Bators, bators and more bators...

[NYREDS]

Quote:
I firmly believe this! I have an LG still air model 9200. it ran me $52 and change. also got the auto egg turner $42 and change. it holds 48 eggs at a time. Just about completed my first hatch and had a great success. out of 24 eggs 19 have hatched and not giving up on the other 5. it has a bit of a touchy thermostat would be a con of this bator. i did notice i had to watch pretty close when i messed with it so i didnt screw up and freeze or fry the eggs. but when you dont mess with it holds temps great. I feel for being one of the cheepies i got what i paid for and it is working for me. there are probably more reliable bators out there as far as how quickly and easily you achieve the temp. you want but this bator works for me for the time being.

The still air styros were some of the first I had & I hatched hundreds of chicks in them. They get a bad rap from people who can't or won't follow the directions.

 

[matthew1985]

i like the genises 1588 its good for starters and great reviews i jus started my first incubator time with this and the temps are steady no adjusting todo great first incubator i got mine for 185.00 wit 2 day express nonsense at cutlersupply hope this helps !

 

[pascopol]

Quote:
Styrobators got bad rep from people cause they are junk.

I do not care how "good" operator you are and how good you follow the directions, if your Little Monster (LG) spikes overnight to 105, 110 or more, (they are famous for it) you got fried chicken instead of hatched chicken.

If one need to "stabilize" incubator for 1 week before use (LG fanatics highly recommend it) or have to fill it with heats sinks to "hold" temperature (LG lovers recommend it too),
or keep your room temp "steady" because this styro monster will go up or down exactly as many degrees as the room temperature changes.

You don't need a commercial "incubator"

You can hatch chicks in carton box and a light bulb cheaper and have fun doing it, you may get lucky and hatch some, just like you may get lucky and hatch some in your styro.

 

[Southern Chickens]

lovin'mychicks :

(1) what type of bator your have
(2) the price range
(3) the best quality
(4) the worst quality
Feel free to include pictures of your favorite hatches!!

I have two! The first a Brower Top Hatch & a Lyon Turn-X TX-7

1. Brower Top Hatch

2. New $180.00+, I got mine from my sister, just had to buy a new lid.

3. Built in turner, bottom is dishwasher safe. It holds 42 chicken eggs, but you can do any size egg in it, no extra racks to buy.

4. Temp is not steady. Ranges from 1-2 degrees above or below 99.5. Light bulb is heat source, light flickers. I had to black out the windows in the spare room. It looked like we had a haunted house! The motor is loud. Shell pieces can get into motor area. Complete tear down between hatches, to clean and regrease motor area.

READY FOR EGGS!!

1. Lyon Turn-X TX-7 with auto turner

2. New $430.00+, I was given mine by the guy I bought my Silkie chicks from! It was in his barn just sitting! He had a Sportsman and didn't need it. You couldn't even see through the glass dome!

3. It was free! No really, it holds the temp dead on. Seems to NEVER move, at all! It is very quite compared to the other one. Only noise is from turner, once every hour.

4. My only complant is that you have to buy the extra racks for this one. It only holds 18 chicken, 27 pheasant/bantam eggs. Not enough IMO, but you can get other models that hold more.

GUINEA EGGS!!

The guinea that I just hatched out yesterday!

 

[walkswithdog]

I had an LG - I paid 24 for it used. It worked. I hated it. The area inside was too small and cramped. The cheap foam is not fun to clean. It felt fragile. I burned myself on that top element too often. If I hatched in cartons the ceiling was too low. I hand turn...

I traded it away.

I then built one Uglybator out of a metal icechest (free) and parts - about 20$. It worked and I didn't get burned. It was too small...

I then built Darthbator, out of a free black mini-fridge. Exceedingly well insulated, nice size, easy to clean, parts ran around 25. I still hand turn.

While I'm not spending 100-300 dollars for an incubator that will turn eggs for me and only hold 20-40 eggs, I am hatching and saving toward a Dickey cabinet bator.

I'd LOVE to run across one of those old redwood cabinet models to rework. I'd die happy.

LGs work but wow I didn't like mine, there are significant tradeoffs I wasn't willing to make. And from my perspective, I can't see spending 100-400 on one of the others when I can buy a Dickey that will hold 300 eggs for the price of a high end Brinsea.

I like hatching, you really can do it in a properly regulated box with a lamp, or a hot pad or a thousand free things.

But I'd really like having that Dickey so I hatch in whatever til I get where I'm going.