How to assemble a quail incubator yourself
When breeding poultry, the most important thing is hatching the young. And with quails in this regard, it is very difficult to handle. Many quails, in particular of egg breeds, are not good enough brood hens and often abandon the clutch. And it is not worth laying their eggs under other birds, since their shells do not differ in strength, so a separate incubator for quails remains the best solution. This device can be bought or made at home.
Quail incubator
Distinctive features of a homemade incubator
There are ready-made devices on the market for incubating quail eggs. But they have several disadvantages, due to which farmers resort to home-made constructions. First, purchased devices of this type are expensive and often overpriced. Secondly, they are designed for a small number of eggs, which is why they are not suitable for those who breed quail on an industrial scale. And thirdly, they are sometimes too difficult to acquire, in particular, if a specific model is required.
But a homemade quail incubator must have a number of characteristics, without which it will be impossible to properly breed chicks in it. To begin with, the required temperature must be constantly maintained in it. Moreover, its fluctuations cannot exceed 0.1 ° C up or down, so the owner of the incubator will need an accurate thermometer and a purchased or hand-made thermoregulation system, and the box itself must be sufficiently insulated. Of course, there shouldn't be any gaps in it.
A home-made incubator for quail eggs should provide them with conditions as close as possible to those found in nature. This applies not only to temperature, but also to the level of humidity. That is why it is difficult to make an incubation box so as to do without commercially available devices. This will require electronics skills, as well as the ability to handle a soldering iron. You also need to make such a lattice for the eggs, in which they will lie in the desired position until the end of hatching. Here's what they say about incubator requirements:
“To hatch quail, the incubator must maintain the required temperature and humidity inside for 17-20 days. The temperature is usually set at 37-37.7 ° C, and the humidity should be 50-55%. And all this should not depend on fluctuations in the current in the outlet, or even less power outages. It doesn't matter how the farmer handles it. He can use any methods or devices that will help in this matter. "
Making a case for a homemade incubator
There are no strict guidelines for the size and shape of an incubator.The farmer always chooses the option that suits him best. In the event that a box for 50-100 quail eggs is required, a mini-incubator is made in which they all fit freely. And in industrial cultivation, when eggs have to be laid in thousands, a large cabinet is made in which they will all fit. But in any case, the same requirements are imposed on the quail incubator.
Still, how to make a do-it-yourself quail incubator? Regardless of the size of its chamber, this device is, in fact, a wooden box with insulation. The incubator frame is made of sturdy wooden blocks. They are fastened together in any way possible. The main thing is that they do not fall apart during operation. Self-tapping screws are suitable as fasteners, although sometimes you can use nails or even glue. In any case, before laying the eggs, it would be better to test the product for strength.
The walls of the cabinet are usually made of plywood, although materials such as fiberboard and particleboard can be used. It is advisable to make them in one piece and at the same time make the walls of two layers. In the interval between them, a foam insulation is installed. At the same time, it is quite possible to make it from packaging foam, which is usually thrown away. In the walls themselves, it is necessary to cut out windows through which the removal process will be controlled. They are covered with glass or plexiglass, so that there are no extra gaps left.
Foam Handling Recommendations
For those who make their own incubator for small quails for the first time, it is often difficult to work with foam. The thing is that when you try to process the foam with a hacksaw, it begins to crumble. The cut turns out to be uneven, the pieces of foam are worse adjacent to each other, and, as a result, there is no normal insulation. And here one simple device, which is not at all difficult to make, can help. All you need are metal scissors, pliers, a soldering iron, and a tin can.
A T-shaped plate is cut from a tin can, while its long end can be made sharp or rounded. Be sure to clean the plate of paint, paper or glue, and then rinse it. After that, pliers are taken, and the two short ends are bent towards each other to make a ring. This ring is put on the working part of the soldering iron. With such a tip, after warming up, it will easily cut the foam without leaving crumbs. So it will be possible to make a normal insulation for the walls of the incubator.
Incubator trays
Separately, it is recommended to think over the design of the trays in which the quail eggs will be laid. For laying quail eggs, a metal mesh with square cells is usually used, which is fixed inside a wooden or plastic frame. The net should be firmly fixed in the tray so that it does not fall out with the eggs. For these purposes, you can use the principle of a sandwich. Two identical frames are made of wooden slats, which are then fastened together with bots. And in the middle is a grid.
The cells on which the eggs will lie should be small enough so that the egg does not fall through and break. The clutch is located in the incubator with the sharp ends down, this is the optimal position for hatching. If the laying was carried out differently, then this will negatively affect the future poultry population, therefore, the egg should be positioned so that it does not turn over during incubation. Because of this, sometimes trays are made of different sizes so that there is no free space left in them when loading.
Electronics for a homemade incubator
Even a craftsman who is able to make an incubator for quails with his own hands sometimes has to buy electronics for him.The fact is that for this device it is strictly recommended to make or purchase two devices: an inverter and a thermostat. Both of these devices can be made independently or purchased ready-made. But for self-production, you will need electronics skills, the ability to read electrical circuits, parts necessary for the device.
It is worth looking at the video, on what principle is the assembly of temperature control devices. A separate recommendation for those who have old electronics made in the days of the USSR. Spare parts from it can be very useful in the manufacture of a thermostat. The fact is that even some of the drawings shown in the video are taken from self-made schemes made back in the 80s of the last century. But these schemes are still suitable for use in homemade incubators.
Such diagrams always indicate which brand of parts are required for assembly. The beginner only needs to compare the marking with the one with which the parts he has are marked. It is useless to describe this scheme here, it is better to look at it in the attached photos. In particular, it is worth paying attention to the temperature control device, made on the basis of the KR140UD6 integrated circuit. The only drawback of such circuits is that they are sensitive to alternating current fluctuations in the outlet. And then another device comes in handy.
Inverter for homemade incubator
An inverter that would fit a homemade quail incubator is quite realistic to buy. But these devices are distinguished by their high cost and are not always affordable for an ordinary farmer. This device is needed for uninterrupted power supply to the incubator, and serves as protection against power surges and power outages. Like the automatic thermostat, it is essential for successful hatchery quail breeding. And, like the temperature control device, the inverter can actually be made at home.
A similar inverter is made from a conventional computer uninterruptible power supply. The assembly is described in more detail in the corresponding video. It is important to make additional ventilation, since due to higher loads, the UPS will heat up much more. And as power sources in case of a blackout, solar panels, a diesel generator or conventional batteries are suitable. The choice in this matter remains with the poultry farmer himself. Of course, you can always purchase a ready-made inverter.
Incubator heating without electronics
Of course, it is convenient to use an automatic thermostat and an uninterruptible power supply in an incubator. But how to make a quail incubator protected without the need to work with electronics? Such devices are not cheap, and not every poultry breeder is capable of making them independently. But there is a fairly convenient alternative that you can really implement on your own. This does not require drawings of complex devices and skills that many people do not possess.
If it is not possible to manually adjust the temperature in the incubator, then it should be set at 37.5-38 ° C. For heating, conventional incandescent lamps are used. So that the air does not stagnate, several round holes are made in the lid for ventilation, and for uniform heating, the lamps are installed both at the very bottom and under the case cover. Then both the upper and lower mesh with eggs will warm up evenly. Here's how to make a heating device from a regular container of water:
- First you need to take a ready-made metal canister for water or another similar container. It must be kept in constant readiness in case the light is turned off.
- When the light turns off, you need to heat the water on the stove or on the stove. It is heated to a boil, after which it is poured into a container.
- After that, a similar heater is installed under the lower grid with eggs in the incubator. It will serve as a substitute for electrical heating.
- In case the light has been turned off for a long time, it is better to keep two such containers and change them as needed.
Conclusion
It is quite possible to make a quail incubator yourself. But when assembling, you must follow all the basic recommendations, and then this device will quickly pay for itself.