A simple circuit diagram for an egg turning system in an incubator. Turning eggs in an incubator Homemade turning eggs in an incubator

Homemade incubators use several types of automatic egg turning trays, which are divided into two types. The device can turn eggs one at a time or in tiers. The first type proved to be ineffective and is used only in small incubators for 5-20 eggs. Trays of the second type have proven themselves both in industrial and home-made devices.

In order for the embryos to develop and warm up evenly, the eggs must be turned every 2-4 hours. In small incubators, manual turning is very often used, and in machines designed for 50 or more eggs, it is optimal to use an automatic turning system. It is divided into two types: frame and inclined.

Each tray type has its pros and cons. The frame turn consumes less energy, and the rotation mechanism is very easy to operate. Another advantage: it can be used in small incubators. The disadvantages include the influence of the shear step on the egg turning radius. At low frames, the eggs can beat against each other. Eggs can also suffer with sudden movements of the frames.

The inclined tray provides a guaranteed turn to a given angle, regardless of the size of the eggs.

The horizontal movement of the trays along the guides reduces the level of damage to eggs by 75-85%. The disadvantages include more complex maintenance and high energy consumption. The design is heavier, which is not always convenient for use in small incubation machines.

frame turning system

The incubator tray is suitable for those who use lightweight foam or plywood models. To make an apparatus for 200 eggs, you will need:

• gearmotor,
• Profile galvanized,
• fruit or vegetable crates,
• Corner of steel and rods,
• Clamps with bearings,
• chain sprocket,
• Mounting materials.

How to make a tray: the base is welded first from the corner. Its dimensions are selected individually, depending on the number of trays and the dimensions of the home incubator. The overturning device is assembled from a pair of axles to which the first and last trays are attached. The rest are hung on the traction themselves. From the cut corners, a platform is made for landing bearings, which is welded on both sides of the axle.

The frame itself is made of aluminum corner - it is lighter. If vegetable boxes are used as trays, then the size of the frame will be 30.5 * 40.5 cm. If the trays are homemade, then the size is adjusted to them + 0.5 cm for free entry. Pluses of vegetable boxes: availability and durability. Cons: poor ventilation. Homemade trays can be made from a metal mesh with a rod thickness of 1.5 mm and a cross section equal to the size of an egg. The finished frame is placed on an axis in which several holes are drilled for fastening. To prevent rust, the structure is recommended to be painted.

The axis is welded to the frame through a bearing, which is tightened with a clamp for strength. The mount for the gearbox is mounted to the left of the base. The first and last frames are connected by rods, the rest are hung between them every 15 cm. To make the fastening reliable, it is recommended to lock the nuts.

Trays are set in motion either by chain transmission or by means of a hairpin.

Which method to choose depends on the gearmotor used, but usually a chain drive is used in home-made devices.

On a piece of plastic in the lower part of the bed, switches are installed that stop the gearmotor when the trays are tilted at an angle of 45 °. More detailed diagrams and drawings can be found on thematic forums - this will help you understand the features of fastening and connecting nodes.

A conventional relay can be used instead of a control unit. It will have to be slightly modified: three wires are brought out, and the paths leading to the contacts are cut. The block is programmed to turn on every 2.5-3.5 hours. Two toggle switches are connected to the relay: without fixation and with fixation. The first is used to manually move the frames to a horizontal position, and the second is to transfer to automatic mode.

The power source of the flip mechanism is a pair of power supplies from a personal computer.

Depending on the size of the incubator and the number of trays, additional heating elements are installed on one or more frames. In a large space, this will provide additional control over temperature and humidity. A small fan is also attached to the frame, which will provide ventilation. Lack of ventilation can lead to the death of up to 50% of the brood, as favorable conditions are formed for the development of pathogenic bacteria.

Tilt swivel system

It is possible to automate the rotation of trays in a home incubator using the built-in electromechanical drive, which is triggered after a predetermined period of time. Usually the timer is set for 2.5 - 3 hours. The timing relay is responsible for accuracy. You can buy it, or you can make it from a mechanical or electronic watch.

The rotation mechanism to the incubator can be made from a clock with an electromechanical relay. There is usually a socket on the case where the consumer can be connected. Set time intervals on the dial. The motor will transmit torque through the gearbox.

The egg trays in the incubator turn along the guides, which are the walls of the chamber. The design can be improved by attaching to the axis a longer metal bar than the grate. The axis itself is inserted into the grooves cut on the sides of each tray.

In order for the grate to move, a working unit is assembled from a rod, a gearbox, a crank element and an engine. For this model, a motor from car wipers or a microwave oven is quite suitable. As a battery, you can use the power supply from the computer or connect the cord to connect to the outlet.

The device works like this: the electrical circuit is closed by a relay after a specified period of time.

The mechanism comes into action and turns the eggs in the tray until it touches the end position stops. The frame is fixed until the cycle is repeated.

Inclined tray for 50 eggs

The main detail is the aluminum base, with holes drilled in it for better air circulation. The maximum diameter is 1 cm. The sides are made of laminate. To the middle, a cut is made in increments of 5 cm, through which a twine mesh is intertwined to hold the eggs.

For smaller eggs, you can make a grid with a step of 2.5 or 3 cm. The DAN2N electric drive is used to rotate the axis. It is usually used for ventilation in pipes. The drive power is enough to slowly tilt the tray 45°. The position change is controlled by a timer that opens and closes the contacts every 2.5-3 hours.

In our difficult time, when commodity prices are rising at an inexorable pace, you will always find the area in which you can profitably apply your practical skills and theoretical knowledge. Looking at the cost of an incubator produced in an industrial environment, you can easily calculate the benefits of self-manufacturing such a device. Moreover, making a homemade incubator with your own hands is not so difficult.

Here is what a forum user says about his homemade incubator with a mechanical egg flip genius cat.

genius cat

In short: an incubator for 60-70 chicken eggs, a mechanical coup using a special grate, I don’t do automatic in principle. Heating with light bulbs, two chains. Temperature control with an electrocontact thermometer. I don't trust electronics. The temperature runoff at the corners is 0.5 degrees. Cheap and cheerful. In the presence of components, it is possible to make an incubator in 3 - 4 hours.

The most important thing in manufacturing is to ensure the ability to maintain optimal indicators of humidity and temperature inside the device, as well as create conditions for the timely turning of eggs in order to warm them evenly.

Incubator body

In most cases, the basis of everything is the body. And the incubator in this case is no exception.

When manufacturing the case, special attention should be paid to ensuring good thermal insulation for the future device. This will allow in the future to avoid the troubles associated with maintaining a strict temperature regime in the incubation chamber.

For the manufacture of the body, porous polymeric materials, foam (polystyrene foam) 20 mm thick, etc. are quite suitable. You can also use fiberboard or chipboard sheets, but you should create double walls filled with foam rubber, felt or foam.

The dimensions of the incubator will directly depend on the number of eggs that are planned to be simultaneously placed in the chamber. According to the height of the inner chamber, 50 cm will be enough. The area of ​​​​the inner base will be equal to the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe egg tray. But it is necessary to add about 50 mm to it on each side. It is this gap that should be between the tray and the body of the incubator to ensure the circulation of air flows. In the lower base of the incubator, be sure to drill several holes with a diameter of 10 mm, through which air will be exchanged between the interior of the chamber and the external environment (the incubator must be constantly enriched with oxygen). For an incubator designed for 50 eggs, 6 holes are enough.

Attention! The bottom openings should be located in such a way that they are not blocked by a baking sheet (plate) with water, which will be installed in the chamber to maintain a sufficient level of humidity.

To ensure unhindered air movement between the bottom of the device and the surface on which it will be installed, there must be a gap of 30 ... 50 mm. In its top cover, a viewing window 100x100 mm, closed with glass, should be made. If there is no forced ventilation in the incubator, then the glass should be slightly opened during operation, leaving a gap of 10 ... 15 mm.

And one more nuance: one of the side surfaces of the incubator must have a door for changing water and other actions related to servicing the chamber.

Incubator Tray

In order for the eggs to be carefully laid in the interior of the incubator, we need to make a special tray. In our case, it can be made on the basis of a wooden frame, which is covered with a fine mesh from below. As a mesh, both an ordinary mosquito, used in the construction of modern window double-glazed windows, and a metal (maybe different) mesh with a cell size comparable to 5x5 mm (but no more) are suitable. In order to prevent sagging of the mesh, a couple of small rails can be nailed to the bottom of the tray, which will comprehensively strengthen the design of the tray.

In order to make it more convenient to turn the eggs during the incubation process, the tray should be equipped with an inserted wooden grate. For convenience, several gratings can be made at once, having different sizes of internal cells. So, for quail eggs, a grid with a cell size of 45x35 mm is suitable, for a chicken egg, cells with a size of 67x75 mm are needed. If you want to lay goose eggs in the incubator, then the cells must be of the appropriate size - 90x60 mm. The width of the grate should be 5 mm less than the tray itself. In length, it should be shorter by 50 ... 60 mm - for quail eggs, by 80 ... 90 mm - for chicken eggs and by 100 ... 110 mm - for goose eggs. Thus, by moving the grate along the tray, you can turn the eggs 180 degrees. In order to evenly warm the eggs over time, a similar procedure should be performed approximately once every 2 to 3 hours.

Egg Turning Tray

The height of the sides of the tray itself should be 70–80 mm. The tray should be installed on legs 100 mm high.

This is the simplest tray design that allows you to turn all the eggs at the same time. But in order for the design of the incubator to be more modern, the process of turning eggs can be automated. And this will require some technical improvements.

How to make a coup in an incubator

In order to automate the process of turning eggs in an incubator, it is necessary to introduce an electromechanical drive into its design that operates after a certain period of time (as we have already said, it is 2-3 hours). The accuracy of the time interval will be provided by a special time relay. The relay can be purchased ready-made. Those who like to “dig deeper” into microcircuits can make it on their own, taking electronic or even mechanical watches as a basis, which are easy to buy both in Moscow and in any village.

Here is what a FORUMHOUSE user writes about this.

mednagolov

Now on sale it is easy to purchase Chinese electromechanical relays with a 24-hour cycle. In fact, this is an elementary watch with a plug that is plugged into a socket, and on the case of this watch there is a socket into which a consumer is stuck, inside the watch a tiny electric motor turns. There is no need to start them, in the circle of the dial, lined for 24 hours, there are “pressers” with which you set the time intervals.

The electric motor must necessarily transmit torque through the gearbox. This will help make the grate move smoothly and keep the eggs intact.

The grid of the tray should move along the guides. The walls of the tray can play the role of guides. But in order to avoid accidental jamming, this mechanism can be improved. To do this, a metal axis protruding from both ends should be attached along the central axis of the lattice. It will play the role of a reliable guide. The axis will be inserted into special grooves made on the sides of the tray. This design is reliable, it can be easily assembled and, if necessary, quickly disassembled.

In order to drive the egg grill, we need a reciprocating mechanism consisting of an electric motor, a gearbox, a crank mechanism and a rod connecting the drive to the tray grill.

Device for flipping eggs in an incubator.

As an electric motor, you can use special "motors" for microwaves, which are commercially available. Also, some craftsmen create an electromechanical drive based on the mechanism that is part of car wipers. Or here is a way out of the situation that the forum member mednagolov came up with: the drive of the egg-turning mechanism from el. remote control ball valve motor d=3/4 220v (has an extremely powerful and durable gearbox, as well as end position microswitches).

He used the power supply from an old computer, and the time relay was a mechanism from a Chinese clock, which was described a little higher.
The mechanism functions as follows: the relay closes the electrical circuit after a specified period of time. The mechanism is set in motion and moves the tray grate, turning the eggs. Then the end position signaling devices (limit switches) are triggered, and the grille is fixed in the opposite extreme position. After a predetermined time, the cycle is repeated, and the grate returns to its original position. The whole process in a homemade product takes place without human intervention.

Incubator heating

The correct placement of the heating elements in the incubator chamber is the key to success, ensuring the hatching of healthy and strong chicks. As heating elements, it is customary to use ordinary incandescent bulbs. Ideally, they are best placed above the egg tray, evenly spaced around the perimeter of the incubator. The tray and the heating element should be separated by a distance of at least 25 cm. In a homemade incubator, low power bulbs, 25 watts, etc. should be used. The total power of the heating elements used in such an incubator should be 80 watts - for a device designed for the simultaneous hatching of 50 chicks.

The lower the power of the heating elements, the more uniform the distribution of heat in the incubation chamber.

When placing lamps on the walls of the chamber, one should also monitor their uniform arrangement around the entire perimeter. Be aware that by using a series electrical connection of heating elements, you can significantly extend their service life. But the power of each consumer in this case will be halved. This should be taken into account when calculating the number of heating elements, because with the appropriate connection method, the number of consumers will have to double.

Temperature control

As we already know, the temperature in the incubator chamber must exactly match the specified parameters. Otherwise, such a device is worthless. The optimal temperature for hatching chickens in artificial conditions is from 37.5 to 38.3º C. But it should be strictly observed. A regular thermostat, which can be purchased at the store without any problems, will help maintain the set range. It is necessary that this instrument provide an accuracy of temperature values ​​corresponding to 0.2 ° C. An error greater than the value presented can be detrimental to developing embryos.

Connecting the thermostat to the heating elements to a person who decided to make an incubator with his own hands, we think, will not be difficult. The main thing is to ensure that the temperature sensors are near the egg tray. For more accurate readings, the sensors can even be mounted on the tray. As an additional means of control, a conventional thermometer should be used. It is better if it is electronic, capable of showing tenths of a degree. But in extreme cases, an ordinary alcohol thermometer is also suitable. It should be fixed in the chamber in such a way that it is located immediately above the tray. In this case, his readings can be taken, looking through the viewing glass.

heat accumulator

JG_ FORUMHOUSE member

In order for the temperature to drop more slowly, it is necessary to use a thermal accumulator. I used water as TA. It gives moisture and still gains temperature, and when turned off, it gives it away for a long time, preventing the temperature from dropping quickly. Only the water container should be large. You can just put a metal pancake or a dumbbell inside - why not TA?

It remains to add that without a humidifier in the incubator, all your efforts are doomed to failure. Therefore, a baking sheet or an open plate filled with water can be considered one of the essential elements involved in the incubation process. As for the heat accumulator, a heating pad or a plastic water bottle will never be superfluous in the interior of your incubator.

Humidity can be monitored using a psychrometer, which can be purchased at a home improvement store. The optimal humidity in the incubator should be 50-55% (it can be increased to 65-70% immediately before hatching).

Incubator ventilation

Many owners of homemade incubators believe that the fan is an integral part of such a device. But practice shows that a small incubator, the number of eggs in which does not exceed 50 pieces, can do without forced ventilation. Air convection in it occurs naturally and this is sufficient to maintain the vital activity of the embryos.

If the chamber of your incubator is designed for a larger number of eggs, or if you want to create an ideal microclimate inside the device by all means, then for these purposes you can use special fans with a diameter of 80 to 200 mm (depending on the volume of the chamber).

The fan can be mounted in the top cover of the incubator in such a way that it draws air from the interior of the chamber. Part of the air flow will go outside, and its main volume will be reflected from the cover and pass over the lower air inlets, mixing warm air with cold air and enriching it with oxygen.

That, perhaps, is all. You can find out the different opinions of our users regarding the design, as well as get acquainted with their practical developments in this topic. We also have information for those interested in performance. If you want to create more at home, in the design of which there are powerful components and complex ventilation schemes, then you should visit this section.

In home gardens and small farms, it is more productive to use small-sized household incubators, for example, the Nasedka, Nasedka 1, IPH-5, IPH-10, IPH-15, which can accommodate from 50 to 300 eggs.

Incubator "Nasedka" for growing chickens.

This domestic incubator 700x500x400 mm in size and weighing 6 kg is designed for incubation of eggs, hatching of chicks and rearing of young chicks up to 14 days of age. The capacity of this incubator is 48 - 52 chicken eggs, 30-40 young animals.
The incubator is heated with electric bulbs. During incubation, it maintains a temperature of 37.8 °С, during hatching - 37.5 °С, while rearing young animals - 30 °С. The eggs are automatically rotated every hour. Ventilation is natural - through the holes at the top and bottom of the case.
The incubator works from the alternating current network of 220 V with a frequency of 50 Hz; electricity consumption per cycle - 64 kW / h; power consumption - 190 watts.
Many poultry farmers consider the Nasedka incubator to be reliable and easy to maintain. If the instructions are followed, the output of young animals will be 80-85%.
Incubator "Nashedka" can be used for rearing young animals, for example 30 - 40 chickens up to 2 weeks of age. When growing, you should constantly monitor compliance with the temperature regime in the incubator.

The normal development of embryos in the embryo usually occurs at a temperature of 37-38.5 °C. Overheating can lead to improper development of the embryo and the appearance of sick individuals. Conversely, a lower temperature will lead to a delay in the growth and development of embryos. It is also necessary to monitor air humidity: until the middle of incubation it should be 60%, in the middle of incubation - 50%, and at the end - up to 70%. In general, before you start using the incubator, you must carefully study its technical passport.
The Nasedka-1 incubator is a modernized model of the Nasedka incubator. In the new modification, the size of the tray is increased (holds 65 - 70 chicken eggs), a temperature sensor is installed, a tube heater made of a nichrome spiral is used, the eggs are rotated automatically, the mode control unit is simplified.

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the main / With your own hands / How to make a homemade incubator from a refrigerator and foam

How to make a homemade incubator from a refrigerator and foam

Many poultry farmers are considering purchasing an incubator. Indeed, there are cases when, at the onset of the season, the laying hen is not ready to hatch the brood. However, equipment of this kind costs decent money, so it is useful for farmers to know how to make a home-made incubator from a refrigerator and polystyrene according to the drawings. Let's discuss this important issue further.

A laying hen may indeed not be ready to incubate eggs in a certain period of time. But not only this reason can make the household owner think about creating a homemade automatic egg incubator. Often the farmer plans to raise more young than the hen has. You can make up for the missing number of chicks using the incubator method.

The main advantage of its use is the fact that chicks can be born at any time of the year. In addition, a person can independently regulate their number, which is especially important if the bird is grown by a farm for sale. Of course, it is impossible to deny that some laying hens are able to breed young even in winter. But these are rare successful cases. Basically, at this time of the year, only artificial breeding of chicks can be effective.

As practice shows, even a home-made unit for hatching quails or chickens can provide the farm with the necessary number of chicks if a home-made thermostat for the incubator is installed in it.

The brood hen needs to be supervised regularly. But not every poultry farmer has the necessary amount of free time for this. And the use of an incubator provides for the automation of the temperature control process. You can also automate the turning of eggs in a homemade incubator.

That is why the artificial method of producing poultry offspring is considered very convenient and highly productive. But even here it was not without its pitfalls. It must be understood that the cultivation of young poultry by the incubator method will be effective only if the farmer understands the technology of its application.

It is also important to carefully select the material before loading it into the trays. Only high-quality testicles can give strong and viable offspring. Rejected variants should never be attempted to incubate.

From the refrigerator and foam

How to make an egg incubator from a refrigerator and foam plastic with your own hands?

If the farmer does not want to spend money on the purchase of factory incubation equipment, he can build such a unit at home. This is not at all difficult to do if you approach the issue comprehensively. For example, with an old refrigerator and a small amount of foam sheets, you can build a really efficient quail incubator.

A homemade egg cooler incubator is characterized by the lowest cost. Therefore, this design is very popular among amateur poultry farmers or farmers with little experience in rearing young poultry. On the Internet you can find a variety of photos, drawings and diagrams of such units.

Even an old refrigeration chamber, sheathed on the inside with foam, demonstrates high efficiency in terms of maintaining a constant temperature level. This is exactly what the poultry farmer needs.

Therefore, do not rush to take out the old refrigerator, as in the next photo, to a landfill. Try to make a homemade incubator for eggs of chickens or quails with your own hands. All that may be required in the course of the work is 4 light bulbs with a power of 100 watts, a temperature regulator and a contactor-relay KR-6.

The scheme for performing actions is as follows:

1. Remove the freezer from the refrigerator, as well as other parts, if they are preserved (shelves, drawers, etc.). In order for a home-made structure to cope well with the task of saving heat, its walls must be sheathed with ordinary sheet foam;
2. Inside the structure, attach lampholders, a temperature regulator and a contactor-relay KR-6. Note that it is better to use L5 lamps. They will ensure uniform heating of eggs in trays and maintaining an optimal level of air humidity;
3. On the door, cut a small viewing window, as shown in the following photo;
4. Insert gratings into the unit, on which trays with eggs will subsequently be installed;
5. Hang up a thermometer;
6. Next, place poultry eggs in the trays. Some refrigerators can hold up to 6 dozen testicles. They need to be placed with the blunt end up, so it is most convenient to use ordinary cardboard packaging trays for this purpose;
7. Connect a homemade quail incubator to a 220W network and turn on all the lamps. After they heat the temperature inside the unit to 38 ° C, the thermometer contacts close. At this point, 2 lamps can be turned off. From the 9th day, the temperature should be reduced to 37.5°C, and from the 19th day - to 37°C.

As a result, you will get an effective home-made automatic unit with a power of about 40 W and a capacity of up to 60 testicles.

If you are interested in homemade incubators: the process of creating such a unit from a refrigerator and foam sheets is shown below.

Many farmers tend to equip a homemade quail incubator with an automatic fan. However, in fairness, we note that this is not at all necessary. In the refrigerator, natural air circulation is created, which is quite enough for the hatching of chickens.

Also, it is not at all necessary to supplement such a design with a device for turning eggs, this will only complicate it.

In the event of a sudden power outage, instead of the L5 lamp, a container with hot water should be installed at the bottom of the unit. But there is one important point here: the water should not be overheated.

Summing up

A homemade foam incubator and an old refrigerator for hatching poultry chickens is a really reliable and efficient device. You can make it according to the drawings with your own hands by looking at this article.

More information on the topic: http://proinkubator.ru

This article provides an electrical control circuit for a three-phase motor of arbitrary power connected to a single-phase network.

It can be used in incubators of private households with laying eggs from five hundred pieces (incubator from the refrigerator) to fifty thousand pieces (industrial incubators of the Universal brand).

This electrical circuit worked for the author without breakdowns for eleven years in an incubator made from a refrigerator. The electrical circuit (Fig. 1.5) consists of a generator and frequency dividers on DD2, DD4, DD5 microcircuits, a driver for turning on motors on DD6.1, DD1.1 - DD1.4, DD3.6 microcircuits, an R4C3 integrating circuit, switches on VT1 transistors , VT2, electric relay K1, K2 and the power unit on the electric relay K3, K4 (Fig. 1.6).

Tray status signaling (top, bottom) is provided by LEDs HL1, HL2. The divider and the frequency divider generator up to minute signals are made on a DD2 chip (K176IE12). For division up to one hour, a divider by 60 is used in the DD4 chip (K176IE12). Triggers on DD5 (K561TM2) perform period division up to 2.4 hours.

The SA3 switch selects the desired time during which the trays will rotate, from 4 hours to a complete stop. At the outputs 1, 2 trigger DD6.1 selected time interval is converted into a pulse duration. The leading edges of these pulses, through the electrical coincidence circuits DD1.1 - DD1.3, connect the motor for turning the trays.

The rising edge of the signal from pin 1 of the trigger DD6.1 on the reverse of the engine, through the electrical matching circuits DD7.4, DD7.2. Elements DD4.1, DD3.6 are required to switch the operating order "manual - automatic" and install the trays in the horizontal position "center". To activate the engine reverse mode before the engine rotation is connected, the integrating chain R4, C3, VD1 is intended.

The moment of delay of turning on the engine, at the ratings indicated in the diagram, is approximately 10 ms. This moment may vary depending on the threshold of operation of the applied microcircuit. Control signals through transistor switches VT1, VT2 include an electric relay for starting the engine K2 and an electric relay for reverse Kl. When the voltage is turned on Upit. a high potential will appear on one of the outputs of the trigger DD6.1, let's say this is contact 1.

If the limit switch SFЗ is not closed, then the output of element DD1.3 will have a high voltage and the electric relays Kl, K2 will be activated.

The next time the trigger DD6.1 is switched, the reverse electric relay Kl does not turn on, since a prohibitive zero level will be applied to the input of the DD7.4 chip. Low-current electric relays Kl, K2 turn on quickly only at the moment of turning the trays, because when the limit switches SF2 or SFЗ are activated, a prohibitive zero level will appear at the output of the DD1.3 microcircuit. Indication of the state of outputs 1, 2 DD6.1 is made by inverters DD3.4, DD3.5 and LEDs HL.1, HL.2. The signature "top" and "bottom" indicate the position of the front edge of the tray and are conditional, since the direction of rotation of the engine is easy to change by turning on its windings. The electrical circuit of the power module is shown in fig. 1.6.

Alternate connection of the electric relay KZ, K4 commutates the motor windings and, therefore, controls the direction of rotation of the rotor. Since the electric relay Kl (if necessary) is activated earlier than the electric relay K2, then the connection of the motor with the conclusions of K2.1 will happen after the conclusions of Kl.l select the corresponding short circuit or K4 electric relay. Buttons SA4, SA5, SA6 duplicate conclusions K2.1, Kl.l and are defined for manual selection of the position of the trays. The SA4 button is installed between the SA5 and SA6 buttons for the convenience of simultaneously pressing two buttons. it is recommended to write “top” under the top button.

The movement of the trays in manual mode is carried out when the auto mode is off by the SA2 switch. The value of the phase-shifting capacitance C6 depends on the type of motor connection (star, delta) and its power. For motor connected:

according to the "star" scheme - C \u003d 2800I / U,

according to the "triangle" scheme - C \u003d 48001 / U,

where I = Р/1.73Uhcosj,

R nameplate engine power in W,

cos j - power factor,

U - mains voltage in volts.

The printed circuit board from the side of the conductors is shown in fig. 1.7, and from the side of the installation of radio elements - in fig. 1.8. Electric relays K3, K4 and capacity C6 are located in close proximity to the engine. The device uses switches SA1, SA2 brand P2K with independent fixation, SA3 - brand PG26P2N.

Limit switches SF1 - SF3 type MP1105, electric relay K1, K2 - RES49 passport RF4.569.426. It is possible to use the K3, K4 electric relay of any brand for an alternating voltage of 220 V.

It is possible to use any three-phase motor M1 with a reducer with the necessary power on the shaft to turn the trays. For calculation, one should take the mass of one chicken egg approximately equal to 70 g, duck and turkey - 80 g, goose - 190 g. In this design, an FTT - 0.08 / 4 brand engine with a power of 80 W was used. The electrical circuit of the power unit for a single-phase motor is shown in fig. 1.9.

The ratings of the phase-shifting chain R1, C1 are different for each engine and are usually written in the engine passport (see the nameplate on the engine).

Limit switches are placed around the axis of rotation of the trays at a certain angle. A bushing with an M8 thread is attached to the axle, into which a bolt is screwed that closes the limit switches.

Egg turning is necessary for several reasons.

First, due to the lower specific gravity of the yolk, it floats to the top at any position of the egg, and its lighter part, where the blastodisc is located, is always on top. Turning the eggs prevents the germinal disc from drying out in the early stages of development, and then the embryo itself, to the shell membranes; in the future, the turning of the eggs prevents the sticking of the temporary embryonic organs of one to the other and creates the possibility of their normal development.

Secondly, the turning of the eggs is necessary for the normal functioning of the amnion, since some free space is needed for its contractions. Thirdly, egg turning reduces the number of mispositions of the embryos towards the end of incubation, and fourthly, in sectional incubators, egg turning is necessary, in addition, to alternately heat all parts of the egg. In cupboard incubators, there is also no complete uniformity in temperature distribution, and therefore here, too, turning the eggs ensures equalization of the amount of heat received by different parts of the egg.

There is a number of data on how eggs should be turned.

Funk and Forward compared the hatchability of chicks when turning the eggs in one (as usual), two and three planes and found in the last two variants an increase in hatchability by 3.7 and 6.4%, respectively. Later, the authors found on more than 12,000 chicken eggs that, when they are vertical in the incubator, turning the eggs by 45° in each direction from the vertical, compared with a 30° turn, increases the hatchability of chickens from 73.4 to 76.7%. However, a further increase in the egg turning angle does not improve hatchability.

According to Kaltofen, only when the egg rotation around the long axis (with the horizontal position of the eggs) from 90° to 120° is changed, the hatchability of chicks is almost the same (86.2 and 85.7%, respectively), and when the eggs are rotated around the short axis (vertical position), the advantage of egg rotation 120° is more noticeable - 83.7% of chicks compared to 81.7% at 90°. The author also compared the rotation of eggs around the Long and around the short axis and found a significant excess in the hatchability of chickens (P< 0.001) на 4.5% из яиц, поворачиваемых вокруг длинной оси.

All eggs were rotated around their short axis by 180° for at least 4-5 hours, but these data may be somewhat underestimated, since observations were made once every 1.5 hours.

Almost all researchers conclude that more frequent egg turning improves hatchability. By not turning the eggs at all, Eikleshimer only got 15% of the chicks; at 2 turns of eggs per day - 45.4%, and at 5 turns - 58% of fertilized eggs. Pritzker reports that turning eggs 4 to 6 times a day resulted in higher hatchability of chicks than turning 2 times. Hatchability was the same regardless of whether egg turning started immediately or 1-3 days after the eggs were set in the incubator. However, the author recommends turning eggs 8-12 times a day and starting turning immediately after laying the eggs in the incubator. Insko points out that increasing the number of egg turns up to 8 times a day increases the hatchability of the chicks, but 5 egg turns are absolutely necessary. In the experiments of Kuiper and Ubbels, 24-fold turning of eggs per day compared to 3-fold increased hatchability by 6.4% with a relatively high percentage of chick hatching in the control - 7.0.3% of the laid eggs. Similar experiments on large material (more than 17,000 eggs) in a cabinet-type incubator were carried out by Schubert. Compared with 3-fold rotation per day, which gave 70.2-77:5% of chicks from fertilized eggs, the author obtained an increase in hatchability by 2.0% with 5-fold rotation, by 3.8-6.9% with 8-fold rotation, with 11-fold - by 6.4%, with 12-fold - by 5.6%. According to Kaltofen, turning eggs 24 times a day on the 18th day of incubation, compared with 3 times, led to an increase in hatchability of chickens by an average of 7%, and compared to 8 times - by 3%. In connection with the greatest increase in hatchability compared to the control (24 egg turns per day), with 96-fold egg turning, the author considers this number of turns to be necessary.

Vermesanu was the only researcher to get the opposite results. He even observed a slight decrease in chick hatchability (from 93.5% to 91.5% of fertilized eggs) when turning eggs 3 times during the entire incubation period compared to 2 times before day 8 and 1 time from day 9 until hatching. Apparently, this is the result of some kind of error.

The effect of different numbers of duck and goose egg turns on hatchability was studied by Manche and Rosiana. The authors obtained 65.8, 71.6, and 76.6% ducklings and 55.2, 62.4, and 77.0% goslings at 4-, 5-, and 6-fold rotation, respectively. Therefore, according to the authors, it is necessary to turn duck and goose eggs at least 6 times a day. Kovinko and Bakaev, based on observations of the number of eggs turning in the duck nest for 25 days of incubation (528 times in 600 hours) and comparing the effect of 24-fold egg turning in the incubator per day with 12-fold control (68.7% and 55.3% of ducklings from fertilized eggs, respectively) came to the conclusion that an hour interval between egg turns more fully meets the biological needs of the embryonic development of ducklings than a 2-hour interval, especially during the development of allantois, and subsequently contributes to an increase in the vitality of young animals.

Of particular note is the need for additional manual rotation of goose eggs by 180 ° in a horizontal position in trays where chicken eggs are usually located vertically. Bykhovets notes that the additional rotation of goose eggs by 180 ° manually 1-2 times a day increases the hatchability of goslings by 5-10%. However, it should be noted that the author's explanation of this by the peculiarities of the goose egg (a larger ratio of length to width and a greater amount of fat in the yolk than in a chicken egg) has nothing to do with it. The reason for the reduced hatchability of goslings in this case (in the presence of only mechanical turning of eggs), in our opinion, is that in trays adapted for incubation of chicken eggs in a vertical position, turning the trays by 90 ° means alternately floating up the yolk and blastodisc in the chicken egg now to one side of the egg, then to the other; in the case of the horizontal position of goose eggs in the same trays, the rotation of the latter changes the location of the blastodisk much less. According to Ruus, during additional manual rotation of goose eggs by 180° 1 time per day, in addition to mechanical 3-fold, the hatchability of goslings increases from 55.6-57.4% to 79.3-92.4%. However, some producers report that additional manual turning of goose eggs does not improve the hatchability of goslings.

A number of studies have been devoted to the question of the periods of embryonic development when the turning of eggs is especially necessary. Weinmiller, on the basis of his experiments, considers it necessary to turn chicken eggs 12 times a day during the first week, and only 2-3 times in the second and third weeks. According to Kotlyarov, the distribution of embryonic mortality was different at 24-, 8- and 2-fold egg rotation: the percentage of embryos that died before the 6th day was approximately the same at 2- and 8-fold, and the percentage of suffocation was halved at 8 -fold, and vice versa, with an increase in the number of egg turns up to 24 times a day, the percentage of suffocation remained the same, and the percentage of deaths increased threefold until the 6th day. The author does not attach importance to this fact, but it seems to us very significant. At the beginning of development, embryos are extremely sensitive to shaking, and therefore too frequent turning of eggs has a detrimental effect on the weakest embryos. At the end of development, turning eggs in sectional incubators improves gas exchange and facilitates heat transfer, which leads to a significant decrease in the percentage of suffocation when the eggs are turned 8 times. But even more frequent turns, perhaps, can no longer add anything to improve gas exchange and heat transfer. Our opinion is confirmed by the author's experiments: rarer egg turning in the first half of incubation and more frequent in the second half resulted in an increase in hatchability compared to the group of 8-fold egg turning during the entire incubation by 2.3%. Kuo believes that the impossibility to go through one or another stage is due in most cases to mechanical reasons, and from the 11th to the 14th day of development, it is the turning of the eggs, stimulating the contractions of the embryo, that helps him to pass the stage preceding the stage of turning the body. According to Robertson, in the group with 2-fold rotation and especially in the group without egg rotation, compared with the control group (24-fold rotation), the mortality of chicken embryos increases most of all in the first 10 days of incubation, and at 6-, 12-, 24- , 48- and 96-fold rotation per day, the mortality of embryos at this time is approximately the same as the control. With an increase in the number of egg turns, as in Kotlyarov's experiments, the percentage of suffocators greatly decreases, especially suffocates without visible morphological disturbances. Kaltofen on a large material (60,000 chicken eggs) noted that 24-fold egg rotation reduces the mortality of embryos, especially in the 2nd week of incubation. The author conducted experiments with a 24-fold rotation only during this period (on the remaining days 4-fold) and found that the hatchability of chicks in this group was the same as the 24-fold rotation group from the 1st to the 18th day of incubation. Subsequently, the author showed that the death of embryos after the 16th day, i.e., in the second period of increased embryonic mortality, depends most of all on the insufficient frequency of egg turns before the 10th day of incubation, since there is no normal fouling of the amnion with allantois and the amnion is in contact with the shell membrane, which prevents protein from entering the amnion through the sero-amniotic canal. Somewhat different results were obtained by New, who found that turning eggs only from the 4th to the 7th day causes about the same hatchability as turning during the entire period of incubation. Turning only from days 8 to 11 did not increase hatchability compared to the group where the eggs did not turn at all. The author observed that non-rotation of eggs from the 4th to the 7th day of incubation causes premature attachment of the allantois to the shell membrane, causing a rapid loss of water from the protein. Therefore, the author considers it especially necessary to turn the eggs from the 4th to the 7th day of incubation.

Randle and Romanov found that insufficient egg rotation, which prevents or delays the entry of protein into the amniotic cavity, resulting in some of the protein remaining in the egg after the chick hatches, and the embryo receives a significant amount of nutrients, leads to a decrease in chick weight.

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To breed chickens at home, you will need to either buy an industrial apparatus or make an incubator with your own hands. The second option is convenient in that it is possible to assemble a device of the required size, and for the required number of eggs. In addition, cheap materials such as foam or plywood are used to create it. All egg turning and temperature adjustment work can be fully automated.

What you need to create a homemade incubator

The basis of any type of apparatus for breeding chicks is the body. It must keep the heat inside well so that the temperature of the eggs does not change dramatically. Since due to significant jumps, the likelihood of a healthy brood is noticeably reduced. You can make a home incubator case from a frame and plywood, polystyrene foam, a TV or refrigerator case. Eggs are laid in wooden or plastic trays, with a bottom made of slats or mesh. There are automatic trays with motors that turn the eggs themselves. Or rather, they deflect them to the side after the time indicated on the timer.

To heat the air in a do-it-yourself incubator, incandescent lamps are most often used, with a power of 25 to 100 W, depending on the size of the device. Temperature control is carried out using an ordinary thermometer or an electronic thermostat with a sensor. To avoid stagnation of air in the incubator, natural or forced ventilation is required. If the device is small, then it is enough just to make holes near the bottom and on the lid. For a do-it-yourself incubator made from a refrigerator, you will need to install fans, both above and below. This is the only way to ensure the necessary air movement, as well as an even distribution of heat.

So that the incubation process is not disturbed, you need to correctly calculate the number of trays. The distance between the incandescent lamps and the tray must be at least 15 cm.

The same distance must be left between the other trays in the do-it-yourself incubator so that the air movement is free. Also, at least 4-5 cm should remain between them and the walls.

Ventilation holes are made from 12 to 20 mm in size, in the upper and lower parts of the incubator.

Before laying eggs, be sure to check that the fans are correctly positioned and that the lamps have enough power to evenly heat the incubator. This value should not exceed ±0.5°C in each corner of the machine after it has fully warmed up.

How to make a do-it-yourself foam incubator

Expanded polystyrene is one of the most popular materials for creating an incubator. It is not only affordable, but has excellent thermal insulation properties and low weight. For the manufacture will need the following materials:

• foam sheets 2 pcs. with a thickness of 50 mm;
• adhesive tape, glue;
• incandescent lamps 4 pcs. 25 W and cartridges for them;
• fan (the one used to cool the computer is also suitable);
• thermostat;
• trays for eggs and 1 for water.

Before you start assembling an incubator with your own hands, you should draw up detailed drawings with dimensions.

Step-by-step instruction:

1 - water tank; 2 - viewing window; 3 - tray; 4 - thermostat; 5 - temperature controller sensor.

1. If desired or necessary, a fan is installed, but in such a way that the air flow hits the light bulbs, and not the eggs. Otherwise, they may dry out.

The heat inside the incubator, assembled from polystyrene with your own hands, will be retained even better if all the walls, bottom and ceiling are pasted over with foil insulation.

Incubators with automatic or manual egg turning

For the process to be successful, the eggs must be constantly turned 180 °. But doing it manually takes a lot of time. For this purpose, flip mechanisms are used.

There are several types of these devices:

• mobile grid;
• roller rotation;
• tray tilt 45°.

The first option is most often used in small incubators, for example, foam ones. The principle of operation is as follows: the grid slowly moves from one side to the other, as a result, the eggs lying in its cells turn over. This process can be automated or done manually. To do this, it is enough to attach a piece of wire to the grid and bring it out. The disadvantage of such a mechanism is that the egg can simply drag through and not roll over. Roller rotation is less commonly used in homemade incubators with automatic egg turning, as it requires a lot of round parts and bushings to create it. The device works with the help of rollers covered with a mesh (mosquito).

So that the eggs do not roll, they are in the cells of a wooden lattice. When the tape starts to move, all the eggs turn over.

A swivel mechanism that tilts the trays is used in larger incubators, such as those made from a refrigerator. In addition, this method performs its task better than others, since in any case each egg leans. There are automatic egg turning trays. They come with a motor and a power supply. There are several smaller ones in one tray. Each rotates separately after a user-set time.

How to make a device for hatching chicks from a refrigerator or plywood

Before you start making an incubator with your own hands, you need to draw up a drawing and a diagram for connecting all the elements. All shelves are pulled out of the refrigerator, including the freezer.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. In the ceiling, holes are drilled from the inside for incandescent lamps and one through for ventilation.
2. It is recommended to finish the walls of a home-made incubator from the refrigerator with sheets of expanded polystyrene, then it will retain heat longer.
3. Old racks for shelves can be converted into trays or put new ones on them.
4. A thermostat is mounted on top of the outside of the refrigerator, and the sensor is installed inside.
5. Closer to the bottom, at least 3 holes are drilled for air ventilation, 1.5x1.5 cm in size.
6. For better circulation, you can install 1 or 2 fans on top near the lamps and the same number below on the floor.

To make it easier to monitor the temperature and eggs, it is necessary to cut a hole in the door for a viewing window. It is closed with glass or transparent plastic, the slots are carefully smeared, for example, with a sealant.

The video shows a do-it-yourself incubator made from a refrigerator.

If there is no refrigerator, then the frame is made of wooden beams, and the walls are made of plywood. Moreover, they should be two-layer, and a heater is laid between them. Bulb holders are attached to the ceiling, bars are mounted in the middle of two walls for installing the tray. At the bottom, another additional bulb is placed for better evaporation of water. The distance between it and the tray should be at least 15-17 cm. A viewing window with a sliding glass for ventilation is made in the lid. Closer to the floor, holes are drilled along the long walls for air circulation.

By the same principle, incubators are often made from TV cases for a small number of eggs. The process of turning eggs in them is most often carried out manually, as it takes a little time. Trays can be made from rounded rails. Such an incubator does not need fans, since ventilation occurs every time the lid is opened to turn the eggs.

At the bottom of any incubator, a container of water is placed to create the optimal level of humidity required for the eggs.

To hatch a very small batch of chicks (10 chicks), 2 inverted basins can be used. To do this, one of them is turned over to the second one and fastened with a furniture canopy from one edge. The main thing is that they cannot move out of each other. A lamp holder is attached to the ceiling from the inside. Sand is poured at the bottom, which is covered with foil and hay. The foil should have many holes with a diameter of 3 mm in order for moisture to pass through it. To adjust the temperature, a bar with steps is used, which is inserted between the basins.

In order for the chicks to hatch in any incubator at the same time, the eggs must be of the same size, and uniform heating of the entire space of the apparatus is also necessary.

Two-chamber homemade incubator - video

Birds such as quail, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys. Such diversity became possible thanks to microcontroller automation.

Housing Materials:
- a sheet of chipboard or old furniture panels (like mine)
- laminate floor board
- perforated aluminum sheet
- two furniture awnings
- self-tapping screws

Instruments:
- A circular saw
- Drill, drills, furniture drill (for awnings)
- screwdriver

Materials for automation:
- circuit board, soldering iron, radio components
- transformer for 220->12v
- DAN2N electric drive
- two 40W incandescent lamps
- 12v computer fan, medium size

Point 1. Manufacturing of the case.
Using a circular saw, we cut blanks from a chipboard sheet in accordance with the dimensions in Fig. one.

In the obtained blanks, in accordance with Fig. 2, drill holes D = 4 mm. for self-tapping screws, they are marked with red circles, green circles indicate the place of attachment of the cover canopies. We assemble the case in accordance with the scheme. We install the cover on two furniture hinges.

We drill rows of ventilation holes D = 5 mm. front and back, top and bottom.

As a result, a completely finished case for the incubator turned out, it does not need to be additionally insulated, the electronics do an excellent job of heating the box with just two light bulbs.

Item 2. Tray for eggs.

The main part of the tray is the base, an aluminum sheet with frequent holes for unhindered circulation of heated air. If there is no similar material, then you can make the bottom of any sheet material of sufficient rigidity and drill many holes in it D = 10 mm.

I made the sidewalls from a laminate, in which cuts are made to the middle in increments of 50 mm, a net for holding eggs is woven into them from garden twine, and at the end of the twine in the cuts, Titanium is glued with glue. It turns out a cell of 50x50 mm, the size of large duck eggs, so as not to make many different trays for different birds, so chicken eggs in some places have to be burst a little with foam bars. The capacity of this tray is 50 eggs. Goose eggs are laid in a checkerboard pattern, a twine mesh compresses the bookmark well.

For quails, a separate tray similar to this is made, but with a cell pitch of 30x30 mm, with a capacity of 150 eggs.

The capacity of the incubator does not end there, because there is also a second tier, a second tray, which, if necessary, is installed on top of the first tray.

In the photo: Attachment (V) for the top tray and metal bracket for attaching to the axis of the tilt mechanism.

This (V) shaped mount is located at both ends of the tray and is only needed if a second tray is planned. At the upper additional tray, the same fastening is only directed downwards and enters like a wedge into the "dovetail" of the lower tray.

Also in the photo you can see a metal eye for attaching the tray to the flag of the rotary mechanism.

In the photo: The flag of the rotary mechanism.

In the photo: The opposite side of the tray.

Here you can see (V) the fastening and hole of the support axis of the tray.

Point 3. Device for tilting the tray with eggs.
To rotate the axis with a flag, which in turn tilts the egg tray 45 degrees to one side and the other, I used the DAN2N electric drive used for ventilation pipes.

Pictured: A typical DAN2N application, opening and closing a pipe valve.

He is perfect for this job.

This drive works out a slow rotation of the axis by 90 degrees from one extreme point to another, and when it rests against the limiter of the angle of rotation, then, due to the excess current in the motor, it goes into stop mode, until the control contact changes its state to the opposite.

To control the change of position on the control contact, any timer is suitable that will close and open the contact after a specified period of time. For this purpose, I found a French timer with adjustment from a fraction of a second to several days. But all these functions are already in our microcontroller control unit, therefore, to rotate the tray, it is enough for us to use any small motor with a gearbox, and the CU will take control of it.

Item 4. Control unit.
The control unit or the heart of the incubator, which determines whether you get chickens or not.

With the release of the popular Atmel microcontroller, many interesting projects began to appear, including simple and very reliable thermostats. So the March project from Radio magazine 2010 grew into a full-fledged complete incubator control module with all possible functionality. And these are: adjustment range 35.0С - 44.5С., indication and signaling in case of an emergency, temperature control by a complex algorithm with a self-learning effect, automatic tray rotation, humidity control.

When the heating element is heated (in our case, incandescent lamps), the algorithm selects the heating power, due to which the temperature comes into balance and can be constant with an accuracy of 0.1g.

The emergency mode will help out if the output triacs are damaged, the control switches to an analog relay and, until the breakdown is eliminated, it will maintain the temperature in the acceptable range.

To control the rotation of the trays, the controller provides a range of adjustments up to ten hours, supports the presence of tilt limit switches, and without them, by setting the time to turn on the motor to cover the desired distance.

Automatic humidity control is controlled by a second electronic wet thermometer, psychrometric calculation method and when necessary, the load will turn on - atomizer or ultrasonic fogger with fan.

All manipulations of adjustments are made by three buttons.

The circuit uses temperature sensors DS18B20, the error of which can be set from the CU menu with an accuracy of 0.1 degrees.

Scheme of the incubator control unit on MK Atmega 8.

Depending on the used output power switches, you can use different options for output circuits with different connection points and firmware options.

* If pulse transformers MIT-4, 12 with a connection point (A) are used to control thyristors / triacs, then this scheme is used.

*Management of MOS optocouplers.

Firmware - Pulse-phase, connection at point (A), MOC3021, MOC3022, MOC3023 are used (without Zero-Cross)
Firmware - Low-Frequency PWM, Point-to-Point (V), MOC3041, MOC3042, MOC3043, MOC3061, MOC3062, MOC3063 (with Zero-Cross)