Apparently, though, the Buckeye must have worked well enough, as it was used until 1934 when it was wrapped (in newspapers bearing that date) and stored. On this outfit, most of the work was done by hand, as evident by the mess left inside for cleaning (lots of old eggshells in there). Warming inside the box would cause the hat to lift, letting heat go out the chimney, as it were. As the box cooled, the hat dropped down over the boiler exhaust, causing it to warm the water more. That, in turn, is hooked to a long, counter-weighted rod acting on a “hat.” The hat moved up and down in response to heat in the box. The temperature is controlled with an “X” shaped steel thermostat on an adjustable rod.

Eggs were turned by hand, and humidity was also controlled manually, probably by sprinkling water over the eggs. Grids were used to turn the eggs.įrom Springfield, Ohio, came the Buckeye No. This unit also has a tray to hold water, maintaining correct humidity. This unit employed a bellows-type thermostat, controlling a shutter on the kerosene burner to either raise or lower the box temperature. How it wound up in southeastern South Dakota is anyone’s guess. The large, 400-egg Charters unit was manufactured in Santa Cruz, Calif. Here one is reminded of the space shuttle, which routinely launches a few weeks late. Interestingly enough, these old, primitive, outdated, low-tech units were capable of maintaining correct incubation temperatures (102-103 degrees) for up to three weeks, and all that was accomplished without any chips, transistors, or solid state relays. Smaller units saw eggs turned by hand in larger units, moveable grids allowed easy turning of the eggs. The heated water was piped around inside the box through pipe or tubing. A small boiler containing a few quarts of water was heated with kerosene. The X-Ray, Wayne, Neb., was another, followed by the Ray O from Blair, Neb.Īntique incubators were handsomely finished, often built with redwood, and could sit inside nicely. $7.55 would buy a Belle City Incubator out of Racine, Wis. was urging farmers to get into the $1 billion-a-year poultry business (Not giving a time frame for the billion dollars, though … ) “Old Trusty” would come to you for less than $10, along with a 10-year guarantee. Incubator manufacturers were numerous, as is shown in the Spring issues of the 1911 Farmer and Breeder, a weekly out of Sioux City, Iowa. The fertile eggs would be kept the non-fertile ones sold, or eaten. After all, where are you going to find a setting hen big enough to handle 100 to 400 eggs?įirst of all, eggs were candled: That is, candled eggs were passed in front of a small hole in a box with a light bulb or candle behind it. To avoid a debate here, let us go on to incubators. First, though, came the eggs, then the chickens, then the eggs again. Way back when, “egg money” was used to buy staple items: Salt, sugar, coffee, flour and the like. So, come along and learn about an interesting farm “tool” of the early 20th century. Saving historical relics, even items as mundane as antique incubators, can lead one down interesting paths.

Antique egg incubator for sale