➡ Quail Hatch Along🥚

[Kiki]

I'm pretty sure I will never use a horizontal turner.

 

[FloorCandy]

I'm pretty sure I will never use a horizontal turner.

If you already have a vertical turner, it would probably be a downgrade, but for starting off small and with a reasonable cost, the nr360 Is pretty good.

When you’re just starting out and you’re calculating costs, incubator, brooder, lights, housing, feed, water/feeders, hides, storage, etc, $300 for an incubator might be too much, especially if you don’t know if this is a long term hobby, or for a teenager. Plus I’ve found the nr-360 has a pretty long life and decent resell value, I think I could sell it on craigslist for $90-100 or more depending on age, with ease.

 

[Kiki]

If you already have a vertical turner, it would probably be a downgrade, but for starting off small and with a reasonable cost, the nr360 Is pretty good.

When you’re just starting out and you’re calculating costs, incubator, brooder, lights, housing, feed, water/feeders, hides, storage, etc, $300 for an incubator might be too much, especially if you don’t know if this is a long term hobby, or for a teenager. Plus I’ve found the nr-360 has a pretty long life and decent resell value, I think I could sell it on craigslist for $90-100 or more depending on age, with ease.

I have excellent hatch rates in my cheap Little Giant still air incubator.

 

[kurby22]

I have excellent hatch rates in my cheap Little Giant still air incubator.

I found a Little Giant with the fan added and it appears to have the turners that aren’t laying the eggs horizontal. It’s $10 cheaper than the NR360…you think that it would do a good job? This might be a silly question, but how do the eggs get turned when they’re in the little cups?

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

I have excellent hatch rates in my cheap Little Giant still air incubator.

You're going to have to share those secrets. I've rigged a fan in mine, but even then the results have been mixed: sometimes great, sometimes disappointing.

 

[FloorCandy]

I found a Little Giant with the fan added and it appears to have the turners that aren’t laying the eggs horizontal. It’s $10 cheaper than the NR360…you think that it would do a good job? This might be a silly question, but how do the eggs get turned when they’re in the little cups?

The cups lean back and forth, the eggs sit tip down, they lean at angles that vary enough to simulate turning.

 

[kurby22]

The cups lean back and forth, the eggs sit tip down, they lean at angles that vary enough to simulate turning.

Ahhh okay! Thanks that helps haha. The reviews for the Little Giant are either great or super bad haha…why does this have to be so difficult?? :-D

 

[FloorCandy]

Ahhh okay! Thanks that helps haha. The reviews for the Little Giant are either great or super bad haha…why does this have to be so difficult?? :-D

If reviews are mixed, either the product quality is inconsistent, or idiots do everything wrong and blame the machine. Reading reviews is an art form lol. Great reviews are sometimes scams by the manufacturer, so look for reviews with a lot of info, not just “great product”. The bad reviews will often be verbose, but if it’s written by someone who comes off like a teenager that cut writing class too often, you can probably assume they fail to take proper care with other aspects of their life and didn’t follow instructions. It’s tough to describe but you need to look for reviews who really wanted to succeed and are looking for help, not just a wall of angry complaints.

 

[vall]

I have a Little Giant. Seems like having the ambient (room) temp higher and eggs closer together helps - I was using the chicken sized rails for a while and that didn't work.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

If reviews are mixed, either the product quality is inconsistent, or idiots do everything wrong and blame the machine. Reading reviews is an art form lol. Great reviews are sometimes scams by the manufacturer, so look for reviews with a lot of info, not just “great product”. The bad reviews will often be verbose, but if it’s written by someone who comes off like a teenager that cut writing class too often, you can probably assume they fail to take proper care with other aspects of their life and didn’t follow instructions. It’s tough to describe but you need to look for reviews who really wanted to succeed and are looking for help, not just a wall of angry complaints.

@kurby22, I agree with @FloorCandy about reading reviews. I'm fine with the Little Giant still incubator. I might have chosen something different if something different was available when I was looking for an incubator, but by and large, it does what it should.

I think the LG thermostat holds pretty well in one spot, but that doesn't cover the whole huge Styrofoam box. Hence, I added the fan. That said, because the incubator is so big and the gauge is so spot-specific, I think little fluctuations end up becoming big ones and one mistake can affect the hatch rate significantly. The poor hatch rates are probably at least partly my fault.

I'd compare it to cooking shows. Food made by a top chef cooked on a standard range will still prevail over food made by an amateur with a Viking stove.

Of course, if the difference in price between the Little Giant and the NR360 is $10, I'd be inclined to go with the NR360 which seems to be a fan favorite on this forum. Even if it isn't better, you'll be able to ramp up faster with all the experts on this site.