Harris Farms Nurture Right 360 Incubator is AMAZING!

[DavidReaves]

I saw all the pictures early in this thread showed an incubator that had a mechanism that took up most of the top of the dome. I just bought one from Tractor Supply but it has a much smaller mechanism on top of the dome (more clear space). Does anyone have experience with this model? It also has a fan with a radial slot cover that would be VERY hard for chick to access.

I made it through about 15 pages of the thread, with more reading to go. I wanted to ask the question though, since humidity and temperature discussion might be different for the newer(?) model.

 

[SheaLoner]

I saw all the pictures early in this thread showed an incubator that had a mechanism that took up most of the top of the dome. I just bought one from Tractor Supply but it has a much smaller mechanism on top of the dome (more clear space). Does anyone have experience with this model? It also has a fan with a radial slot cover that would be VERY hard for chick to access.

I made it through about 15 pages of the thread, with more reading to go. I wanted to ask the question though, since humidity and temperature discussion might be different for the newer(?) model.

View attachment 3049094

This is the newest version. There were a few design flaws with th originals.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I saw all the pictures early in this thread showed an incubator that had a mechanism that took up most of the top of the dome. I just bought one from Tractor Supply but it has a much smaller mechanism on top of the dome (more clear space). Does anyone have experience with this model? It also has a fan with a radial slot cover that would be VERY hard for chick to access.

I made it through about 15 pages of the thread, with more reading to go. I wanted to ask the question though, since humidity and temperature discussion might be different for the newer(?) model.

View attachment 3049094

As mentioned, this "dome top" NU01 I think is the model number? Is the newer body style. Many people in this thread are using them I just haven't gotten one yet.

 

[Sally PB]

My neighbor said she's still working on her husband about getting more chicks. They (really) don't need more birds, and I felt guilty for even suggesting it. The thought of hatching my own chicken eggs kind of swayed my thinking, and if she was going to BUY some chicks, well, I could hatch some for her, right...?

I'm still thinking of getting the incubator to have on hand. There definitely will be chicks for me next spring.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

My neighbor said she's still working on her husband about getting more chicks. They (really) don't need more birds, and I felt guilty for even suggesting it. The thought of hatching my own chicken eggs kind of swayed my thinking, and if she was going to BUY some chicks, well, I could hatch some for her, right...?

I'm still thinking of getting the incubator to have on hand. There definitely will be chicks for me next spring.

If you're in any local chicken groups on facebook that's often where I personally find people looking for chicks! Just a thought!

 

[Sally PB]

If you're in any local chicken groups on facebook

I'm not on fb at all. BYC is the only social media I do. I call it BeakBook.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

I'm not on fb at all. BYC is the only social media I do.

Same here!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I'm not on fb at all. BYC is the only social media I do. I call it BeakBook.

BeakBook!!! That's the best!!
I don't blame you for not being on Facebook, I don't post much on there but I've found it much easier to get in contact with locals.

 

[JackVinehopper]

View attachment 1688630
I know with Spring right around the corner, and chick fever setting in there are a lot of people out there looking to purchase their first incubator, or maybe you're still looking for that incubator with a better hatch rate that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, so I wanted to share my experience!

I did a lot of research before purchasing an incubator and there are good and bad reviews for even the most expensive incubators out there so taking my budget into account and what I wanted from my incubator I am SO happy with the results I got from my new Harris Farms Nurture Right 360! If you do your own research on the incubator most of the bad reviews you will find are on a couple of design flaws in the older models where the holes covering the fan were too large and it needed a cover on the digital readout to prevent it from shorting out from the high humidity at hatch time. In the newer models, these issues have been resolved but if you get an older incubator you can email the company and they will send you the appropriate parts to fix it.

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So back to the PROS of this incubator, at least for me!
- It comes with an automatic turner! I found that the most reasonable incubators often require manual egg turning and if you purchase the accompanying auto turner you find yourself around the same price as this incubator or more.
- It also has an egg candler built-in to the top of the incubator. It worked well for the sake of testing it but I will admit that I didn't use it much because I prefer my little high lumen flashlight.
- The visibility all the way around the incubator was a HUGE selling point for me! I could say it was for my daughter to be able to learn from the experience but if I'm being really honest, I most definitely spent the most hours sitting in front of the incubator in awe as the chicks hatched. lol
- The temperature and humidity stayed stable throughout the entire incubation process as long as you add distilled water daily.
- You add water from outside of the incubator so you don't disturb the temp and humidity.
- The company calibrated the thermometer and hygrometer well and I didn't have to go through the headache of trying to adjust it myself.
- This is thanks to the visibility as well but I was able to clearly see that all of the chicks hatched with zero issues. The eggs zipped cleanly and chicks were healthy! Yes, some of this is from genetics but it makes a big difference when the temp and humidity stay stable for the chicks ease of hatching.
- Because I was incubating different breeds my smaller eggs hatched earlier and I didn't want to leave the chicks in too long. Since the larger eggs hadn't pipped yet I took the risk of quickly opening the incubator and removing the hatched chicks. While I don't recommend doing that, what I was pleasantly surprised to find is that the humidity returned to normal in seconds and the rest of the chicks hatched without issue.

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CONS
- The top is a bit cumbersome to open and close but once you get used to it it's not so bad. I have also seen where someone used the adhesive plastic hooks and attached them to the sides upside down so that it was easier to hook their fingers under and open.
- The incubator holds 22 eggs but I feel like it would be very cramped in there if all of the eggs are viable at the time of hatch. I had quite a few infertile eggs because they were the first eggs of the season (8 infertile eggs to be exact) and 2 were quitters early in embryo development (it's impossible for me to know if the 2 quitters were due to the incubator or something else but I feel with my experience that it's less likely to be related to the incubator). All but one of the developed chicks hatched successfully and I candled right before lockdown and didn't feel good about that egg prior to closing the lid. It was also a poopy egg that I was hatching for a friend, I typically only use clean eggs as the bacteria can enter the porous shell and may have been responsible for the late embryo death. So my first run with the incubator gave me approximately 80% hatch rate (not including the infertile eggs). I anticipate having an even better hatch when I'm pickier about the eggs I set to begin with. - I'll update this later.

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***I promise all of these pictures were taken through the plastic. I did not open the incubator to take pictures. lol

For anyone that reads this far through the thread I would assume you're actually interested in the incubator. So the best tip I have is that I used a condiment bottle to add the water and I left the vent open all the way through the entire incubation because I felt the ventilation was important and it didn't effect my ability to keep the humidity where I wanted it.
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So my experience was great! I'd love to hear about your experiences with the Nurture Right 360!
I'll be participating in the Easter Hatch-A-Long with the same incubator so I will update my opinion if it changes.

Thanks for the great review. I just bought my NR 360 and my first batch just started pipping this morning. The temperature has been a little hard to keep consistent but the humidity has been very stable. I tested the NR360 display temp with a wireless temp/hygrometer from EZ Read which showed the incubator at 98 instead of 99.5 on the readout. I also noticed that each +/-5 degree increment on the display is more significant than that and more like 1 to 1.5 degree change so be careful. At lock down I had 11 eggs after removing duds and have 4 so far pipping. I can't blame the incubator on the duds because I have one rooster and 18 hens. One happy boy! So he may not get to all of the hens in time. I will try the dry incubation method next.

 

[JackVinehopper]

Another question. The NR360 instruction say the motor stops 3 days before hatch which would be day 15 and to fill both reservoirs A & B and. Isn't that a little early?