Brinsea Mini Advance Incubator

I'm posting this review mainly to let those who are buying one know not to trust the incubator right out of the box. Brinsea claims that it comes calibrated and pre-set at 99.5 degrees. I made the mistake of trusting it for my first hatch and had a very poor delayed hatch. During this time my friend also bought one and when he checked his temp with a Spot Check thermometer, he found that the actual temperature was 98 when set at 99.5. We checked mine, and low and behold it too was 98 degrees. I know have my own spot check thermometer and another digital thermometer which I used to re calibrate the machine and have had much better success.

My friend sold some eggs to another guy nearby who bought the same incubator. After a 30% hatch on what my friend knew were excellent eggs, he brought the incubator with him when he went to pick up replacement eggs. His incubator came from the factory set at 102 despite the 99.5 reading on the display. That's 3 for 3 on brand new incubators that were not calibrated properly. This is a great little unit but its disappointing to see such a lack in quality control.

This is an excellent incubator for small hatches and classroom hatching.All you need to do is fill it with water every 3 days and it does everything else and you get to watch every minute of the chicks hatching.My lowest hatch rate was 85% and my highest was 100%.I would highly recommend this incubator to beginner chicken keepers or people who only want to hatch small numbers of chicks.

This little incubator is great when it's working. I had 3 successful hatches in two years. However, 4 days before the chicks were due, the heating unit and sensor shot craps. The "alarm" is a tiny chirping noise that can't be heard from another room so we weren't aware until it was too late. The company was of little help - said they had "never heard of this problem" (the temperature readings were fluctuating wildly from 89-106 degrees) but they would be happy to charge me to fix it. The unit was cleaned carefully after every use and stored in the box. Not sure what else we could have done to prevent this, but to only get 3 good uses out of it and 7 dead chicks leaves me very disappointed. Think I'll just order from the hatcheries from now on. :-(

I used the Brinsea Mini Advance incubator this past spring to incubate Wyandotte bantam eggs. Overall, the incubator performed very well. The temperature remained steady and the automatic turner made daily maintenance relatively simple. No more worrying about hand turning the eggs several times a day! My hatch with the Mini Advance turned out pretty good, with 4 out of 5 fertile eggs hatching.

One point I would like to change about this incubator is its humidity control. In the center of the incubator, there is a small reservoir that you fill halfway with water during most of the incubation, and fill completely during the last three days. Supposedly, that makes the incubator have correct humidity. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell the humidity for sure. The incubator itself has no humidity monitor, and it is too small to place a separate humidity gauge in. You're left at the mercy of the incubator when it comes to keeping humidity correct.

Another point is the incubator's size. For small hatches (7 eggs or less), the incubator is a great investment. However, it does limit the number of eggs you can set at a time, which can be a disadvantage depending on how many chicks you want.

Still, I overall rate this incubator highly, and would recommend it for use by others.

I have 2 of these. Just love them. Brinsea has an online users forum for questions.
The humidity comes back up so quick one can remove the dome during hatching to take out broken shells.
Best small incubator for the money for folks who don't need to hatch a lot of chicks.
Easy to clean and store.
Best Regards,
Karen and the Light Sussex
in western PA, USA

I love this little incubator. I get excellent hatch rates with it. It even managed to hatch shipped northern pintail eggs. I've hatched quails, chickens and ducks with this incubator. I highly recommend it. It's very reliable and a set and forget type of incubator. Humidity holds steady. Easy to view into and witness the hatching process. I'm very pleased with it. It's relatively easy to clean. Moisture does sometimes build up in the turning mechanism and I've notice some rusting going on. But this is after 3 years of using it very heavily. Batch after batch. When I'm done with a hatch, I thoroughly clean it and leave the lid off so the moisture dries. It's never let me down and very well made. An overall excellent incubator to hatch a small batch of eggs!

Okay so I am new to this and I am not the best at remembering to do things regularly at the same time etc...this little machine took all the quesswork and regular maintenance out of it. I plugged it in and it was set to the right temperature. I put the egg turning disc (it comes with a seven egg standard large fowl disc) in and added water to the middle reservoir (one of the two chambers) and put my eggs in. Being a first timer, I had shipped eggs and I never let them 'rest'. I was excited and I just started right up. I had the incubator on for a day and a half before the eggs arrived and it maintained temperature with no problems. There is an alarm for letting you know if the temp. drops etc.

Long story short ...exactly 21 days later two little chicks came out with no issues. Most of the other eggs had no development in them and I think they can easily be blamed on three factors.
Newbie/shipping/fertility.

So I am really happy. Already ordered myself more eggs and I also ordered a second Brinsea.

My regret is not buying the Octagon right off the bat. I wish I could exchange two mini's in and take the Octagon 20.

The second one I bought doesn't have the 'advanced' part so I will have to manually turn etc. I also did buy a hygrometer this time around just to see how my humidity is. To be honest I forgot to fill the water pot up most of the time with my first hatch and it would be dry when I candled. (That was the only time I opened the incubator).


Just a side note, I purchased this with the classroom pack.

This is my first time hatching eggs (button quail eggs) so I wanted an incubator that was straight-forward and smaller. So far so good! I would recommend using this incubator if you are new to raising birds or are looking for a high quality- low scale incubator.

I bought this incubator for my very first hatch and I am so incredibly happy with the results. I had 7 marans eggs shipped from Illinois to los angeles and when the box arrived, it was totally smashed. I was so afraid to open it. None of them were cracked but all the air cells were saddled and I totally forgot what I had read about "resting" the shipped eggs. So I just threw them in the incubator that night, with the turner on. I also turned on the cooling option after the first week, like the manual suggested. The temperature was never off by more than one degree for the entire 3 weeks. I thought maybe I would get 3 or 4 chicks out of the hatch but actually ended up with all 7!!! This little guy did all the work. I just programmed it like the manual said. I can't wait to see what my results will be for my second hatch!

It really is set and forget easy... Every other day we filled the one water pod as instructed and just left them alone. First time hatching eggs, we got 100% success.. 7 out of 7 hatched healthy and ready to go. It was easy, it was awesome, and it was perfect for our small backyard flock. If you want high success without being over run with chickens its perfect. If you want lots and lots of chickens id go elsewhere as this will only get you 7 a month

Its a great little bator', it gets the job done, and its easy to use!! The only thing I don't like is that it can only do seven eggs at a time. Other than that its great!!

I got this for Christmas, and I have been wanting this for months, an dI finally got it, and I LOVE it! I am incubating Serama eggs right now, I am on day 3, and so far, so good! This is an amazing incubator!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was my first incubator and its really what got me started in the world of hatching and raising my own birds. Its very easy to use and comes fully pre-set from the factory for chicken eggs, and setting it up for a different kind of fowl is very quick and easy. Once running you can pretty much leave it to do its thing, no more checking 10x a day to make sure the temperature is right!

A perfect incubator for someone starting out, I can't say enough good things about it!

Not only was this incubator easy to use, sturdy, and fascinating to see the hatching up close and personal through the plastic, but Brinsea has excellent directions and information in the packaging.

I bought a second Brinsea...and had an issue which was superbly resolved by Rose Power at Brinsea. It has been a long time since I saw such excellent customer service.

I can heartily recommend this product.

I wanted a small incubator to start out my hatching adventures. I also wanted one with a digitally controlled thermostat. I also wanted an autoturner. This little incubator fit the bill. I love the clear plastic dome when my eggs start to pip. I can move all around the unit and get a 360 degree view of the eggs and chicks when they start hatching. When I candle eggs and replace them back under the dome, the Brinsea Mini Advance can rebound the temps quickly. This incubator can hold 7 eggs with the autoturner in or 10 eggs with the autoturner taken out. (more if the eggs are small) I love the digital readout and everything is easy to set and adjust. You can set how often you want the eggs to turn. You can set an auto cool period to mimic a hen getting off the nest once a day. It has a high and low temp alarm. It will show if the unit has lost power during the incubation period. It has a day countdown timer and the autoturner can be set to turn off at day 18. I candle my eggs for the last time when the autoturner is off, fill both water chambers to increase humidity for hatch, turn the fat ends of the eggs out so I can see pips better, and the waiting really begins. The instruction booklet that comes with the unit is detailed but easy to understand.

My first hatch was 5 out of 7. One chick died at day 15 or so, and the other had severe cross beak and never pipped. My second batch, 7 out 7 hatched! I am very, very happy with this incubator and Brinsea as a company. I had an issue with a second order I placed with them, and they were very helpful when I called.
I am so happy with my little power house Brinsea I may purchase one of their larger incubators in the future, but the small size of Mini Advance will help keep me from becoming overrun with chickens for the present time.

This is incubator is pretty good, but not awesome. I've had 4 incubators total in my "chicken lifetime" so far & while this one gets the job done, it's pretty expensive to purchase initially & you can only hatch a small amount of eggs. Set up is easy, everything is digital, but there is no humidity control. The directions state that on the 18th day you fill up both sides of the reservoir to control humidity. That's it. I've used it 3 times, and while my hatch rate has increased significantly over time (with shipped eggs) my hatch rate is only 80% or so. Not bad, but not great! Once the chicks hatch, they are kind of smooshed in there- like kids pressed against the window on a school bus. I only have hatched Silkies and Polish, both tiny breeds but it's awfully cramped in there when you're waiting for the others to hatch.
I recently purchased a Brinsea Octo 20 advance (not the EX) and I'm much happier with the results. It is a little bit more expensive, but not that much more. Everything is digital, the auto turn cradle literally rocks them back n forth like a baby crib. It's spacious, and easy to clean up. Hatch rate has been much better, but it might just be luck.
I wish I would have just waited, saved up my money & bought 2 of the Octo20's.

Still need to use but overall the inital setup looks very promising with increased acuracy

I bought this little machine in my own country. The reviews were good which made my choice easier. The reason I wanted an incubator was because my pullets won't get broody.
I only hatch for myself to extend the flock and for some close friends. I love to see the whole process of laying in, candeling and then finally the first pipping sounds. Its a great machine if you don't want to much for hatching or for classes to see the whole process. I can recommend it to everyone.

I bought this incubator from Craigslist the day my hen died suddenly. I had no experience with chickens and chicks and didn't even know who to turn to for help. I paid $40.00 for a used one since that was all the was available, but would have gladly paid full price. Every time I candled, the conditions where clear and when I calculated weight-loss, it was at Ideal every time! I recommend this incubator to anyone and everyone! This would be perfect for a school classroom and for all chicken enthusiasts! My Speedy's eggs hatched today with no real problems, she would have been very proud of me!

I thought I'd stay out of trouble by buying a small incubator. I need another one.