How to Make a Poultry Egg Incubator

Generally, eggs are incubated by the body heat of the mother bird when she sits on them. However, if you are raising poultry, you may wish to use an electric incubator instead of a mother to incubate so that you have a better success rate of hatching the eggs. Commercial incubators keep the heat at a constant temperature, unlike the change of temperatures that occur when the mother gets up and moves. Commercial incubators, however, can be expensive. If you wish to use an electric incubator for your poultry eggs, but want to save some money, you can make your own at home.

Things You'll Need

  • Cardboard box - 16 by 20 by 13 inches
  • Cardboard box - 18 by 22 by 12 inches
  • Cardboard box - any measurement, cut into pieces
  • Box cutter
  • Hot glue
  • Newspaper
  • 1/4-inch mesh - 18 by 22 inches
  • Tin snips
  • Aluminum baking dish - 9 by 13 by 1-1/2 inches
  • Heating element
  • Hatcher
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Instructions

    • 1

      Use a pencil to mark the smaller box 17-1/2 inches from the bottom of the box. To achieve this, open the flaps of the smaller box so that they are sticking straight up. The line you draw will be around the flaps. Keep the line straight and use a box cutter to cut the top part of the flaps off along this line.

    • 2

      Place your cut off flaps inside the bottom of the larger box.

    • 3

      Apply a line of hot glue along the bottom edge of the smaller box. Place it inside your larger cardboard box. Center the smaller box inside of the larger box so that there is an equal amount of space on all four sides of the boxes.

    • 4

      Line the smaller box with additional cardboard from a third box that you cut up.

    • 5

      Bend down the flaps on the larger box until they reach the top of the smaller box. Draw a line on the flaps to mark where this overlap occurs. Then cut the flaps off along on these marks using a box cutter, making sure to keep the lines straight. At the corners of the flaps, cut them at an angle to make it easier for the flaps to fold down. Discard the cut off flaps.

    • 6

      Insulate the space between your smaller and larger boxes using torn up newspaper or wood shavings. Make sure the insulation does not make the smaller or larger boxes bulge.

    • 7

      Place a small aluminum baking dish inside your smaller box. The baking dish should cover half of the bottom of the box.

    • 8

      Attach a commercial heating element to the inside of the smaller box according to the directions associated with the element.

    • 9

      Bend the flaps on the larger box over until they meet the smaller box. Tape them in place.

    • 10

      Make a lid for your incubator using 1/4 inch metal mesh screen. Cut 2-inch squares off the four corners of your mesh screen and discard the cut-off mesh using tin snips. Bend all four of the edges of the mesh down at a 90 degree angle, 1 inch from the side of the mesh. Place the completed lid on your incubator.

    • 11

      Incubate as you normally would, moving your eggs to a hatcher once the required incubating time has passed.