Would like to try incubating, but completely overwhelmed!!

I would like to ask for an incubator for Christmas, and hatch some eggs this spring. I've read through the Hatching Eggs 101, and it is a wonderful and informative article but it's left me feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm thinking I'd fair better on a college calculus exam! I work 10+ hour days and it seems there are so many variables and so many little things to learn!
Is there an easy incubator, or a hatching course for dummies? I feel like I am a fairly well educated adult, but maybe I just don't have the time to devote? Kind of bummed out...

Not too worry It is rather easy thing to do. the key is an egg turner (especially if your not home all day to turn eggs), A good thermometer and hydrometer . I would recommend one of the common Styrofoam incubators to start with rather inexpensive and easy to operate. Once you get one operate it for a week with some store bought eggs to get the temp and humidity right then your all set. It's not really as bad as you may think.

Blondi said:

I would like to ask for an incubator for Christmas, and hatch some eggs this spring. I've read through the Hatching Eggs 101, and it is a wonderful and informative article but it's left me feeling a little overwhelmed. I'm thinking I'd fair better on a college calculus exam! I work 10+ hour days and it seems there are so many variables and so many little things to learn!
Is there an easy incubator, or a hatching course for dummies? I feel like I am a fairly well educated adult, but maybe I just don't have the time to devote? Kind of bummed out...

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Hi there! It is overwhelming, and fun, and addicting and stressful...lol Not to mention educational and awe inspiring.

The first thing I will say is: if you are a very busy person and working 10+ hours a day and you decide to do this: don't skimp on the incubator. I am a stay at home-homeschooling mom and caretaker to my elderly father, I have a cheap Little Giant incubator but I am home to monitor it frequently and catch any little dips or jumps in temps. I would never recommend a cheaper bator for someone who doesn't have the availabilty to be right on top of it. Many people on here praise the Brinsea bators and swear by them as being the least troublesome and needing the least interaction during the hatch. They are a bit pricey (my opinion) but just about everyone agrees they are worth it. You definitely want something that does everything for you!

There is a lot to take in, especially when people do things so many different ways, it's hard to know what info to go by. I've taken the opinions given to me and with common sense and fitting things into my life and what I am comfortable with, I've learned a lot. It's had it's dissapointing moments, but it's over ridden with the joyful ones. Once you hatch that first chick, it's hard to stop!!! You'll want to keep filling that incubator to see what you will get next.

Good luck in what you decide and you have a lot of support and opinions to guide you with just from BYC. (BTW, I believe there is a Chickens for Dummies book. lol)

Thank you both so much! The advice and words of encouragement mean so much!! I'm slightly nervous but much moe excited now!!!

You Are welcome. Lots of advice and knowledge all just for the asking.....my favorite saying "you can never fail if you try,, you may not succeed but you can definitely fail to try " Any questions you have you can PM me or ask the masses for advice. many good people who want to help and share their passion on here.

AmyLynn2374 said:

I would never recommend a cheaper bator for someone who doesn't have the availabilty to be right on top of it.

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But, be aware that price does not necessary reflect quality... In general yes the cheap foam incubators need a little more babysitting, but if you tinker around and improve upon them they can be very reliable... The biggest issue I found with cheap foam incubators is they tend to creep up or down in temp over a period of several days, but that can be fixed with a new digital thermostatic control for about $4 delivered on Ebay... Even a cheap DIY incubator can be rock solid... I have said it in a few threads, I built a cheap DIY one from junk laying around the house, cost me about $9 out of pocket for the water heater thermostat ... It was initially just going to be 'hatcher' as I was worried about it holding temp, but I ended up running that thing for about 3 or 4 months straight this last year and it never skipped a beat and never needed a single adjustment after the initial 24 hours of dialing the temp in... I even dusted it off after it was shut down for a few weeks, cleaned and put away and did one more clutch of eggs, again no adjustment needed, I just plugged it in and it was perfect... Granted I'm an at home father and do have the ability to monitor it all day, and I also manually turned the eggs this year, but with an auto turner I wouldn't hesitate to leave my '$9' incubator unattended with only filling the humidity tray every 5 days or so...

As said a lot of people swear by Brinsea and no doubt they work well, but you pay a premium...

My biggest advise, is to invest in several good thermometers, test them against each other and always use at least two at any given time in the incubator to monitor the temp... Turn on the incubator at least 3 days before you get eggs and babysit it as much as you can (maybe on a no work weekend?) and make sure it's functioning as expected before you get eggs... And NEVER ever trust the built in thermometers, many are horribly inaccurate...

Wow, you guys are amazing! I have a new sense of encouragement!

MeepBeep said:

But, be aware that price does not necessary reflect quality... In general yes the cheap foam incubators need a little more babysitting, but if you tinker around and improve upon them they can be very reliable... The biggest issue I found with cheap foam incubators is they tend to creep up or down in temp over a period of several days, but that can be fixed with a new digital thermostatic control for about $4 delivered on Ebay... Even a cheap DIY incubator can be rock solid... I have said it in a few threads, I built a cheap DIY one from junk laying around the house, cost me about $9 out of pocket for the water heater thermostat ... It was initially just going to be 'hatcher' as I was worried about it holding temp, but I ended up running that thing for about 3 or 4 months straight this last year and it never skipped a beat and never needed a single adjustment after the initial 24 hours of dialing the temp in... I even dusted it off after it was shut down for a few weeks, cleaned and put away and did one more clutch of eggs, again no adjustment needed, I just plugged it in and it was perfect... Granted I'm an at home father and do have the ability to monitor it all day, and I also manually turned the eggs this year, but with an auto turner I wouldn't hesitate to leave my '$9' incubator unattended with only filling the humidity tray every 5 days or so...

As said a lot of people swear by Brinsea and no doubt they work well, but you pay a premium...

My biggest advise, is to invest in several good thermometers, test them against each other and always use at least two at any given time in the incubator to monitor the temp... Turn on the incubator at least 3 days before you get eggs and babysit it as much as you can (maybe on a no work weekend?) and make sure it's functioning as expected before you get eggs... And NEVER ever trust the built in thermometers, many are horribly inaccurate...

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If you know what you are doing...lol I've looked at homemade incubators and laughed at myself. I don't think there's a chance in you know where I could make one that worked well...lol I totally agree with the thermometers. I use three now after loosing my first hatch to a faulty one. And the faulty one was brand new. Never trust just one. And don't forget the hygrometer.
This last hatch I did "dry incubation" and I loved it. Had a good hatch, less stress. You'll have a lot of support and opinions on here...lol

Buy a Brinsea. I have three and love them.

Gail

X2 with georgiagail. Totally love mine it's fab and I trust it 100%. It always produces great results with minimal of fuss. Well worth the money.