incu-bation

I am considering buying a incubator. I am swaying towards the 12 egg capacity incubator but has no automatic turner. Does anybody how many times you should turn the eggs a day?

Also if anyone knows of any good incubator brands let me know.

Thanks, newbie chicken rancher.

Eggs should be turned at least three times per day but five would be better. And odd number of times is best so the eggs are not left in the same position for two nights in a row. Here is an excellent article on incubating that you should check out ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101 Lots of info on turning and why it is necessary.

As for brand of incubator it really does depend on how much you want to do during incubation ie turning, humidity control. Also it depends on how much you want to spend, some can be very cheap but need a lot of babysitting and some can be more expensive but don't require much attention. For me I would recommend a Brinsea as they are a trusted brand and reliable and they have a good range of models depending on egg capacity and how hand on or off you want to be. They are a little more pricey but the do an eco range too.
Here are some reviews of incubators ~https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/egg-incubators

Good luck with your future incubations.

thanks

itsajensen said:

I am considering buying a incubator. I am swaying towards the 12 egg capacity incubator but has no automatic turner. Does anybody how many times you should turn the eggs a day?

Also if anyone knows of any good incubator brands let me know.

Thanks, newbie chicken rancher.

Click to expand...

Hi,
I have 2 of the Brinsea Mini Advances. I just love them. http://www.brinsea.com/c-85-mini-incubators.aspx
Set it and forget it. Has an automatic turner and digital temp and humidity control. Clear dome to watch the eggs and chicks hatch. If you take the lid off for some reason ( like to remove egg shells after hatching) , the unit returns to correct temp and humidity very, very quickly. Yes, it hatches 7 eggs. But then, 7 chicks is just the right number for the 102 qt. plastic tub brooders that many people use. It's real easy to hatch more chicks than one has room for in their brooder. It just depends on how many chicks one needs. If youw ant to hatch a 11 or so, then this method is not for you. The "Eco" model does not have an auto egg turner. The "Advance" model does.
I like the staggered hatches. I get to watch 7 chicks at a time grow at different ages. It's very educational to watch them grow side by side at different ages. Plus, when I d staggered hatches, and the chicks are read to goto the grow out pens at 4 weeks, it means I only have double number of brooders going for one week at a time before the earlier hatch goes to the grow out pens. . By te time the 2nd hatch is ready to go to the grow out pens, the 1st hatch is 7 weeks old and ready to join the flock in the coop.
Best Regards,
Karen