If you want to breed poultry, an incubator is a must. Of course, you can buy it, today a variety of options are offered from both Russian and foreign manufacturers. But, unfortunately, not everyone can afford to spend several thousand rubles on an incubator. In this case, you can try to make a homemade egg incubator.
It is necessary
- - plywood;
- - cardboard;
- - metal;
- - Styrofoam;
- - expanded polystyrene;
- - foam rubber;
- - slats;
- - grid;
- - tools and nails;
- - construction stapler.
Instructions
Step 1
First of all, decide how many and which eggs will be simultaneously in your "automatic hen". If there are less than 50 eggs, you can get by with one tray; for large incubators, trays should be located floor by floor. Please note that a multi-storey incubator requires a fan that will distribute warm and cold air inside.
Step 2
Make an incubator body or use ready-made items with a large interior space (for example, a body from a washing machine, refrigerator, or a cardboard box). The main thing is to make good insulation of the walls so that the heat inside is retained, and the temperature at the walls and in the middle is the same. Insulate the walls with foam, expanded polystyrene or foam rubber. If you are making an incubator with a lightweight material such as plywood or heavy cardboard, build double walls so that the air between them is insulated.
Step 3
Make egg trays. If the incubator is multi-storey, you need to think about such a system so that it is easy to turn the eggs every three hours. Trays can be on legs or drawers. Another option is to make the trays in the form of a wooden plate with a frame made of strips, and set it on a metal mesh. In order not to turn each egg separately, install a movable frame without a bottom in the tray, when turned, all eggs will simultaneously turn 180º.
Step 4
The heating system is best placed on top, as this distributes the heat as evenly as possible. Calculate the optimal distance from the heating source to the eggs - if you use electric incandescent lamps, this distance cannot be less than 25 cm. Heating elements such as a nichrome coil or heating element can be placed closer.
Step 5
Place a small container of water on the bottom to increase humidity. To remove carbon dioxide, drill several holes about a centimeter in diameter in the bottom of the incubator.
Step 6
Make a viewing window at the top of the incubator to observe the process. Install an electronic thermostat and psychrometer to control temperature and humidity.
Step 7
Before laying eggs, test and test the homemade incubator for reliability for several days, set the optimum temperature for hatching the chicks.
