Good Incubators?

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Hello!

I am jumping on this thread as it is the most current that I can find with incubator discussions. I have an LG with turner but no fan. I have had only disappointing hatches with it. I have friends that have had closer to 75% and I have read on here where people are getting good hatches, but I am not pleased. My main need for an incubator is to use in my classroom to help teach our life cycles and oviparous animals units. I need something that is easy to see inside, automatically turns eggs (I can't be at the school over the weekend turning eggs 3 times a day) and needs very little intervention once it is set. I am not there at the evenings or weekends so I can't adjust things if the temp/humidity fluctuates. In fact, I probably wouldn't even know. It would also be nice to not have to worry about the humidity either. As part of the learning, we weigh the eggs and trace the air sac, so I do pay close attention to that as it develops (I live in Central Texas and we get enough humidity on avg. for me to not really need water in my LG) I just really want to have good hatch rates so that I don't have to keep explaining to my 1st graders what happened to all the chicks they saw growing in the eggs. I have decided that because of my situation, the LG is just too needy/touchy for my use. I do want to be able to hatch a fair amount of eggs (20-24) at a time to account for any unfertilized ones or quitters that we may run into. Any suggestions for something that might fit those needs? Thanks in advance!!
 
By "October" I am guessing you mean Octogon? I really do like the Brinsea incubators (just from what I have read). I really like the design of the smaller ones since you can see so well into them, I just don't like the fact that there isn't a lot of space. I get my eggs from a town next door and she has a great flock with high fertility. She gives me around 18-24 eggs each time and doesn't charge me and then she lets me either keep the chicks if I want or she will take them back. So I know that it is not a problem with the eggs! She is a teacher's blessing! My only reluctance on getting a hovabator is that it is another styrofoam bator correct? If I were to install a fan in my LG would it then be comparable to the Hovabator? The only difference that I could see is that there is a digital face on the hova. Would the automatic turner for my LG fit in the Hova? Thanks for your response!!
 
hi! i posted this thread a while back. my grandmother gave me a brinsea octagon 20. she used to breed rare exotics like macaws and african greys so she had the one with the humidity guage. this incubator was over my budget 7 fold so the only reason I have it is because she gave it to me :). i went and got stock from a breeder last week though and he has both the hova and the LG. he started out with 2 LGs and then got a hova with a fan kit and turner, he says he loves it! they are not as finicky and the LG so even if you put a fan kit in your LG it still would'nt compare.
Good Luck!
 
ottbjumper06 said:
hi! i posted this thread a while back. my grandmother gave me a brinsea octagon 20. she used to breed rare exotics like macaws and african greys so she had the one with the humidity guage. this incubator was over my budget 7 fold so the only reason I have it is because she gave it to me :). i went and got stock from a breeder last week though and he has both the hova and the LG. he started out with 2 LGs and then got a hova with a fan kit and turner, he says he loves it! they are not as finicky and the LG so even if you put a fan kit in your LG it still would'nt compare.
Good Luck!
Click to expand...

I wish my grandma had one! lol Well I think the octagon is too pricey for me. My husband and my mom have already told me they would go in together to get one for me for my birthday because they both hate seeing me rip myself to shreds over bad hatches. I would say that my price range would be somewhere around $300. (Since it is for educational purposes and I wouldn't be making money off it to help pay for the cost of purchasing a super expensive one, I can't see spending too much more than that)
I have spent this summer so far practicing with this incubator and I get one thing right and have an issue with something else. For example, I recently moved and where I live now is more humid so I drowned my first set of chicks, and only had 2 hatch. Now I got the humidity right and on day 18 this time around the temp spiked to 108 killing all but a few of the chicks. Usually I have late hatches in this bator. LIke nothing til day 21-22 and right now I have a chick in there kickin' it and it is day 25!! Come out already!
barnie.gif


I have heard quite a bit of positive remarks about the Hova but I have also heard that if you're gonna spend the money, Brinsea and others are better. I wonder if I am only using it a couple times a year and storing it for long periods of time in between uses, would the Hova stand up to that? Is there a wafer in the Hova? Would that need replacing often?

Thanks for all your help!
 
the incubator I received was the most expensive octagon you can buy. if you go online and look at the line there is an octagon 20 for $250 that would suit your needs perfectly!
 
If you are going to buy from brinsea anyway ( great bators) get there spot check. Its a thermometer that is guaranteed to be calibrated. they you know for SURE what temp you are running at. I have found most thermometers go off over time and knowing for SURE what your temps are will make you soo much happier!
 

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