Hello!

Newbie Alert!

Our family is ready to start our chicken journey!

Could you please recommend an incubator for a first timer, with kids who would like to watch the hatching process, and one that would make the whole experience more likely to be a success than a failure lol!

We've done quite a bit of researching, but we are welcoming any advice you'd like to throw at us!

Hi

Glad you could join us here! For me I would recommend Brinsea incubators. I am biased as I have one but they are a super brand. A little more pricey but they take so much worry out if incubation. They do a variety of models depending how many eggs you want incubate and how hands on you want to be. There are some good reviews here on incubators ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/egg-incubators

Here is a great section from the learning centre on incubating and raising chicks ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-and-raising-chicks

Good luck and enjoy BYC

The Incuview may be a good option, the entire top is clear to make viewing easy. I've never had one, but they have pretty good reviews and lots of members here seem to like them.
If money isn't a worry, Brinsea has an excellent assortment of incubators that are pretty much a "set it and forget it" type deal. They are a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for.

I'd steer clear of Little Giant 'bators. I have 2 of them and they require quite bit of babysitting and sometimes failure to figure out their sweet spot. Incubator Warehouse is a great place to shop and compare.

I also noticed, while I was browsing the forum yesterday, that Reptipro is offering a nice little stainless steel cabinet incubator at the pretty awesome price of $99 for BYC members. Its in the Buy, Sell, Trade section of the forum. I believe I had to go to the second page to find it and I think it was in the Other section of that particular part of the forum. Again, not one I've used personally, but it might be a good option if you're on a budget.
Good luck

Edited to add: The Reptipro with exclusive pricing for BYC members is in the Everything Else section of Buy, Sell, Trade