Best Bator Under $100

[kuchchicks]

I have a friend who wants to try her hand at hatching. She would like to have one as much hands off as possible... so an auto turner if possible (hand turning could be an option if need be). Capacity does not have to be large.... 5-10 eggs at a time is just fine with her but larger capacity is also good. Basically she wants to plug in and walk away... (Don't we all, LOL!!)

I have a Hova Bator 1588 with auto turner and LOVE IT! But she does not want to spend that much (can't remember what I spent but probably around $200?). Her budget is probably closer to $100 or less.

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Homemade or none.

 

[lazy gardener]

For that budget, home made is THE ONLY way to go. And, it's a fun project! If she wants to plug it in and walk away, I'd suggest that she switch to goldfish. Even those require daily maintenance.

 

[kuchchicks]

Haha! Well I think she was exaggerating when she said plug in and walk away!

But I think what she was really trying to get at was that since she will be a novice she really wanted something that was not going to take a lot of tweaking. She is the type to worry and I know she would worry herself to death over fluctuations in temp.

With that said, I don't think she will want to go the homemade route. She wants to do this with her preschool students. I suggested the Brinsea Mini Eco, but do not have first hand experience. Also that one is hand turn. Which is fine (per her) but she was worried about losing too much humidity or it recovering quickly when the lid was replaced. Anyone with any experience with these models? Or a similar model? I think the Mini Eco was right at her budget for about $100 on Amazon.

 

[lazy gardener]

Brinsea has an excellent reputation. As far as hand turning, that's super easy to do, and it's not such a big deal about adhering to a specific schedule. And, for liability sake, she would not want to take a home made bator into her pre-school! Tell her to keep her eye on craig's list, and other such sites.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Anything in the $100 or less range will require a lot of tweaking.

Here's a $10 controller
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/stc-1000
Cut a hole in a Styrofoam cooler, glue on 2 panes of glass and voila! homemade incubator. The two panes of glass, one on the inside and one on the outside limit condensation and heat loss.