Browers Top Hatch (TH120) Incubator

[stano40]

Has anyone used a Browers Top Hatch (TH120) incubator for duck and/or goose eggs? If you have I would like to know what you think about this type of incubator.

Thanks,

bob/Maine

 

[seminolewind]

It does a great job, and turns the eggs very well. Cons: The flickering light drove me nuts. I had real good results wrapping the thing in bubble wrap, and laying a piece lightly over the top. I don't know if they changed this, but I worried about the heat bulb in the middle not having enough protection from the chicks getting hurt.

 

[coloradochick]

Hi Bob, I used one for Pekin eggs and chicken eggs. They hatched but not because of the ease of the Brower. It was pretty tough to hold the correct temp if it ever did

Many temp spikes and lots of fully formed chicks who died in the egg later, I did get 7 Pekin ducklings and 3 chicks out of it but never used it again. It uses the light bulb to heat the inside with a fan. And from a knucklehead that kept it in the bedroom, the light is not conducive to a good nights sleep

Some people love them but I had horrible luck with it. If you go to search and look up Tophatch or Brower you should be able to find the posts on it. Good Luck.


C

 

[stano40]

Hi Sem & C,

Thanks for that input. I did originally check out the Brower and found quackers site, but it kinda left me disappointed. I liked the design so I thought I'd check it further from other people who have or is using this incubator.

I want to be able to use an incubator for duck and goose eggs. I've never incubated poultry eggs before and the goose eggs are supposed to be sprayed or dipped with water daily until close to hatching. From what I've read the brower couldn't hold temp once opened to spray the eggs. I've also read that goose eggs should be incubated on their sides. I can't afford the big GQF sportsmann incubator so I thought the brower would be useful.

I guess duck eggs would be different in the hatching methods.

Do duck eggs have to be incubated on their sides?

bob

 

[duckluck]

I have heard that the Humidaires are some of the best incubators for hatching waterfowl, so I am putting this to the test with my call ducks. I am a complete newbie to hatching this winter, having only gotten calls last year, and I bought a pair of Humidaires, a model 50 drum incubator and a model 21H hatcher. We'll see how it goes. If you would like to inquire more about Humidaires, this is the guy to talk to for machines, parts and service: http://sunnycreekfarms.zxq.net

I have been told that the goose eggs, and possibly other waterfowl, have to go on their sides and be hand-turned due to needing a more complete or 180 degree turn versus the rocking that most autoturners have. That said, I do have an egg in the hatcher now that was strictly turned by the autoturner on my model 50, but it is set to turn every hour. Someone else theorized that the degree of turn is not so important, just that the method prevents them from sticking to the shell. I can only surmise that this is true of this model 50 because of how frequently it actuates. All six embryos were actively moving at lockdown. I can tell you I had nothing hatch or even pip from the last batch of 4 from the GQF 1202 I have here, but it turns maybe every two to three hours.

It's a really tough call to say what will and will not work. I am just trying to gather as many ideas and good tools as I can and seeing what works for our situation here. There are as many methods out there as there are breeders...I figure I am already ahead of the game because I have bought the best ducks, machines and tools I can afford, so now I just have to figure out what will work for our bloodline, house, schedule, feeding regimen and climate. Would really like to have some ducklings hatch this year but I know failure is imminent because calls are notoriously hard to hatch. Our plan is to do what we can with hatching and then prep the ducks as much as we can and enjoy the rest of the year showing them.

Luck to ya!

 

[duckluck]

Oh, one other thing I have learned from my long experience with horses, and I think it applies here for breeding/raising waterfowl as well: never dismiss out of hand a tool or tip as being too outrageous. Don't break the bank or kill yourself trying, but always think twice even if it seems like something is very silly. You just never know what will work!

 

[stano40]

Thanks for the info Duckluck and the web site. That was very interesting to see. I'm learning more and more about the brower incubator, now I'm not sure if I want one. From most of the reading I'm also doing on goose egg incubation most people prefer hand turning the eggs or letting the goose hatch her egg's.

I was looking for a multi use on the incubator because I have chickens, ducks and geese. I wanted to start with the goose and duck eggs until I find a black Australorp cockerel for my hens and then I'd like to try and hatch their eggs.

I already have a large incubator that was built for reptile incubation and I was planning on using that one as a hatcher. It has a Helix 2000 thermostat on it and I would try and fit it with a humidity thermostat for better control. I was going to try and fit it with a turner but decided not to.

So, perhaps for my use I can use a hovabator genesis for duck & chicken egg incubation and try to hand turn goose eggs.

bob

 

[coloradochick]

Bob I actually did the Pekin eggs on their sides then they "hatched" in the egg carton and they did wonderful. I was going on a song and a prayer with my first hatching of anything and they Browers up and downs. But it was too stressful worrying about the temps and that stupid light going off and on and it was also pretty noisy.