood floor for ventilation. They can be 4-10 pieces.

Tray or a lattice of eggs arrange also frame type. On the grate we put a mosquito net or construction mesh for puttying. The incubator is installed in a warm room.

Attention! Do not forget that the minimum distance from the lamp to the eggs should not be less than 25 cm if low power incandescent lamps are used as a source.

From an old refrigerator

If you have on the farm old refrigerator, which you managed to replace with a new one, and the old one has not yet been thrown away, you can use it as a homemade incubator.

We throw away everything superfluous, including the freezer. From above are done ventilation holes. They are also made at the bottom of the incubator. Bottom install 12 volt fan.

Next you need to install heaters. This role is played by electrical 25 watt bulbs. You need 4 such bulbs. Two bulbs are placed at the top of the refrigerator, and two at the bottom. Below we fix the chambers in such a way that at the bottom it is possible to place a tray with water.

Egg trays are also made from galvanized welded mesh with sides. If you choose plastic fruit boxes as the material, that’s also good. Then they are cut to a height of 6 cm. All trays are mounted on the axis and are connected to each other with a bar, with the help of which the inclination of the eggs changes.

Auto

In some of the above options, it was proposed to manufacture manual or semi-automatic incubator. To make automatic incubator, you need to additionally purchase:

block thermostat;
tray automatic egg turning, which turns the eggs at a certain angle;
frequency controller coup (timer).

Differences in temperature regimes for different types of poultry

In the first two days, you need to warm up the eggs well, so the temperature in the incubator is set at 38-38.7 ° C.

Remember! An increase in temperature adversely affects the embryos.

Chicken eggs in the first days of incubation, they are kept at a temperature of 39 to 38 degrees, gradually lowering it. In the last days (20-21) - 37.6.

duck- from 37.8 to 37.1 degrees down.

Goose– from 38.4 to 37.4.

Turkeys– from 37.6 to 37.1.

Quail all 17 days of incubation are kept at the same temperature of 37.5 degrees.

As you can see, doing home incubator, the material can be varied and depends on what is at hand. In order to orient the reader what will be the financial benefit from this event (meaning the difference between a ready-made incubator bought in a store and a do-it-yourself one), we can say that benefit is at least threefold. If you do not buy automation, then the difference will be even greater. Of course, what you make will have and minuses: does not look so aesthetically pleasing, perhaps not such a long service life. Despite this, many prudent owners prefer make an incubator rather than buy.

Comparing the material from which the body of the incubator is made, we can say that foam incubator has the lowest heat loss, from a cardboard box- the cheapest. From what material you will make - it's up to you.

Do-it-yourself incubator at home with drawings.

You can make a homemade incubator with your own hands, even from an ordinary cardboard box, and there is nothing complicated about it.

In this article, we will look at some of the simplest options for home-made incubators with drawings, photos and videos, which describe in detail how to make an incubator.

When the temperature rises above the set value, the relay is activated and turns off the heating elements. When the temperature drops below the set value, the relay turns them on again. It is quite difficult to make a thermostat on your own, it is easier to buy it in a hardware store.

Egg trays.

To place the eggs, trays are used in the incubator, since the incubation process requires periodically (2-3 times a day) to turn the eggs, then this has to be done manually, or using an automatic rotary mechanism.

Air circulation.

The air temperature near the heating elements will be slightly higher than in the far corners of the incubator chamber, in order to ensure uniform heating of the eggs, you need to install a small low-power fan that will circulate warm air inside the incubator.

humidity in the incubator.

The incubation process requires maintaining humidity in the incubator chamber; for this, it is enough to place water containers on the bottom of the incubator.

This is the simplest version of a homemade incubator; any box made of thick cardboard, for example, from household appliances, will do. The walls of the box must be insulated with any available heat-insulating material.

For convenient control over the incubation process, a small Plexiglas window can be made in the wall of the case.

For heating, you can use 2 - 3 electric lamps of 25 W each, the lamps must be connected to a 220 V network through a thermostat.

Egg trays can be made from welded metal mesh, plastic, wooden slats; to install trays on the walls of the case, you need to install side rails. To evenly distribute warm air in the incubator, it is advisable to install a small low-power fan, you can adapt a 12 V cooler from a computer power supply.

To maintain humidity in the incubator, it is necessary to put a small wide container of water at the bottom of the box.

How to make an incubator from an old refrigerator.

An old refrigerator can also be converted into an incubator, the refrigerator body is ideal for this, it already has thermal insulation and a convenient sealed door. It remains only to remove the freezer, and install heating lamps with a thermostat, a fan, a container of water, a control thermometer and egg trays from above and below.

In order not to turn the eggs manually, you can make an egg turner.

The operation of the incubator needs to be tested; it must accurately maintain the set temperature on the thermostat, after which eggs can be laid and incubated.

For the successful incubation of eggs, it is very important to constantly maintain the desired temperature, if the lights suddenly turn off at home, you need to put a pot of hot water in the incubator, and cover the incubator case with a blanket. This will allow you to maintain an acceptable temperature for some time until the houses turn on the lights.

Drawings and description of manufacturing in the article.

How to make an incubator with your own hands from the refrigerator video.

How to make a quail incubator.

For incubation of quail eggs, you can use the same incubator as for chicken eggs, it has the same design and works on the same principle.

Quail eggs are much smaller than chicken eggs, and they require less space in the incubator, so you can make an incubator for small quails, the scheme and principle of its operation are the same.

How to make a quail incubator video.

For a small farm, compact devices are needed to hatch young animals. At home, it is easy to make an incubator with your own hands using improvised materials.

The main attention is paid to the case, which should provide a stable temperature regime. For this purpose, an old refrigerator or a box assembled from foam is suitable. Trays are inserted inside in which eggs are laid. Work on their coup and maintaining the required temperature can be automated.

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Advantages

A homemade device has several advantages:

1. A do-it-yourself device is cheaper.
2. You can make a product according to your needs for the right number of eggs.
3. A device made from improvised means is cheaper to maintain.
4. It is possible to install an additional power supply. It will be needed in the event of a power outage.

Requirements

The beginning of work consists in the preparation of design drawings and the development of a diagram of the electrical part. At this stage, the necessary requirements for the device are laid down:

1. Extra space is provided in the body of the incubator to be able to increase the amount of rearing of young animals.
2. The focus is on the method of heating and thermal insulation.
3. Availability of ventilation. To do this, holes are drilled on the side and in the bottom. In the manufacture of a refrigerator, fans are installed inside.
4. The device must have a reliable power supply system that would not fail.

The incubator is located in a warm and dry room with a temperature of at least 20 degrees and a humidity level of no more than 20%.

simple incubator

The easiest way to make an incubator is a wooden version. The property of wood to heat up slowly and give off heat at the same rate makes it a convenient material.

Manufacturing description:

The box can be taken ready-made or put together yourself.
Inside, the space is sheathed with plywood to cover the gaps.
Holes with a diameter of 10 mm are drilled from above and covered with glass. These will be viewing windows.
For the installation of foam trays, supports are made.
In the lower part, wiring and cartridges are being installed.

This kind of incubator, made from a box, refers to a simple design that you can make yourself.

For quail

For quails, a box is taken in which humidity control is provided. It is supported by ventilation holes and water containers located in the incubator.

The nets on which the quail eggs are located must be able to rotate at an angle of 45 degrees. This is achieved by a lever brought out of the body.

From the fridge

To make an incubator out of the refrigerator, the freezer and all the shelves are removed from it.

After drawing up the drawing and the connection diagram, the following steps are carried out:

Holes are drilled at the top. One for ventilation purposes, and the rest for incandescent lamps.
In order to preserve heat, the walls of the refrigerator are sheathed with polystyrene foam.
Trays are installed. If possible, the shelves of the refrigerator are redone under them.
In the upper part, outside, the thermostat is being installed. The sensor is located on the inside.
At the bottom, 3 holes are cut with a size of 1.5 x 1.5 cm for ventilation.
Fans are located near the lamps and below. They provide air circulation.

The advantages of such an incubator are its dimensions, which can accommodate up to 500 eggs.

Fridge incubator

Styrofoam

Such material is optimal. It has low weight, low price, it has thermal insulation qualities.

The materials used are:

2 sheets of foam 50 mm thick and dimensions 100 x 100 cm.
Glue or tape.
4 incandescent lamps with 25W cartridges.
Fan.
Temperature controller.
Trays.

Step-by-step instructions for making an incubator for chicken eggs:

1. The first sheet of foam is cut into 4 equal parts. They will become the side walls of the incubator.
2. The second is first divided in half, and then one of the halves is cut into sheets of 50 x 60 and 50 x 40. The first will become the lid, and the second will be the bottom.
3. A groove measuring 13 x 13 cm is made in the lid. It is both an inspection and a ventilation hole at the same time. The top is covered with plastic.
4. Cut into 4 parts, the first sheet is glued into a frame. The bottom is glued on.
5. The whole body with the bottom is pulled together with adhesive tape.
6. Styrofoam supports are attached along the walls and trays are installed on them.
7. At a distance of 1 cm from the bottom, 3 ventilation holes with a diameter of 12 mm are burned with a soldering iron.
8. For rigidity of the cover, bars are attached to it from all sides. They are also made from foam. They are located with an indent from the edge of 5 cm and go inside the case. Tightly adhering to the side walls, the lid is securely fixed.
9. A hole is pierced in the lid with an awl. Outside there is a thermostat, and inside the sensor.
10. Incandescent lamps are attached.
11. Trays located inside should retreat from the walls at a distance of 5 cm so that the ventilation process is not disturbed.

To keep the heat in the incubator made of foam longer, you need to additionally insulate the walls and ceiling. For this, foil insulation is suitable.

From the microwave

An incubator is made from a microwave oven according to the same principle. The disadvantage is its small size. Therefore, it can be used to display quails.

Manufacturing features:

The body of the microwave oven is sheathed with foam for better heat retention.
To ensure the flow of fresh air, a ventilation hole is made at the top. The door is not insulated.
A tray with eggs is inserted inside. Immediately below it is a container with water for humidification.

Wiring diagram for a homemade incubator

Automatic egg flip

In order to successfully carry out the incubation process, the eggs must be rotated 180 degrees. If you do it manually, it takes a lot of time. For this purpose, automatic rotation is used.

Types of mechanisms with automatic overturn:

1. Mobile grid. Typically used in small structures. The principle is that the eggs lie in cells, and a grid is laid under them, which slowly moves. During its movement, the eggs begin to rotate. The disadvantage is that they may not turn over, and the grid will go idling.
2. Roller system. Finds less use in the manufacture of their own hands. The system consists of rollers with bushings on which the mesh is stretched. At home, this is difficult to make.
3. Tilt the tray at an angle of 45 degrees. The eggs located in cells do not roll down. But as the meshes move, they begin to rotate.

The latter method has found application in large incubators made from a refrigerator.

Having a household, it is beneficial to have a small device for hatching young animals. It makes no sense to buy an industrial version, which is expensive. A do-it-yourself device will fully comply with the necessary requirements and size of the farm. Repair costs are minimal.

In our difficult time, when commodity prices are rising at an inexorable pace, you will always find the area in which you can profitably apply your practical skills and theoretical knowledge. Looking at the cost of an incubator produced in an industrial environment, you can easily calculate the benefits of self-manufacturing such a device. Moreover, making a homemade incubator with your own hands is not so difficult.

Here is what a forum user says about his homemade incubator with a mechanical egg flip genius cat.

genius cat

In short: an incubator for 60-70 chicken eggs, a mechanical coup using a special grate, I don’t do automatic in principle. Heating with light bulbs, two chains. Temperature control with an electrocontact thermometer. I don't trust electronics. The temperature runoff at the corners is 0.5 degrees. Cheap and cheerful. In the presence of components, it is possible to make an incubator in 3 - 4 hours.

The most important thing in manufacturing is to ensure the possibility of maintaining optimal indicators of humidity and temperature inside the device, as well as to create conditions for the timely turning of eggs in order to warm them evenly.

Incubator body

In most cases, the basis of everything is the body. And the incubator in this case is no exception.

When manufacturing the case, special attention should be paid to ensuring good thermal insulation for the future device. This will allow in the future to avoid the troubles associated with maintaining a strict temperature regime in the incubation chamber.

For the manufacture of the body, porous polymeric materials, foam (polystyrene foam) 20 mm thick, etc. are quite suitable. You can also use fiberboard or chipboard sheets, but you should create double walls filled with foam rubber, felt or foam.

The dimensions of the incubator will directly depend on the number of eggs that are planned to be simultaneously placed in the chamber. According to the height of the inner chamber, 50 cm will be enough. The area of the inner base will be equal to the area of \u200b\u200bthe egg tray. But it is necessary to add about 50 mm to it on each side. It is this gap that should be between the tray and the body of the incubator to ensure the circulation of air flows. In the lower base of the incubator, be sure to drill several holes with a diameter of 10 mm, through which air will be exchanged between the interior of the chamber and the external environment (the incubator must be constantly enriched with oxygen). For an incubator designed for 50 eggs, 6 holes are enough.

Attention! The bottom openings should be located in such a way that they are not blocked by a baking sheet (plate) with water, which will be installed in the chamber to maintain a sufficient level of humidity.

To ensure unhindered air movement between the bottom of the device and the surface on which it will be installed, there must be a gap of 30 ... 50 mm. In its top cover, a viewing window 100x100 mm, closed with glass, should be made. If there is no forced ventilation in the incubator, then the glass should be slightly opened during operation, leaving a gap of 10 ... 15 mm.

And one more nuance: one of the side surfaces of the incubator must have a door for changing water and other actions related to servicing the chamber.

Incubator Tray

In order for the eggs to be carefully placed in the interior of the incubator, we need to make a special tray. In our case, it can be made on the basis of a wooden frame, which is covered with a fine mesh from below. As a mesh, both an ordinary mosquito, used in the design of modern window glass units, and a metal (maybe different) mesh with a cell size comparable to 5x5 mm (but no more) are suitable. In order to prevent sagging of the mesh, a couple of small rails can be nailed to the bottom of the tray, which will comprehensively strengthen the design of the tray.

In order to make it more convenient to turn the eggs during the incubation process, the tray should be equipped with an inserted wooden grate. For convenience, several gratings can be made at once, having different sizes of internal cells. So, for quail eggs, a grid with a cell size of 45x35 mm is suitable, for a chicken egg, cells with a size of 67x75 mm are needed. If you want to lay goose eggs in the incubator, then the cells must be of the appropriate size - 90x60 mm. The width of the grate should be 5 mm less than the tray itself. In length, it should be shorter by 50 ... 60 mm - for quail eggs, by 80 ... 90 mm - for chicken eggs and by 100 ... 110 mm - for goose eggs. Thus, by moving the grate along the tray, you can turn the eggs 180 degrees. In order to evenly warm the eggs over time, a similar procedure should be performed approximately once every 2 to 3 hours.

Egg Turning Tray

The height of the sides of the tray itself should be 70–80 mm. The tray should be installed on legs 100 mm high.

This is the simplest tray design, allowing you to turn all the eggs at the same time. But in order for the design of the incubator to be more modern, the process of turning eggs can be automated. And this will require some technical improvements.

How to make a coup in an incubator

In order to automate the process of turning eggs in an incubator, it is necessary to introduce an electromechanical drive into its design that operates after a certain period of time (as we have already said, it is 2-3 hours). The accuracy of the time interval will be provided by a special time relay. The relay can be purchased ready-made. Those who like to “dig deeper” into microcircuits can make it on their own, taking electronic or even mechanical watches as a basis, which are easy to buy both in Moscow and in any village.

Here is what a FORUMHOUSE user writes about this.

mednagolov

Now on sale it is easy to purchase Chinese electromechanical relays with a 24-hour cycle. In fact, this is an elementary watch with a plug that is plugged into a socket, and on the case of this watch there is a socket into which a consumer is stuck, inside the watch a tiny electric motor turns. There is no need to start them, in the circle of the dial, lined for 24 hours, there are “pressers” with which you set the time intervals.

The electric motor must necessarily transmit torque through the gearbox. This will help make the grate move smoothly and keep the eggs intact.

The grid of the tray should move along the guides. The walls of the tray can play the role of guides. But in order to avoid accidental jamming, this mechanism can be improved. To do this, a metal axis protruding from both ends should be attached along the central axis of the lattice. It will play the role of a reliable guide. The axis will be inserted into special grooves made on the sides of the tray. This design is reliable, it can be easily assembled and, if necessary, quickly disassembled.

In order to drive the egg grill, we need a reciprocating mechanism consisting of an electric motor, a gearbox, a crank mechanism and a rod connecting the drive to the tray grill.

Device for flipping eggs in an incubator.

As an electric motor, you can use special "motors" for microwaves, which are commercially available. Also, some craftsmen create an electromechanical drive based on the mechanism that is part of car wipers. Or here is a way out of the situation that the forum member mednagolov came up with: the drive of the egg-turning mechanism from el. remote control ball valve motor d=3/4 220v (has an extremely powerful and durable gearbox, as well as end position microswitches).

He used the power supply from an old computer, and the time relay was a mechanism from a Chinese clock, which was described a little higher.
The mechanism functions as follows: the relay closes the electrical circuit after a specified period of time. The mechanism is set in motion and moves the tray grate, turning the eggs. Then the end position signaling devices (limit switches) are triggered, and the grille is fixed in the opposite extreme position. After a predetermined time, the cycle is repeated, and the grate returns to its original position. The whole process in a homemade product takes place without human intervention.

Incubator heating

The correct placement of the heating elements in the incubator chamber is the key to success, ensuring the hatching of healthy and strong chicks. As heating elements, it is customary to use ordinary incandescent bulbs. Ideally, they are best placed above the egg tray, evenly spaced around the perimeter of the incubator. The tray and the heating element should be separated by a distance of at least 25 cm. In a homemade incubator, low power bulbs, 25 watts, etc. should be used. The total power of the heating elements used in such an incubator should be 80 watts - for a device designed for the simultaneous hatching of 50 chicks.

The lower the power of the heating elements, the more uniform the distribution of heat in the incubation chamber.

When placing lamps on the walls of the chamber, one should also monitor their uniform arrangement around the entire perimeter. Be aware that by using a series electrical connection of heating elements, you can significantly extend their service life. But the power of each consumer in this case will be halved. This should be taken into account when calculating the number of heating elements, because with the appropriate connection method, the number of consumers will have to double.

Temperature control

As we already know, the temperature in the incubator chamber must exactly match the specified parameters. Otherwise, such a device is worthless. The optimal temperature for hatching chickens in artificial conditions is from 37.5 to 38.3º C. But it should be strictly observed. A regular thermostat, which can be purchased at the store without any problems, will help maintain the set range. It is necessary that this instrument provide an accuracy of temperature values corresponding to 0.2 ° C. An error greater than the value presented can be detrimental to developing embryos.

Connecting the thermostat to the heating elements to a person who decided to make an incubator with his own hands, we think, will not be difficult. The main thing is to ensure that the temperature sensors are near the egg tray. For more accurate readings, the sensors can even be mounted on the tray. As an additional means of control, a conventional thermometer should be used. It is better if it is electronic, capable of showing tenths of a degree. But in extreme cases, an ordinary alcohol thermometer is also suitable. It should be fixed in the chamber in such a way that it is located immediately above the tray. In this case, his readings can be taken, looking through the viewing glass.

heat accumulator

JG_ FORUMHOUSE member

In order for the temperature to drop more slowly, it is necessary to use a thermal accumulator. I used water as TA. It gives moisture and still gains temperature, and when turned off, it gives it away for a long time, preventing the temperature from dropping quickly. Only the water container should be large. You can just put a metal pancake or a dumbbell inside - why not TA?

It remains to add that without a humidifier in the incubator, all your efforts are doomed to failure. Therefore, a baking sheet or an open plate filled with water can be considered one of the essential elements involved in the incubation process. As for the heat accumulator, a heating pad or a plastic water bottle will never be superfluous in the interior of your incubator.

Humidity can be monitored using a psychrometer, which can be purchased at a home improvement store. The optimal humidity in the incubator should be 50-55% (it can be increased to 65-70% immediately before hatching).

Incubator ventilation

Many owners of homemade incubators believe that the fan is an integral part of such a device. But practice shows that a small incubator, the number of eggs in which does not exceed 50 pieces, can do without forced ventilation. Air convection in it occurs naturally and this is sufficient to maintain the vital activity of the embryos.

If the chamber of your incubator is designed for a larger number of eggs, or if you want to create an ideal microclimate inside the device by all means, then for these purposes you can use special fans with a diameter of 80 to 200 mm (depending on the volume of the chamber).

The fan can be mounted in the top cover of the incubator in such a way that it draws air from the interior of the chamber. Part of the air flow will go outside, and its main volume will be reflected from the cover and pass over the lower inlets, mixing warm air with cold air and enriching it with oxygen.

That, perhaps, is all. You can find out the different opinions of our users regarding the design, as well as get acquainted with their practical developments in this topic. We also have information for those interested in performance. If you want to create more at home, in the design of which there are powerful components and complex ventilation schemes, then you should visit this section.