DIY Parakeet Incubator

There are many ways to create an incubator for your parakeet. The most important factors aren't materials but the ability of your incubator box to maintain a constant temperature and humidity level, which will ensure that as many of your parakeets hatch as possible.

  1. Box Construction

    • The basic structure for your parakeet incubator should be some sort of box. Material isn't too important; it can be a Styrofoam cooler that will hold its temperature or a simple wooden box. If you're making a box out of wood, drill ventilation holes in two sides of the box, and attach the sides to one another with wood screws. To make a door so that you can access the eggs, cut out a square from the wood, and then use hinges to allow the door to open. Once the structure is finished, apply two coats of varnish to the outside and coat the inside with a plasticized sealer to allow the wood to better hold humidity.

    Temperature

    • Parakeet incubators must be able to maintain a constant temperature. Accuracy is extremely important when attempting to hatch parakeets, so you may want to use three thermometers to take the temperature in the incubator, then average the three. Parakeet eggs need to incubate at 99.5 degrees F. Use a heater to bring the box up to temperature, and allow the box to be at the proper temperature for a few hours before placing the parakeet eggs inside.

    Humidity

    • Measure the humidity inside your incubator with a wet-bulb thermometer. Wet-bulb thermometers read lower than standard thermometers because they are really measuring the evaporation of water, giving you a sense of humidity in the space. Proper humidity is just as important as proper temperature in a parakeet incubator, because birds that incubate in too-low humidity may stick to their shells, and humidity that is too high may cause the eggs to swell, damaging the bird.

      Parakeets need to incubate at about 86 to 88 degrees F reading on a wet-bulb thermometer for most of the time. As hatching approaches, the reading should increase to about 90 to 94 degrees F.

      To achieve humidity, place a sponge in an 8x8-inch pan filled with lukewarm water inside the incubator box. Use a fan in or near the incubator box to decrease the humidity inside.

    Hatching

    • For successful hatching, you'll need to rotate your parakeet eggs about three times per day. The rotations should be slow and smooth, and you should always wash your hands before and after rotating the eggs. Parakeet eggs hatch about 18 to 26 days after they are laid.