Homemade Cabinet Incubator

Incubation Methods

• Incubators can warm eggs in three different ways. Still-air designs use radiant heat that isn't circulated inside the incubator. Because of this, the location of the thermometer and eggs, in relation to the heat source, is critical. Since this is a closed system, you'll also need to vent stale air four times a day.
  Convection designs use ventilation holes, in the top and bottom, to evenly distribute warm air inside the incubator. The upward draft of the air, as it exits the top, draws fresh air in through the bottom. The location of the eggs and the thermometer is more flexible, but a hygrometer and evaporation trays are needed, since the upward draft increases evaporation.
  Forced-air designs use a fan to circulate warm air and also have ventilation holes to keep it from getting stale. Evaporation is also a problem with this design, so you'll need to monitor humidity.

Incubator Features

• Just as a recipe fails if important ingredients are omitted, your incubator won't do the job unless it meets certain requirements. To maintain the 99.95 degrees F temperature necessary to hatch your peeps, you'll need a heat source that's connected to a thermostat. A reliable and accurate thermometer will tell you when to adjust your temperature.
  Since eggs lose moisture as the embryos breathe, adequate humidity inside the incubator is essential to rehydrate the eggs and insure a successful hatch. All you need is a tray of water and a hygrometer to monitor the humidity level.
  Adequate ventilation is also necessary to keep the air from getting stale. Small holes in the top and bottom of your incubator will allow fresh air to enter underneath and exit through the top. You can put a desk lamp near the bottom of your incubator to warm the air as it enters and avoid heat loss through your ventilation holes.
  Since hens constantly turn the eggs they are hatching, eggs in an incubator must be rotated 180 degrees at least twice a day. You can do this manually by marking an "X" on one side and an "O" on the other, so you know which side should be up. If you don't turn the eggs, the embryos will stick to the shell and die, or be unable to hatch.

Making Your Own

• You can build a cabinet incubator out of 1 1/8-inch-thick decking plywood. The dimensions should be 48 inches high by 23 inches wide and 34 inches deep. Nine inches below the top of your assembled cabinet, install a 3/4-inch plywood shelf that begins 4 inches from the back of your cabinet and stops 6 inches before the front.
  Make a false back with another 3/4-inch piece of plywood by sizing it so it will butt up against the back edge of your shelf and stop 4 inches from the bottom of your cabinet. Add a second piece of 3/4-inch plywood from the top back edge of your shelf to the top of the cabinet, and put a hole in the center for your fan.
  Nail 1-inch strips of 3/4-inch plywood to the left and right sides of the inside of your cabinet for the egg trays to rest on. Start 8 inches from the bottom and space the strips 3.5 inches apart. Use 1.25-inch strips of 3/4-inch plywood to make 20.5-inch wide by 28-inch long egg tray frames. Create the tray bottoms by attaching 1/4- to 1/2-inch hardware cloth, depending on your egg size, to the frames.
  Install a small fan in the hole of your false back and mount heating elements from an electric space heater on the inside top and bottom of your cabinet. Connect the heating elements to an electronic thermostat and add a digital thermometer/hygrometer to monitor the temperature and humidity.