Brinsea Maxi II EX or GQF 1588 Genesis Hova-Bator?

[Trish1974]

I will be breeding my Araucanas this summer and I'm in the market for an incubator. I have never, ever hatched eggs before so I would like an incubator that is easy to use and does everything (like turning the eggs) on its own. I am going to start small to get my feet wet and not get overwhelmed, maybe only do 2 hatches this summer (more if a hen decides to go broody). I was all set to buy the Brinsea Maxi II EX, but when I went to Amazon to check out the price I noticed some recent negative reviews. I then stumbled upon the Genesis Hova-Bator, which reviewed well, AND it is cheaper than the Brinsea. Has anyone used either of these, and which would you recommend for a newbie? I'm not really concerned with price, I just want a good product. I'm a firm believer you get what you pay for! Thank you in advance!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

LOVE my hovabator genesis 1588... fantastic hatches. It ran ALL year last year... using secondary bators for hatching. Chicken math!

No experience with brinsea... I also read the reviews and try to discern user error verses real critiques.

Good luck!

 

[PSJ]

LOVE my hovabator genesis 1588... fantastic hatches. It ran ALL year last year... using secondary bators for hatching. Chicken math!

No experience with brinsea... I also read the reviews and try to discern user error verses real critiques.

Good luck!

I was just reading about the genesis. Someone said that it’s hard to clean. Do you have that problem? What do you use to clean it after hatches?

 

[Criticalicious]

I am doing similar research and am leaning towards the Brinsea. The humidity control on the Hovabator is questionable, compared to the Brinsea. Plus once you throw in the egg turner, the Hovabator costs around $225. Found this discussion about the hygrometer on the Hovabator. But I would be hatching BCM eggs, and they are notoriously sensitive when it comes to humidity.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I was just reading about the genesis. Someone said that it’s hard to clean. Do you have that problem? What do you use to clean it after hatches?

I place paper towels under the eggs at lock down which catches all the debris. I like to use another container for water during the first 18 and only use the wells during lock down for better control over my humidity. I rinse the water wells with plain water using my finger to scrub any slime that may have developed.

When hatch is over, I throw away the paper towels and start again.

Honestly I had my incubators running for almost the whole year last year, running rolling hatches weekly with a second hatcher. I never disinfected anything and it was an awesome hatching season.

Without the paper towels (rough side up or rubber shelf liner, which got too pricey for me), I think cleaning would have been a nightmare for sure as things get much harder to clean once they have dried on which can happen before lock down is over. I'm kinda lazy. But cleaning has not been an issue for me at all.

Good luck and happy hatching!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

But I would be hatching BCM eggs, and they are notoriously sensitive when it comes to humidity.

Nope... hatched them for about 3 years... go about 35% for the first 18 days.

ETA: humidity will stay the same for as long as you keep the water well with water in it.

Having better control over my numbers is one reason why I don't use the built in wells.

But with practice and experience in YOUR location... you will figure out the performance of the bator and learn to work with it and manipulate it to fit your criteria.

 

[Trish1974]

I ended up buying the Genesis Hovabator. I set it up Wednesday to do a dry run (I've never hatched eggs before). So far I am about ready to pull my hair out trying to calibrated therms and hygros. Three thermometers, two hygrometers and the Hovabator are not jiving on either temp or humidity. I'm going to purchase a high dollar pre-calibrated combo unit in hopes that will match the Hovabator's readings. I am going to try to recalibrate my hygrometers in a few days when I'm not using my wood burning stove, as that tends to make the house pretty dry and may have affected my results.

 

[Mosey2003]

@EggSighted4Life what other container do you use? I'm thinking of cutting some boards to simulate wells in the bottom so that I can use a tube to water it, hate the stupid tray.

 

[pepe1]

I have a 1588 and love it, so far i have used it for 6 hatches with great results, it is a little hard to clean bur i put down shelf liners at lockdown and it helps a lot, i do a dry hatch adding very little water keeping the humidity between 25 and 40 and bumping it up to 65 the last 3 days this works best for me, hope this helps.

 

[Trish1974]

I have a 1588 and love it, so far i have used it for 6 hatches with great results, it is a little hard to clean bur i put down shelf liners at lockdown and it helps a lot, i do a dry hatch adding very little water keeping the humidity between 25 and 40 and bumping it up to 65 the last 3 days this works best for me, hope this helps.

So putting shelf liners over the water wells doesn't mess up the humidity?