Device and assembly of a homemade two-chamber incubator
The cost of a factory chicken egg incubator is high, so many poultry farmers use homemade designs. In order to make an incubator, you need to decide on the body material and the type of incubation station.
Incubator type
At incubation stations, two types of incubators are used: one-chamber and two-chamber. Single-chamber incubation stations are used to breed:
- chickens;
- ducklings;
- goslings.
These birds are more hardy and hatch rates are higher than broilers, so an inexpensive incubator design can be used. The energy consumption for heating such an incubator is high, but it takes up less space and holds more eggs than a two-chamber incubator.
Due to the lack of a heating chamber in such incubators, it is necessary to install a high sensitivity temperature sensor so that the optimum temperature inside the chamber with eggs is constantly maintained with an accuracy of 0.4 ° C.
Two-chamber incubators are more expensive to assemble, but the energy costs for their operation are much lower than for the maintenance of a single-chamber incubator. Such incubators also have a number of advantages.
- Warm air is fed into the egg chamber in a metered fashion: through the holes in the pipe connecting the incubation chamber with the heating one. Thanks to the metered supply of warm air, the temperature inside the incubation chamber remains at the same level for a long time.
- Thermal insulation can be made inside the incubation chamber: sheathe the walls of the incubator with a baking sleeve or foil. This will keep the setter warm longer.
- The heating chamber is equipped with four incandescent lamps that will heat the air for the incubation chamber. At least eight lamps must be installed in a single-chamber incubator.
Incubator device
Housing homemade incubator can be made of chipboard. For thermal insulation, it is "sheathed" with foam outside. A fan is installed in the heating chamber, which will supply air to the incubator.
Another fan is installed in the incubation chamber. It is needed to ensure air circulation inside the chamber itself, as well as for additional intake of fresh air from the room.
A temperature sensor and a humidity sensor are installed on the side wall of the incubator inside the chamber. The turning of the eggs is carried out manually using levers that set the shelves in motion, fixed according to the principle of a swing.