To hatch chickens at home, you will need to either buy an industrial apparatus or make an incubator yourself. The second option is convenient because it is possible to assemble a device of the required size and for the required number of eggs. In addition, cheap materials such as polystyrene foam or plywood are used to create it. All the work of turning the eggs and adjusting the temperature can be fully automated.

What you need to create a homemade incubator

The basis of any type of apparatus for hatching chicks is the body. It must retain heat well inside itself so that the temperature of the eggs does not change sharply. Since due to significant jumps, the likelihood of a healthy brood is noticeably reduced. You can make the body of a home incubator from a frame and plywood, polystyrene foam, a TV or refrigerator case. The eggs are laid in wooden or plastic trays with a bottom made of slats or mesh. There are automatic trays with motors that turn the eggs themselves. Or rather, they are deflected to the side after the time indicated on the timer.

To heat the air in a self-assembled incubator, incandescent lamps with a power of 25 to 100 W are most often used, depending on the size of the apparatus. Temperature control is carried out using an ordinary thermometer or an electronic thermostat with a sensor. To prevent air stagnation in the incubator, natural or forced ventilation is required. If the device is small, then you just need to make holes near the bottom and on the lid. For an incubator made with your own hands from a refrigerator, you will need to install fans, both above and below. This is the only way to ensure the necessary air movement, as well as uniform heat distribution.

To ensure that the incubation process is not disrupted, you need to correctly calculate the number of trays. The distance between incandescent lamps and the tray must be at least 15 cm.

The same distance must be left between the other trays in the incubator, assembled with your own hands, so that the air movement is free. Also, there should be at least 4-5 cm between them and the walls.

Ventilation holes are made from 12 to 20 mm in size in the upper and lower parts of the incubator.

Before laying eggs, be sure to check whether the fans are positioned correctly and whether the lamp power is sufficient to heat the incubator evenly. This indicator should not exceed ±0.5°C in each corner of the device after complete warm-up.

How to make an incubator from polystyrene foam with your own hands

Expanded polystyrene is one of the most popular materials for creating an incubator. It is not only affordable, but has excellent thermal insulation properties and is lightweight. For manufacturing you will need the following materials:

• foam sheets 2 pcs. with a thickness of 50 mm;
• tape, glue;
• incandescent lamps 4 pcs. 25 W each and cartridges for them;
• fan (the one used to cool the computer is also suitable);
• thermostat;
• trays for eggs and 1 for water.

Before you start assembling an incubator with your own hands, you should draw up detailed drawings with dimensions.

Step-by-step instruction:

1 – water container; 2 – viewing window; 3 – tray; 4 – thermostat; 5 – thermostat sensor.

1. If desired or necessary, a fan is installed, but in such a way that the air flow hits the light bulbs and not the eggs. Otherwise they may dry out.

The heat inside the incubator, assembled with your own hands from polystyrene foam, will be retained even better if all the walls, bottom and ceiling are covered with foil thermal insulation.

Incubators with automatic or manual egg turning

For the process to be successful, the eggs must be constantly turned 180°. But doing this manually takes a lot of time. Turning mechanisms are used for this purpose.

There are several types of these devices:

• mobile mesh;
• roller rotation;
• tray tilt 45°.

The first option is most often used in small incubators, for example, foam ones. The operating principle is as follows: the mesh slowly moves from one side to the other, as a result, the eggs lying in its cells turn over. This process can be automated or done manually. To do this, it is enough to attach a piece of wire to the mesh and bring it out. The disadvantage of this mechanism is that the egg can simply drag through and not turn over. Roller rotation is less commonly used in homemade incubators with automatic egg turning, since its creation requires a lot of round parts and bushings. The device operates using rollers covered with a mosquito net.

To prevent the eggs from rolling, they are kept in the cells of a wooden lattice. When the belt starts moving, all the eggs turn over.

The rotating mechanism, which tilts the trays, is used in large incubators, for example, made from a refrigerator. In addition, this method performs its task better than others, since in any case, each egg tilts. There are automatic egg turning trays. They come with a motor and power supply. There are several smaller ones in one tray. Each rotates separately after a user-set time.

How to make a device for hatching chicks from a refrigerator or plywood

Before you start making an incubator with your own hands, you need to draw up a drawing and diagram for connecting all the elements. All shelves are removed from the refrigerator, including the freezer.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Holes for incandescent lamps and one through hole for ventilation are drilled in the ceiling from the inside.
2. It is recommended to line the walls of a homemade refrigerator incubator with sheets of polystyrene foam, then it will retain heat longer.
3. Old shelf grates can be converted into trays or new ones can be placed on them.
4. A thermostat is attached to the top outside of the refrigerator, and the sensor is installed inside.
5. Closer to the bottom, at least 3 holes are drilled for air ventilation, measuring 1.5x1.5 cm.
6. For better circulation, you can install 1 or 2 fans on top near the lamps and the same number below on the floor.

To make it more convenient to monitor the temperature and eggs, you need to cut a hole in the door for an observation window. It is covered with glass or transparent plastic, the cracks are carefully coated, for example, with sealant.

The video shows an incubator made with your own hands from a refrigerator.

If there is no refrigerator, then the frame is made of wooden beams and the walls are made of plywood. Moreover, they must be two-layer, and insulation is placed between them. Light bulb sockets are attached to the ceiling, and bars for installing the tray are mounted in the middle of two walls. Another additional light bulb is placed at the bottom for better evaporation of water. The distance between it and the tray should be at least 15-17 cm. A viewing window with sliding glass for ventilation is made in the lid. Closer to the floor, holes are drilled along the long walls for air circulation.

Using the same principle, incubators are often made from TV cases for a small number of eggs. The process of turning eggs in them is most often carried out manually, as it takes a little time. Trays can be made from rounded slats. This incubator does not need fans, since ventilation occurs every time the lid is opened to turn the eggs.

A container of water is placed at the bottom of any incubator to create the optimal level of humidity necessary for the eggs.

To hatch a very small batch of chicks (10 pcs.), you can use 2 inverted basins. To do this, one of them is turned over to the second and secured at one end with a furniture canopy. The main thing is that they cannot move away from each other. A light bulb socket is attached to the ceiling from the inside. Sand is poured onto the bottom, which is covered with foil and hay. The foil should have many holes with a diameter of 3 mm so that moisture can pass through it. To regulate the temperature, use a bar with steps, which is inserted between the basins.

In order for chicks to hatch in any incubator at the same time, the eggs must be the same size, and uniform heating of the entire space of the apparatus is also necessary.

Two-chamber homemade incubator - video

During the development of a chicken embryo, a number of essential factors are required:

• supply of sufficient oxygen;
• removal of carbon dioxide produced;
• uniform heating of each egg;
• neutralization of generated moisture;
• maintaining standard humidity parameters.

All these problems are solved by ventilation in the incubator, which is necessary for its efficient operation. The following types of ventilation can be used:

Types of ventilation in the incubator

Natural air exchange in the incubator is ensured by the openings of the housing. The advantages of this option include:

• maximum simplicity;
• easier maintenance;
• saving money and energy.

However, with this method it will not be possible to ensure optimal humidity, its change at the appropriate time, uniform heating of the eggs and a sufficient amount of oxygen. Therefore, incubators with natural ventilation are ineffective.

Correct incubator ventilation modes

For best results, the incubator should be ventilated under the following conditions:

• for the first three days, air exchange is not connected, and the humidity is kept within 70%;
• then, until the fifth day, ventilation with minimal intensity reduces the humidity to 50%;
• from the fifth day, the intensity of air exchange gradually increases, reaching its highest level by the eighteenth day;
• from the fifteenth day it is necessary to ventilate the incubator for a quarter of an hour twice a day.

To optimize air exchange, it is necessary to equip the incubator with a fan. Periodic ventilation is carried out as follows:

1. turning off the heater for a quarter of an hour;
2. turning on the fan during this time;
3. after the temperature of the eggs drops to 32, 33 degrees, turn off the fan and connect the heater.

This cycle is carried out once, and for the last days a couple of times a day.

To implement constant mode, the fan is placed on top in the corner of the case or in the center of the ceiling. The best results are obtained by installing a fan on the top cover, in which:

• the air is drawn from below onto the roof, partially escaping into its perforations;
• most of the air is thrown onto the walls and falls, entraining fresh air through the holes in the side walls of the chamber;
• below, the air is humidified above the water containers and again passes through the levels of the egg trays upward.

DIY incubator ventilation

Let's look at how to make ventilation in an incubator with your own hands at the lowest cost.

For small incubators, axial fans are used, for example, models for computers. For large-scale production, tangential models can be used.

Depending on the size of the incubator, axial models of 8…40 cm with a capacity of 40 and up to 200 cubic meters/hour are selected.

It is worth choosing models with a power supply of 200 volts from a household network. When using 12 or 24 volt computer fans, appropriate power supplies are used.

For a small foam incubator, a cooler with a computer power supply is suitable. It is installed in the center of the roof through the substrate at a distance of two to three centimeters from it. There are holes above the fan for air outlet. The air flow should go from the trays to the fan.

For a device made from a refrigerator body, do-it-yourself ventilation in the incubator is carried out as follows:

1. We cover the sides and roof of the refrigerator with moisture-resistant plywood;
2. at a distance of 100 mm from the bottom we make wide holes to remove air;
3. we fix the fan on the cover with a gap of 20...30 mm from it on pads;
4. Above the fan we place holes for air outlet;
5. We make air intake holes on the sides.

As can be seen from the table, the release of carbon dioxide slowly increases until the allantois closes, and then increases sharply.
Remembering that normal atmospheric air contains approximately 20% oxygen, the respiratory coefficient is 0.73, and one cubic meter of air weighs 1.24 kg under normal conditions, we find that when incubating eggs it is necessary to supply for every 1000 eggs. incubated chicken eggs from 0.01 to 1.0 m3 of air per hour.
Calculation:
The required mass of oxygen MO2 per 1000 eggs is equal to the mass of carbon dioxide released.
Required air mass Mw per 1000 eggs Mw = MO2* 5 M min = 0.5*5 = 2.5 g/hour
M max = 65.3*5 = 326.5 g/hour
The required volume of air Vв per 1000 eggs is equal to Vв min = 1240/2.5 = 0.002 M3/hour
Vв max = 1240/326.6 = 0.26 M3/hour
Taking into account the respiratory coefficient Vв min = 0.002/0.73 = 0.003 M3/hour
Vв max = 0.26/0.73 = 0.36 M3/hour
Taking into account the losses of the supplied air volume due to leaks and other losses, it is advisable to increase these calculated data at least three times. As a result, we get fluctuations in air consumption per 1000 units. eggs ranging from 0.01 M3/hour to 1 M3/hour.
When supplying dust-free air for simultaneous incubation of 100,000 pcs. eggs, the hatchery room can receive from 100 to 200 mg of dust every hour or from 2 to 4 grams of dust daily.
At first glance, such a tiny amount of dust in the air seems insignificant, but it is more than enough to infect day-old chicks with pathogens of infectious diseases, especially in difficult epidemiological conditions at the enterprise.
There are several ways to remove dust from the air entering the hatchery, one of which is to filter all air supplied to the room through an industrial filter, which filters the required volume of air not only from dust, but also from the microorganisms contained in it. This method is quite effective and is often used in a number of microbiological industry enterprises. However, along with obvious advantages, this filtration method also has disadvantages, including the relatively high cost of installed equipment and filter elements (for example, Petryanov fabric). After filtering the air through such a filter, it must again be brought to the required temperature and humidity conditions. That is, the air purification and air conditioning system turns into a multi-stage system that can occupy a significant amount of production space.
We tried to solve all of the above problems using a simple device, the diagram of which is shown in Fig. 6.
Air coming from outside, passing through the closed chamber of the device, is irrigated with water through the built-in nozzles, then the excess water condenses and purified air leaves the device. The device is designed to heat water to a predetermined temperature. The water level in the device’s bathroom is controlled by a level sensor (LS). As water is consumed, replenishment is turned on to the required level.

Reducing ventilation at the beginning of incubation avoids unnecessary cold air from entering the incubation chamber. Since moisture is retained in a closed incubator, there is also no formation of a cold spot by the humidifier. Therefore, closing the valves during the early days of incubation improves temperature uniformity and heat transfer in the eggs, creating a uniform environment for embryonic development to continue—and an ideal start to achieving a short hatch window.

However, hatcheries are also aware that if ventilation is closed for several days, overall weight loss may be affected and relative humidity levels may become too high. This is especially true in climates characterized by high humidity.

For optimal chick quality, high (over 75%) relative humidity should be avoided during the first seven to ten days of incubation because this forces compensatory weight loss during the last days of incubation through low (40% or less) relative humidity settings. The latter can affect hatchability and chick quality because the very dry atmosphere during the last few days in the setter increases evaporation from the allantois cavity and embryonic tissues such as skin and legs.

It is generally accepted that for optimal hatchability and chick quality, eggs should lose 11-13% of their initial weight during the first 18 days of incubation. The weight loss of a hatching egg is the result of the continuous evaporation of water from the egg - and is inseparable from the ventilation function, which helps remove moisture from the incubator.

Since eggshells are porous, evaporation of water from the egg begins immediately after the egg is laid and continues throughout the egg grading, storage, and incubation process. Evaporation of water from eggs—and therefore weight loss—is primarily a physical process, driven by differences between internal and external vapor pressure. Internal vapor pressure is mainly represented by the saturated vapor pressure in the egg's air chamber, which increases as the temperature rises - thereby facilitating increased evaporation (weight loss) at a certain relative humidity. In high humidity conditions, weight loss is limited. For example, if the relative humidity in the incubator reaches 75%, the daily weight loss of eggs is only half that observed at 50% relative humidity.

It can be concluded that closing the vent during the first three to four days of incubation is beneficial as it maintains uniform embryonic development of each egg in the incubator and ensures a short hatch window. Subsequently, ventilation should be gradually opened to maintain optimal daily weight loss.

For incubators with programmed valve position:

Start ventilation after 3-4 days of incubation at a low level to avoid keeping the relative humidity above the set point for too long.

Keep relative humidity at 50-55% for optimal weight loss. You can also practice gradually reducing humidity from 60% to 45%, but no more.

Do not over-ventilate: open valves always disturb the internal climate of the incubator, which affects humidity, CO2 and temperature.

For incubators with automatically controlled valve position:

Set the relative humidity to 50-55% (or gradually decrease from 60% to 45%, but not less) and the maximum CO2 level to 0.4%.

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Tretyakova studied the composition of the air in incubators and found that ammonia appears there only at the moment of pipping and hatching of chicks and, therefore, ventilation should be increased at this time.

The author did not detect hydrogen sulfide in incubators and believes the reason for this is its high solubility in water. Carbon dioxide, according to the author, does not exceed 0.55% under normal conditions. Usually (with average ventilation) the CO 2 content is 0.3-0.4%, and this concentration of carbon dioxide is harmless. The author conducted an experiment with the absorption of carbon dioxide in an incubator, which did not increase hatchability, and, therefore, in her opinion, there is no point in doing this.

In our work, we showed that in the last days of incubation, gas exchange increases significantly. This puts the issue of ventilating incubators in the days before hatching (a difficult period of transition to completely different living conditions) at the forefront in ensuring the necessary conditions for the normal development of the embryo.

Unfortunately, the latest incubation manual underestimates the importance of gas composition for normal embryonic development and considers changing the air in the incubator only from the point of view of water consumption to maintain the required humidity.

Due to the fact that the oxygen content under normal conditions changes relatively little (from 20.7% to 19.5%, i.e. 5-7% of the original value), calculations for air exchange in the incubator are made in relation to maintaining the required carbon dioxide concentration. Pritzker and Tretyakov give the following calculation of the exchangeability of air in an incubator per hour so that the carbon dioxide concentration does not exceed the norm (0.3%).

In the Record incubator, which is currently the most common in the USSR, there are about 1.5 thousand eggs per 1 m 3, and therefore multiple air exchanges are necessary here.

Unfortunately, in the literature on incubation we more often encounter another quantity characterizing ventilation, the speed of air movement. However, this value does not reflect a certain exchangeability of air in incubators of different systems, since the latter also depends on a number of other conditions (width and length of the outlet ventilation pipe, etc.).

Wilgus and Sadler measured the speed of air movement in an incubator with artificial ventilation at different levels and found very large differences in it - from 9-15 to 75 m per minute. in the incubation part of the incubator and from 5-7 to 35-45 m in the hatching part. The authors emphasize that such large variations do not contribute to high hatchability. In addition, according to the observations of the authors, the direction of the ventilation flow also matters, and the best results are obtained by ventilation through the eggs, from the bottom up.

Hemp attaches great importance to ventilation when incubating chicken eggs after the 15th day. Using large material, they were shown that at high temperature (39.8-39.2° between trays) and average humidity (55.4-52.0%) in the group with low air speed (0.5 m/sec.), 42.4% of the chickens were hatched, and in the group at high speed (1.95 m/sec.) - 96.8%; at approximately the same temperature, but high humidity (78-74%) in the group with low air speed - 72.5% of the chickens, and in the group with high air speed - 98.9%. However, from the author’s data it follows that at low temperatures (37-37.8° between trays) air speed plays a much smaller role. Increasing the air speed in this case gave in one experiment an increase in hatchability by 3%, and in another - only by 0.3%. The author also cites an interesting observation when, due to insufficient air exchangeability, hydrogen sulfide was detected in the incubator, which greatly reduced the hatchability of chickens. In conclusion, the author recommends that at a temperature in the incubator of 37.8-38.0° (and between trays 38.0-38.5°) and a humidity of 68% and 54%, alternating for 2 days, set the air speed in the incubator to 1.5 m/sec, which will lead to a speed between trays only 0.3-0.5 m/sec. The author further emphasizes that in addition to the indicated speed of air movement, good air exchangeability in the incubator must be ensured.

Brazhnikova confirmed the data of other researchers about the more complete use of yolk fat by duck embryos (by the end of incubation, only 12.4% of the yolk remains and is retracted in a duck embryo, and 50% in a chicken embryo) and, in connection with this, their more intense respiration in the last days of incubation. Considering the permissible concentration of CO 2 in the incubator to be 0.5%, the author concludes that at the beginning of incubation, ventilation of duck eggs may even be slightly less than that of chicken eggs, but from the 22nd day until the end of hatching of ducklings, it should be almost doubled compared to ventilation, used for incubating chicken eggs.

Soroka studied the importance of ventilation for the development of duck embryos in the second half of incubation and came to the conclusion that it was necessary to set an air speed of 1.0-1.2 m/sec in an artificially ventilated incubator. and sparse laying of eggs in the incubation column (through one free tier). Under these conditions, 83.3% of ducklings hatched. However, an even greater increase in air speed (1.8-2.0 m/sec) gave a further increase in the hatchability of ducklings - 85.5%.

In a detailed examination of the Universal-45 incubator conducted by Orlov, much attention was paid to ventilation. The author found that: a) the air speed in this incubator is 4 times higher than in the Record incubator, and is equal to an average of 77 m/sec. (from 13 to 176 m/sec.), and in the hatcher - from 30 to 52 m/sec., b) air exchange in the incubator cabinets occurs 33-36 times per hour (3-4 times more than the air exchange rate in the incubator “Record”), and in the hatcher - 17 times per hour; c) due to good air exchange in the Universal-45 incubator, a relatively low carbon dioxide content is ensured: 0.1 - 0.17% in the incubation cabinets and 0.21-0.25% in the hatcher; d) as a result, when incubating many thousands of eggs, a higher hatchability was obtained than in the Record incubator: chickens - by 2.0-3.5% and ducklings - by 3.4-11.4%. In the Universal-45 incubator this season, the hatchability of chickens was 88.3-90.7%, ducklings - 67.6-86.5%. Increasing ventilation had a particularly beneficial effect on the hatchability of ducklings.

Having established the weaker development of the circulatory system in goose embryos compared to chicken embryos, Bordzivilovskaya suggests that during the process of evolution they were in better aeration conditions, and considers it necessary to pay special attention when incubating goose eggs to sufficient air exchange in incubators. This conclusion is confirmed by the research of Bykhovets, who showed that gas exchange in goose embryos is much more intense than in chicken embryos, since the weight of a goose egg is only 3 times greater than that of a chicken, and the release of carbon dioxide by one egg is 4 times greater. Based on his observations, the author developed ventilation standards for incubating goose eggs in the Record-39 incubator. For normal gas exchange of all goose embryos in the incubator, approximately 11 times the incubator air exchange per hour is required. Due to the actual 8-fold air exchange in an incubator with a modern design, the author considers it necessary to increase the air exchange in it by 25%.

To clarify the role of each incubation factor, including ventilation, when incubating eggs of non-domesticated birds (pheasants and quails), Romanov conducted numerous experiments on a large material (about 9500 eggs). The author notes that wild bird eggs are especially sensitive to changes in ventilation and each species has its own specific optimal conditions. Thus, for incubating pheasant eggs in the first 16 days, ventilation with an air speed of 20 m per 1 minute is most favorable, and in the last 8 days - natural ventilation (much slower air speed); Quail eggs can be incubated all the time in an incubator with artificial ventilation.

A few words should be added about the indirect meaning of ventilation. Haskin showed that ventilation during industrial incubation plays a major role in the heat exchange of eggs at the end of the incubation period, creating the possibility of releasing excess heat. The author calculated that only 10% of heat transfer at this time is carried out by evaporation, and heat transfer by radiation, which for a single egg is 43% of the total heat transfer, for each egg from a batch in large incubators is reduced by half due to a decrease in the free surface in contact with the air of the incubator (with dense placement of eggs in trays in a vertical position), and therefore, the role of heat transfer by convection increases significantly. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the speed of air movement in the incubator, especially in the air layer bordering the eggs (usually not exceeding 0.09-0.1 m/sec.), in order to avoid overheating of the eggs in the second half of the incubation period.

In conclusion, it should be said that ventilation of incubators, which promotes good gas exchange of embryos, plays no less a role in the normal course of growth and development of embryos than temperature and humidity, especially in the last days of incubation, when this factor becomes perhaps the most important. Particular attention must be paid to ventilation when incubating duck and goose eggs, as well as eggs of game birds (pheasants, quail, etc.).

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