Incubators for under $100?

I'm looking into getting an incubator, preferably for under $100. Any recommendations? Any brands to avoid? I don't need anything huge - under 10 eggs would be just fine. And I'd rather stay away from the DIY route, too many variables to mess up.

Thanks!

kdubs518 said:

I'm looking into getting an incubator, preferably for under $100. Any recommendations? Any brands to avoid? I don't need anything huge - under 10 eggs would be just fine. And I'd rather stay away from the DIY route, too many variables to mess up.

Thanks!

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Stay away from the Little Giants. Farm innovators have mixed reviews. I've heard good and bad with them. The Hovabators are the better mid range and you might be able to get an older model still air for under $100. There are smaller generic bators, but I don't know how reliable they really are.

We have have done well with the little giant but I know many people who have not

genericusername said:

We have have done well with the little giant but I know many people who have not

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I use a little giant 9200 and I have awesome hatches, but they are a lot more work and the 9300 especially has cost so many people to loose hatches. The digital LGs just fall short of the originals.

I've done well with my LG. The only time I had an issue with it was when I lost power for four days thanks to a snowstorm toward the end of the hatch. I still ended up with a few chicks but the failure was not due to the incubator itself. I have some turkey eggs in it now. This is now my third hatch, first with turkeys, and have even thought about getting a second one since I'm so happy about with it.

Agree that generic brands should be avoided. I am sure that there are some good models out there, but think they would be hit or miss. I have had a LG, Farm Innovators, and now Hova Bator. The Hova Bator that I have is over $100 ($150) and is worth every penny. No babysitting. But in trying to offer up a suggestion under $100, the Farm Innovator was not bad. It has a heat ring around the top and was ultimately the reason I stopped using is (only have of the ring would hold heat consistently and it was not worth it to replace it). There is a newer model though that is similar to my Hova Bator. Farm Innovators Model 2150 Digital Still Air Incubator. It is currently $64 on Amazon and does not have the heating ring.

kuchchicks said:

Agree that generic brands should be avoided. I am sure that there are some good models out there, but think they would be hit or miss. I have had a LG, Farm Innovators, and now Hova Bator. The Hova Bator that I have is over $100 ($150) and is worth every penny. No babysitting. But in trying to offer up a suggestion under $100, the Farm Innovator was not bad. It has a heat ring around the top and was ultimately the reason I stopped using is (only have of the ring would hold heat consistently and it was not worth it to replace it). There is a newer model though that is similar to my Hova Bator. Farm Innovators Model 2150 Digital Still Air Incubator. It is currently $64 on Amazon and does not have the heating ring.

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The LG9200 has the ring element and when you hit your hand on it...you know it! Now I had a problem with mine at one point where one side started to run hotter than the other, but I discovered that the mass wasn't balanced out equally on each side so the side with less eggs was hotter because there wasn't as much mass absorbing the heat- and I have the fan installed! Once I balanced it out better, the heat returned to more equal levels.

I've been using an LG; no fan, no turner. All manual. It's a fight to stabilize; not only is it hard to set and extremely touchy, but if the house goes up 5 degrees, you can bet your incubator's gonna go up as well! I dry-incubate, monitor air pockets every few days, and fill all trays at lockdown. I've had 99% hatch rates with stable temps, but I've had hatches spike to 105 and lost 60% of the eggs... I keep the incubator in a closet in the most stable part of the house, but my house may fluctuate between 60-70. I don't have AC, so I can't cool it down. If I notice it's a warmer indoor day I need to actively regulate the unit's temp.

If you want hand's-free no-fuss incubating, don't go for an LG. But they're simple, hard to break, cheap, can hold a ton of eggs, and they do work!

AmyLynn2374 said:

Stay away from the Little Giants. Farm innovators have mixed reviews. I've heard good and bad with them. The Hovabators are the better mid range and you might be able to get an older model still air for under $100. There are smaller generic bators, but I don't know how reliable they really are.

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Check your local craigslist for hovabators. Someone had one a couple hours away from me for $100 in new condition but I couldn't get her to answer me after the initial email so it probably sold. I did a lot of research and asked in here as well. Even if you have to get a new one, might be worth it spend a little bit more and have one that lasts better and is more user friendly opposed to getting something that doesn't work as well and losing money.

I just got the hova bator 1588 - mypetchicken.com has them for a great price right now and you can add the auto egg turner on too. Or if you don't need it asap, there's a lot of them online for sale at various feed stores and what not. I studied a LOT of reviews on
many sites and think this will be worth it's weight in gold compared to many other options.

I'm looking at either this one http://www.randallburkey.com/chicke...tors/circulated-air-hova-bator-incubator.html

Or this http://www.amazon.com/Brinsea-Mini-Eco-Hatching-Incubator/dp/B008HVM692

Any input on which would be better for a newbie?