Chook Me!

What is the best way to make a Homemade Incubator?

i am going to hatch button quaileggs soon and i need some help from some pros. i know u r going to tell me that homemade incubators dont work but store bought incubators r too expensiv. My friend might have an incubator but might not. I hope she dose. also tell me if would be a good summer project. if their is any advice or websites u can give me that would be great. AND NAMES. if u have any names that would be good tell me that to. and were do u get leg bands. and how do u tell the gender? Happy Quails

Public Comments

1. You need a good thermostat - that will keep the temp around 100oF. And that's the problem - good thermostats aren't cheap. The rest you can build from whatever materials you have. By a temp/humidty thermometer at Wal Mart. You can get those for around $10. Use pans of water to keep the humidity above 50% until the final 3 days then raise it above 75%.
2. I make most of my bird apparatus, but I *bought* an incubator. Here's why. The problem is, most people think it's just a box, but it has to do many things very very well. The temperature has to be stable, so the thermostat must be excellent. It must make enough heat, but not too much. Your incubator needs to keep the humidity correct, and it must be easy to fill the water. That's super important. The eggs must be fairly stable, and you have to have a way to turn them frequently. A cardboard box with a light bulb won't work, believe me. You don't want to invest in the eggs and wait for weeks just to discover your box idea failed. There are small incubator's for sale that don't cost much. You can get four eggs AND the incubator for $30. (If you do a search for "quail incubator, you will find many places sell a yellow "space-ship" incubator. I have two, and they work great for small eggs.) A good incubator means the difference between cute baby quail and failure.
3. Plans for an incubator plans from OSU http://ohioline.osu.edu/b633/b633_9.html be sure to look at the sketches I would invest in a small store bought incubator myself.. then here is an informative website on raising quail http://www.thatquailplace.com/ good luck
4. Check out this website: backyardchickens.com. Lots of great info there, and quails are also in there too.