Incubators are used to help finish the development of small unborn animals, particularly eggs. Homemade incubators don't have to be high tech; a simple cooler along with other household items can make for a functional incubator whether you are breeding chickens or reptiles.
- Skill level:
- Easy
Instructions
Things you need
- Aquarium heater with thermostat
- Cooler
- Drill
- Four bricks
- Plastic grate
- Water
- Eggs
- Egg carton
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1
Put an underwater aquarium heater at the bottom of a 10-gallon cooler. The heater should be able to heat up a 10-gallon aquarium. The heater should have a programmable thermostat attached to it. These types of heaters can be purchased at pet shops or online.
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2
Drill a hole on a side wall of the cooler about two inches from the lid. The hole should be large enough to allow the electrical wires from the heater to pass through. Pull the wires out through the hole.
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3
Place a brick in each corner of the inside of the cooler.
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4
Place a plastic grate into the cooler, resting on the bricks. Grates can be found at any hardware store, or online, and cut to size to fit into the cooler.
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5
Fill the cooler with water until just below the bottom of the plastic grate. Make sure that the aquarium heater is underwater. An aquarium heater will work best in this kind of incubator only because it requires no additional electrical wiring. Lightbulbs also work as heating sources but may require wiring and may be difficult to control. Aquarium heaters will not have these problems, but they do need to be submerged in water.
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6
Set the temperature on the programmable thermostat and put the eggs into the incubator. Make sure the eggs are in a container such as an egg carton.
Tips and warnings
- Using a foam egg container rather than a standard egg carton will help keep any water away from the eggs.
- Make sure that the water in the incubator is kept away from electrical sources.
- Make sure the incubator is placed in a safe place, where it will not be knocked over, jostled or otherwise disturbed.
