I built one in the early '80s from an old console TV case. Made a plywood door, and used the round glass that used to be in front of picture tubes for a window so we could watch the eggs.
I looked at incubators in the Sears Farm catalog, and bought a double wafer thermostat for one of those. I used two 150w bulbs for the heat, and added a dimmer switch so that when the thermostat switched off, they would stay dimly lit so we could still see inside.
Made a box/drawer with a screen bottom for the eggs, and we'd mark 'em with an X (used a pencil) so we could turn them daily. Put a small pan of water under the drawer at the back to provide humidity.
We hatched chickens, ducks, and a couple turkeys (which are some of the dumbest creatures on the planet btw) in it. Accumulated almost 40 ducks once that we had hatched in that thing...
OH Chit! I do NOT need more ducks right now. I'm already in trouble for the ducks. Lol I could use some more quail though. Haha!
