Buying incubator today

[Bettacreek]

Eh, well, my first hatch in it is due at midnight, so I'm not really sure. There's a temperature swing of about 2F, which isn't great, but it beats the spikes I had with a dimmer. I think people who have major problems with it are the people who never stop messing with it, but I could, of course, be wrong. Just remember that this is a forced air LG that I purchased second-hand. The still airs aren't as good.

The 1588, on the other hand, is a dream. I'm in LOVE with these bators. I don't have to do ANYTHING with it. I tossed everything together, switched one of the quail racks, then popped it in, plugged it in, and shortly after had eggs in it. I've had a .3F swing in this baby.

 

[LilDucky85]

I'm so torn on what to do. I cant imagine it working, and actually hatching an egg. There is way too much to know, and way too many things that can go wrong. I think right now I'm having an Incubator Overload! I want to just DO it, and not sit here, and think about what I should do! I'm seriously thinking about just buying babies instead of going through the trouble of hatching them.

However, I just remembered how happy I was seeing the tiny heartbeat through the egg shell with my first duck egg I attempted to hatch. Just thinking of that makes it worth all the turning, all the misting, all the worry, and all the waiting! When I saw it I swear my own heart almost stopped! It was like seeing my sons heartbeat on the ultrasound for the first time all over again....omg I sound crazy. It was just so beautiful because I kept this little bugger alive! Ok, ok... my giving up on the hatching idea is over. I just wish my decision on which bator to use was that simple! I guess I'm just skeptical about actually being able to hatch an egg so I don't want to waste money on something that will never happen! I didn't even have this much trouble deciding on things when I was pregnant with my son! Having babies is so much easier than hatching eggs!!

 

[Bettacreek]

If you have the funds for it, get a 1588 with an autoturner from Cutlersupply.com
You won't regret it. I think I paid $172 and some change to have it shipped to my door. I ordered it on Tuesday and it was here on Thursday and had eggs in it in the wee hours of Friday morning. It's super reliable. I honestly might check it once a day, because I trust that sucker so much.
I went through the same thing you did. I first attempted a DIY bator, then bought the LG second-hand, and I was still fretting about the eggs. I kept asking and nagging about the different incubators and finally went in and bought the 1588 w/1610 (I plan on doing quail and chicken eggs all the time), and now, I don't worry at all. My only concern now is that I'm using the LG as a hatcher, and I know I'll be hovering over it when it's running (I have been now, with the 25 button eggs in it).

You can always use the bator to hatch chicks to sell locally or at an auction to make up what extra you spend on it...

Believe me, I know what you're going through. I have one pair of button quail and another possible pair, a few chicks that I wasn't planning on keeping, and two chicken chicks. I don't have a lot of space, and I won't have a lot of eggs to hatch, so I came up with the hatch/sell idea so that I can still hatch out eggs and have fun, but not worry about housing them. That justifies having a nicer incubator, even though I might only use it for 4-5 button eggs or so per week for snake feeding purposes.

 

[TriciaHowe]

I like my 1588 so much that I stopped using my Octagon 20 because I had better hatches from it. I can leave for a whole weekend and know that it will be at exactly the same temp as when I left it. I am even selling my Octagon so I can get another 1588 to use as a hatcher.

 

[LilDucky85]

Snake feeding?? Ohhh no!

TriciaHowe, how much are you selling it for?

 

[Bettacreek]

Eh, sorry, I usually try to keep that a "secret" so as to not offend anyone.

At 6:30am, I'm not always thinking thoroughly, lol.

 

[LilDucky85]

No no, you gotta do what you gotta do. I just couldnt do it! Ive seen a friends snake eat a frozen adult one before. It was actually cool to watch. I just couldnt watch the alive ones though!

 

[Bettacreek]

Actually, that's part of the reason that I'm switching to quail. I can't get them switched to humanely prekilled prey, and if you feed rodents, you HAVE to watch to make sure the rodents don't injure the snakes. Quail can't injure a snake like a rodent can, so I wouldn't have to actually watch them. I don't even like watching them eat humanely prekilled prey, and hubby won't watch live feedings for me either, he's a softie too.