do you prefer homemade or store bought bators and why?

[chirpchirp]

i want to either make or buy a bator, but dont know which would be better. any experience and stories/advice would be appreciated. which do you like and why?1 thanks

 

[77horses]

well we have never had experience with store-bought but are finishing up our homemade styro-bator.

Homemade is usually cheaper and some work even better than some store-bought. Depends on what you want to do.

Broody hens can be even better!

 

[walkswithdog]

I had an LG, it taught me what I didn't like about the store bought styro bators.

I didn't have money to buy a better hovabator but the hovabator is still the same size and element as an LG and those were the things I didn't like.

So I built a homemade on, liked it some better, began to really understand what made a bator work or not and comfortable for me or not.

Built a second one out of a min-fridge, and now a third as a hatcher. In the meantime I'm saving for the cabinet bator that I really want, a Dickey.

A lot of people just buy one of the OTC storeboughts and are completely happy. I didn't like the feel of them, got burnt on the low element, didn't like the cramped space.

The mini-fridge has a ton of hand space, no elements to burn me, holds temps really well and hatches predictably. And I learned how a bator works and why, a little wiring and a bit of pride making something that works.

Both work, what suits you is a matter of exposure, learning what you do like and can tolerate, or enjoy.

 

[paddock36]

I was going to ask that same question. I just bought almost all stuff to make one, except the hydrometer I forgot that. Now I'm trying to figure out where it goes when I get it.

 

[RevaVirginia]

Here's a link to a bator post here I consider to be the most memorable. Read over 50 pages on the thread. not too bad on sidetrack posts too.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8510&p=52

this'd be Miss Prissys' post

 

[detali]

This is my first hatch. I had bought a Hovabator, their cheepest model, the school demonstration model. I am afraid my hatch may not work outl Sunday when I came home from church, that was day 8 on the hatch schedule, the temperature had spiked to 104. I may have killed my developing chicks. It seems that with this model bator you have to keep your room airconditioned or heated to a steady temperature for the bator to keep a steady temperature. That's rediculous! The thermostat should do the work of keeping a steady temperature in the unit.

 

[sparkles2307]

I just want ANY bator, period! *sighs* July 15th cant some soon enough! I told DH all I want for my b-day is to see Harry Potter and get an incubator! Now if only I had eggs that day to put in right away haha!

 

[Lextextrapper]

I have a Sportsman Model 1502 that I use for incubating and I love it. It always stays on 99.5 degrees and I never have any trouble with it. I also have a cabinet style incubator that I built out of 3/4" treated plywood and I use it for hatching. The combination of the two work great for me. If I had to choose only one and money wasn't a concern I would go with the Sportsman. If I want a good incubator and I want to save as much money as possible I'd go the home made route.

 

[FlyBnJ]

I bought a Hova Bator. I am on my first hatch. Of the 3 fertile eggs I placed in it 3 weeks ago, I now have 2 chicks and one pipped egg rolling around in there! I like it!

 

[Chick-a-roo Girl]

Some styro units are ok, others don't hold temp as well at all. Overall, they are really cheap, but you can hatch chicks in them. I don't see how you would get away with handturning though because it takes so long for the temp to stablize after you open them up. You must have a turner and you must keep ambient air temp relatively the same.

Homeade incubators are terrific if they work. I have a cabinet style and it hold exactly 100 no matter what the air temp outside. But, when the thermostat goes out, your chicks are fried. There are directions for building incubators with wafer style thermostats, but I would rather have one with an electric thermostat with wafer backup. Reason being, I have replaced 3 wafer thermostats this year, spend 2 days everytime getting the temp stabilized, and then they go out at some point, just in time to kill the hatch. Make sure you get an incubator with either 2 backup wafer thermostats, or with electric and wafer backup. This advice, comes from someone who fries more chicks than she hatches.

Jeanne