Diy still air incubator

[DIYGuy24]

So I made my own diy incubator with a temp controller and light bulbs to use as my hatching box.. I didn't get around to getting a fan installed in it yet. The humidity I have controlled by vent holes and it is stable at ~65%. I was wondering since I have the light bulbs and water on one end - what area do I measure the temperature at/what temp should I aim for?

The end closest to the lightbulbs obviously is warmer- 104°F while at the other end it's at 100°F. Should I drop it down to 98-102 and be good for lockdown?

Picture soon of setup

 

[Debbie292d]

I know someone that is an expert at building incubators, and hope she doesn't mind me tagging her to help you. @BantyChooks

I can imagine pictures would help a lot too!

 

[DIYGuy24]

I know someone that is an expert at building incubators, and hope she doesn't mind me tagging her to help you. @BantyChooks

I can imagine pictures would help a lot too!

Thanks, I ended up keeping them in the purchased incubator and getting busy with them hatching early. Lol. I've got the incubating bug, so I'm sure more will.be on the way so any info/help will still be useful!

 

[Debbie292d]

Thanks, I ended up keeping them in the purchased incubator and getting busy with them hatching early. Lol. I've got the incubating bug, so I'm sure more will.be on the way so any info/help will still be useful!

Bantychooks lives in Poland, so not sure of the time difference. I'm sure she'll wind up here sooner or later.

 

[DIYGuy24]

An ~2" thick styrofoam cooler, dual lightbulbs and water containers

Crate with water bottle heat sinks and to contain the crazy hatchlings. Dual thermometer/hydrometer at the back and mid with a controller sensor mid as well for turning the bulbs on/off

I have cold vent holes over by the water and light bulbs

and then hot air holes over on the other side up higher.

Unsealed viewing window.

 

[BantyChooks]

Bantychooks lives in Poland, so not sure of the time difference. I'm sure she'll wind up here sooner or later.

Turned out to be „later” as I was just heading to bed when you sent that. Oops.

So I made my own diy incubator with a temp controller and light bulbs to use as my hatching box.. I didn't get around to getting a fan installed in it yet. The humidity I have controlled by vent holes and it is stable at ~65%. I was wondering since I have the light bulbs and water on one end - what area do I measure the temperature at/what temp should I aim for?

The end closest to the lightbulbs obviously is warmer- 104°F while at the other end it's at 100°F. Should I drop it down to 98-102 and be good for lockdown?

Picture soon of setup

The rest of this post comes with the caveat that I don’t like still air ‘bators and DIY still air even less, lol. If at all possible, I recommend adding a fan. Your hatch rates will most likely benefit.

Since this incubator is specifically for lockdown, it could work in a pinch. Embryos are much tougher in lockdown compared to earlier in their development. Non-lethal variations in temperature generally influence things such as hatching speed and navel closure, with the hotter you run, the faster they hatch & the higher the likelihood of open navels or unabsorbed yolk. Slower hatches have problems too but it’s fairly common advice to drop the temp by 0.5-1*F during lockdown in a forced air incubator and I personally do this with good results and clean hatches.

Since you are using a still air, that adds complexity to your temp goal as well. I would lean towards lower temps for lockdown so 98-102 might be okay in a pinch if you are measuring at the right vertical location. For still air, this is 101 at the top of the egg, the theory being that the actual embryo temp lower down is 99.5. If your eggs are on their sides, I would consider going even cooler, maybe 100*F, as you don’t have the air cell distance for the temperature to drop a little. If you have a water wiggler and a probe thermometer you can DIY an internal temperature gauge which I personally find quite useful for assessing temperature stability.

If you don’t want to add a fan, place your thermostat probe and thermometer at top of the egg level (raised from the floor) and I would lean towards cooler as hotter is much worse for hatch rates. I accidentally put my thermometer at mid egg level once and ran 101 instead of running 101 at the top of the egg and it killed the entire batch. Was 104 at the top when I checked later.

As far as probe and thermometer location within the eggs, I suppose I would go for the middle of the group. Though at this stage they are generating their own heat, so I would move the thermometer around a bit, leave it for a few hours in each location, and keep an eye for large changes. Again, my recommendation is to add a fan for sure! Best of luck with your hatch and your incubator - the pics are helpful, and I always love seeing a creative budget ‘bator.