Cover the inside of the box with aluminum foil to reflect heat and light.This will help to regulate the temperature. Cut a small hole in one side of the box and attach the thermostat or thermometer.Attach the wire mesh to the hole using duct tape to prevent the chicks from escaping.Cut a hole in the top of the cardboard box, large enough to fit the plastic bowl.Cardboard box (large enough to accommodate the number of eggs to be incubated).Here is a simple method for making a basic incubator: It is possible to make a homemade incubator in Kenya using readily available materials. I almost lost one of my ducklings because the membrane of his egg was abnormally thick and rubbery and he could not break himself out even though the entire shell was cracked through. If your duck has not externally pipped within 24 hours of an internal pip, you should poke gently through the shell and the membrane with a needle and provide him with a hole big enough to breathe through. Approximately ONE day after internal pipping, your duck will external pip, ie create a small hole through the shell. The duck will pierce the egg sac during internal pipping (around day 26) and you will hear their voice for the first time. Hopefully your eggs will have lost just the right amount of water. Duck eggs lose weight over the process of incubation – this is necessary for hatching. Over the course of incubation, you should be able to see the air sacs inside your duck eggs expand – this is a result of evaporation. This means my drake is successful only 50% of the time. At day 10, I discovered 2 more infertile eggs. Unfortunately these ducks are usually the most aggressive and may attack people. We have 2 females and only one shy tiny male. We started with 10 eggs because we knew that a large number of them would be infertile. You can tell it’s a failed embryo because there’s no surrounding blood vessels connecting it to the yolk.Ī good breeder drake is one who mounts several times a day, is very large and has a big meaty chest. Bad eggs might have a dark spot that looks like a fingernail clipping. Bad eggs should be thrown out before they smell foul and get the other eggs sick (eggs can breathe!). Day 4 will show us something much more exciting – bloodvessels and a circular dark colored ring!Īround the 5th day you’ll definitely be able to see which eggs are developing and which aren’t. Here you see what it looks like on Day 1, which is not any more distinguishable than unfertilized egg. The best part about hatching your own eggs is watching them develop! Holding them over the light reveals whether or not your eggs are fertile. It’s best to leave the thermometer on top of the eggs, because still air incubators are subject to temperature layering (hot air rises!) so you want to find out the temperature exactly at egg level. We’ve also found that covering the lightbulb with tinfoil helps keep the temperature inside more stable. 25 watt bulb), you will want to leave the lid slightly open to regulate the temperature and air flow. If it’s too cool, you can cover the outside of the plexiglass with a towel or tin foil to reflect the light back in. If you’re using a 15 watt bulb, you will most likely be able to leave the lid completely closed which will keep the temperature much more stable. As an alternative, you could use some fine chicken wire mesh to cover the outside of a light bulb. We made things easy for ourselves by buying the type of lamp which comes with a metal and plastic lining, which would help radiate the heat outwards and act as a barrier to keep the ducklings from burning themselves when they hatch out. 1 small sheet of Plexiglass or leftover glass from a picture frame ($10 or less).An exacto knife or pair of super sharp scissors.The humidity level should be between 35-45% for the first 25 days, 75% thereafter (and especially for hatching) We want to keep between 99 – 101 degrees F, which is good for a still air incubator. For this reason, I use one mercury thermometer (for accuracy) and one digital thermometer because it can also tell humidity. Thermometer – the old fashion ones are more accurate than the digital ones.A 15 watt bulb (we’ve tried 25 and found 15 to be more stable).Styrofoam cooler (around $10 or less at Walmart).Don’t have a broody duck or chicken handy, but want to hatch some eggs? Home made incubators are not only cost effective but are very fun and easy to make.
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