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Chicken Incubator?

radera5

radera5

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Hey so I was just wondering if anyone has used any type of chicken egg incubator for their BP's? My dad has a few new, working incubators he was using for his chickens and I was thinking they might work? Any ideas or info on the matter?

I know they are styro, and have a built in heater with dial. He says for his chickens he just puts a thermostat right in the bator for finding the correct temp. (One of those little alarm clock/ thermometer things)

I know I have seen MANY types of DIY bators so it got me thinking...

Any ideas?

Thanks for any and all info in advance!
 
Chicken incubators flip the eggs I believe every 12 hours, something you won't want to do to your snake eggs.
If you disable the rotation feature and can get stable temps i don't see why one wouldn't work.
I'd hook it up to a proportional thermostat though.
 
Okay sounds good. I got to thinking after I posted this that as long as it holds the heat it should work.

I think you are right that most incubators flip the eggs too so I asked if these do that and they do NOT. :)

Thanks for the help. I will look into hooking up a better t-stat as well.
 
I made my own incubator years ago with an old fish tank. I put a few red bricks in it and filled it with water so the bricks were halfway submerged and put a submersible heater in it and then I put plastic containers with vermiculite and lids with holes in them in it. And of course a thermometer
 
reptilebaby said:
I made my own incubator years ago with an old fish tank. I put a few red bricks in it and filled it with water so the bricks were halfway submerged and put a submersible heater in it and then I put plastic containers with vermiculite and lids with holes in them in it. And of course a thermometer
Click to expand...

LOL that's the craziest set up I've heard of so far but it's neat and as long as it works that's all that matters. Engenuity at its best.
 
reptilebaby said:
I made my own incubator years ago with an old fish tank. I put a few red bricks in it and filled it with water so the bricks were halfway submerged and put a submersible heater in it and then I put plastic containers with vermiculite and lids with holes in them in it. And of course a thermometer
Click to expand...

I know people that have done something similar with a bucket...

As far as the chicken incubator, that's what a Hovabator is (not all models have built in egg turners). A lot of people use them; but, IMO, they are awful for snake eggs. If you are going to use one, the wafer should be replaced every year....and you'll need to be aware that adjustments will be required if the room temperature changes. Personally, if I absolutely HAD to use one, I would set the device to where it was providing 90 degrees....then plug it into a Herpstat set to my desired temp (which varies somewhat, according to what eggs I'm hatching at any given time). The only problem with that method is - if the room temperature drops more than a degree or two - at night, for example - the incubator may not hold temps. One could set the unit's tstat higher to accommadate such fluctuation if they were incubating eggs during the winter or early spring.
I think the biggest draw of those incubators is their pricetag...but if you're going to purchase a good thermostat to run it, you might as well consider building a better unit. (Not hard - as just about anything is better)
 
Yeah, I didn't have money at all so I rednecked it. lol

I hatched out over 50 baby critters with it. lol
 
hhmoore said:
I know people that have done something similar with a bucket...

As far as the chicken incubator, that's what a Hovabator is (not all models have built in egg turners). A lot of people use them; but, IMO, they are awful for snake eggs. If you are going to use one, the wafer should be replaced every year....and you'll need to be aware that adjustments will be required if the room temperature changes. Personally, if I absolutely HAD to use one, I would set the device to where it was providing 90 degrees....then plug it into a Herpstat set to my desired temp (which varies somewhat, according to what eggs I'm hatching at any given time). The only problem with that method is - if the room temperature drops more than a degree or two - at night, for example - the incubator may not hold temps. One could set the unit's tstat higher to accommadate such fluctuation if they were incubating eggs during the winter or early spring.
I think the biggest draw of those incubators is their pricetag...but if you're going to purchase a good thermostat to run it, you might as well consider building a better unit. (Not hard - as just about anything is better)
Click to expand...

Thanks Harald. I am confused though:shootfoot....whats the wafer? I am sure this is a silly question but I just want to make sure I am taking it all in correctly.


Also, I have heard of the water in a fish tank or bucket method. I have a couple mini fridge bators already but we are afraid they might become too full. So I was really just hoping to have the chicken incubator for back up.
 
I use something similar for my corns... not styro but the metal one... I just took out the turning device and it works like a charm. Very easy to set for temps, water resivoir (sp?) and clear top for viewing without having to open it all the time to check on the eggs or babies. I havent ever had troubles with mine and I have been useing for about 5 years now.
 
Cat_Eyed_Lady said:
I use something similar for my corns... not styro but the metal one... I just took out the turning device and it works like a charm. Very easy to set for temps, water resivoir (sp?) and clear top for viewing without having to open it all the time to check on the eggs or babies. I havent ever had troubles with mine and I have been useing for about 5 years now.
Click to expand...

That is a bit of a relief to hear. I think with what I have taken in so far from this thread is that I will have to re insulate the chicken incubator in hopes that is helps hold the heat better. I know these do NOT turn the eggs (thankfully) and they also have a clear top. BUT being these ones are styro I am HOPING they will hold the heat okay especially after some reinforcement. Then plugging it into an actual herpstat seems like the best option as well. (Which I kinda figured).

I REALLY do appreciate everyone who has taken the time to help me out here. This would just save me the hassle of making another mini fridge, because being where I am located....I don't even have a clue where I can get another fridge for a reasonable price. I am in the middle of nowhere. :rolleyes:
 
I have a cheap styrofoam Hovabator incubator,now and you don't have to add water to it. Got it because when I got out of the geckos I gave teh aquarium incubator away. I wish I hadn't done that. :(
 
The wafer is the heating element, I believe.

I've used a Hovabator the past couple years (will be building one from scratch for next year), and it's worked great (and it's at least three or four years old). Because I only have a swamp cooler for the summer, my house temperature varies considerably over the course of 24 hours; still, the Hovabator only allowed the temperature to vary about +/- 1 degree (i.e., set at 88 degrees, it could vary from 87 to 89 degrees depending on the outside temperature swing). Small temperature variations are okay as long as they don't occur rapidly. I just made sure to check the incubator temps multiple times a day.

But if you don't want to take chances with the Hovabator, other, longer-lasting chicken incubators should work fine since all incubators do basically the same thing.
 
R. Eventide said:
The wafer is the heating element, I believe.

I've used a Hovabator the past couple years (will be building one from scratch for next year), and it's worked great (and it's at least three or four years old). Because I only have a swamp cooler for the summer, my house temperature varies considerably over the course of 24 hours; still, the Hovabator only allowed the temperature to vary about +/- 1 degree (i.e., set at 88 degrees, it could vary from 87 to 89 degrees depending on the outside temperature swing). Small temperature variations are okay as long as they don't occur rapidly. I just made sure to check the incubator temps multiple times a day.

But if you don't want to take chances with the Hovabator, other, longer-lasting chicken incubators should work fine since all incubators do basically the same thing.
Click to expand...

The heating element, that makes sense...:shootfoot Thank you for clarifying that:thumbsup:

Well I guess it will be worth a shot and maybe even if I don't fill my other incubators to maximum capacity this season I will work something out to try the chicken bator to see what happens.

Thanks!
 
Should work, not the best though. I have used them to hatch out over 600 chicken eggs. i kept a Digital Therm. On it and it worked great for chickens. For those little foam ones to turn eggs. you would need to put a egg turner in it. So no need to worry!
 
I have hatched THOUSANDS of python eggs in Hovabators with great hatches. I have used the dial and an on/off type of thermostat on them. In my opinion they work great if you have stable room temps and set them up correctly. In my case I did NOT use egg boxes. I converted the bottom using a large fish styro, dumped the vermiculite or perlite mixture in and added the eggs. I personally haven't used a better incubator in 20 years. I have hatched over 10 different species of pythons using them.
 
Brandon Osborne said:
I have hatched THOUSANDS of python eggs in Hovabators with great hatches. I have used the dial and an on/off type of thermostat on them. In my opinion they work great if you have stable room temps and set them up correctly. In my case I did NOT use egg boxes. I converted the bottom using a large fish styro, dumped the vermiculite or perlite mixture in and added the eggs. I personally haven't used a better incubator in 20 years. I have hatched over 10 different species of pythons using them.
Click to expand...

No kidding?!?! :eek:

That is kinda awesome! Thanks for chiming in! I am without a doubt going to use your method of converting the bottom, I can see it working better already! :thumbsup:
 
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