How hard is it really to incubate eggs?

[csaiz100]

I am sitting on the fence as to whether or not to buy an incubator. All the talk about temp, humidity, turning and all the stuff is pretty intimidating. So here is my question, how hard is it really for a first timer

 

[lazy gardener]

Not really hard. Anxiety provoking! Yeah! Bet you can't do it just once! Read all the info on hatching in the Learning center. Then you can decide if it's something you want to tackle. I'd not miss it for the world. To hold a warm egg in my hands, and peer into it with a flash light... watch that little chick dancing around in there. Absolutely priceless!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Not really hard. Anxiety provoking! Yeah! Bet you can't do it just once! Read all the info on hatching in the Learning center. Then you can decide if it's something you want to tackle. I'd not miss it for the world. To hold a warm egg in my hands, and peer into it with a flash light... watch that little chick dancing around in there. Absolutely priceless!

True...warning:it is addicting and when you see other people's chicks you want to put more eggs in the bator. Those 5 chickens you planned to have become 50 and then you're still not satisfied...lol

$80 LG still air? Not very easy
$380 Brinsea? Idiot proof

This year was my first time. I started with the LG, and had horrendous results, but other people do just fine with them. What are your short and long term goals, and how much time do you have to babysit the incubator? If you are wanting to hatch a few for fun, or just run a few batches, spend a little less on the styrofoam, but I recommend the Hovabator over the LG. If this is something you will do over and over, and don't have time to babysit the incubator the first time, then a Brinsea is incredibly simple. Either way you go, practice makes perfect. You will learn more with each hatch

Absolutely makes a difference what your bator is. I use an older model Little Giant and I am happy with it, but it's more work. More monitoring for temp fluncuations especially if you don't have secure spot that has steady temps and no drafts. I found the perfect spot for mine, so it holdds fairly well, but it can be an issue. My last hatch was 13/16 that went into lockdown.

Off to look at different incubators. Guess my best bet would be Tractor Supply? Can you fit Turkey Eggs in an incubator?

Tractor Supply (at least ours) doesn't really have a variety to look at. Even online I think they carry basically two models. LG and Farm innovators pro. Online is a good source for variety. You can fit turkey eggs, just teh bigger the eggs the less that can be placed.

My answer to your question is while first time hatchers often do have problems with successful hatches, it doesn't have to be that way. If you read (especially our hatching 101 page here on byc) and understand the why's (especially humidity) you can have a successful hatch from the beginning. Just don't go by the incubator's manuals for proper info on how to hatch...usually they are wrong even with temp. They are good for info about their product but not on how to for temp and humidity. Never rely on one unchecked thermometer or the thermometers built in to the bators even if they are new. And I'd recommend no matter what brand of bator you get you go for a forced air or get the fan kit to put into the still airs.

 

[dekel18042]

I think the bottom line is research your incubators and ask people who incubate the pros and cons of their particular brand of incubator. Then get the best one you can afford. A good incubator will make the job so much easier.
The other option if you want to raise your own chicks but don't want to incubate is to get a few hens of a breed that is known to go broody.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Looking on e-bay - very confusing, so what is the best incubator to get looking at a budget of give or take 150 Dollars?

Well, I have heard decent things about the Hoverbator. As SC said I would go with that before the newer lg models as the new LGs have been getting awful reviews, at least on here. This one has the whole kit and caboodle, it is a still air but it comes with the fan kit to put in it: http://incubatorwarehouse.com/hova-bator-deluxe-combo-kit.html?gclid=CNnWiqbQoMQCFS1o7AodeDQAFg

If you don't feel the need to have the forced air, you can get it w/out the fan kit:http://incubatorwarehouse.com/hova-bator-starter-combo-kit.html?gclid=CMOShf_QoMQCFUlp7Aod32cAKQ

This is the forced air that TSC has at a reasonable price, but I am not sure what the opinions of it are:http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/farm-innovators-pro-series-circulated-air-incubator

Plenty of people on here also use the Janoel brand incubators.

The Brinsea are the cadillacs of the bator they are nice and no fuss, but comes with a high pricetag.

 

[JJSS89]

When it comes to incubators, one pays money to be lazy (and more successful).

Recommend something in the $200 range to start with. I realize that in life, simply throwing funds at a project does not make it necessarily better but it seems that with incubators, it is true.

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Wow, jusr wow, thanks for all the super advice. Is there a tread on incubators? And how about buying a used one? is thread on building one?

Yes, yes, and yes....lol

THere are threads on just about everything imaginable. There are plenty of threads on specific incubators as well and a couple good DIY threads that show a multitude of different DIY that people have made. Just type what you are looking for in the search at the top and your bound to get a ton of related threads.

 

[JJSS89]

Along these lines, I would definitely look at the Brinsea Eco 20. It doesn't have the digital display, but it doesn't have the huge price tag, either. It costs just a little more than a styrobator with all the bells and whistles, and is a snap to clean

Yeah that is a good one, my recommendation for most folks is the Hovabator 1588 forced air w/ turner because I have always had great hatches with it.

Brinsea incubators are great though.

 

[dretd]

I am sitting on the fence as to whether or not to buy an incubator. All the talk about temp, humidity, turning and all the stuff is pretty intimidating. So here is my question, how hard is it really for a first timer

Hi csaiz! It can be easy or hard--depends on many, many factors, but its super fun!

I would recommend to stay away from shipped eggs until you get a handle on the incubation process. After so many disastrous hatches with shipped eggs, I have low expectations for any shipped eggs; I expect that I will not hatch anything and and feel I have a good hatch if 20% hatch.

First I made my own Coleman incubator with a light bulb, computer fan and water heater--I actually think it worked better than a styrobator I borrowed after I had poor hatches with shipped eggs with the home made. I decided to buy my own and got a Farm Innovators--and promptly sent it back upon opening it. Why? It had a Limited 30 day warranty. That means that Farm Innovators thinks that the incubator is good for one hatch cycle and that's it. It had a digital sensor/board in the lid of the 'bator as the thermostat and as you will find out at lockdown, you can get quite a lot of condensation on the lid when chicks hatch. No Bueno to put an exposed board in a humid environment. Plus I tried to call them and they never answered the phone and it looks like the unit was made in China. 'Nuf said.

I went ahead and upgraded to the cheap model of the Brinsea line--Eco 20 with no turner. It comes with a full 2 year warranty. When I got it in and calibrated, it turned out the reference bulb thermometer in the unit was off by 4 degrees! I called the number, left a message and got an immediate call back. They sent out a replacement thermometer (and a spare) lickity-split. Excellent customer service--based out of Florida. Easy to turn by hand cuz the whole unit gets rotated. Much easier than hand turning each egg. I got the unit on sale and it was $157 that day. The current price is I think a smidge under $200. If you are not in a rush and keep your eyes peeled, you can sometimes get screaming deals. I went ahead and bought an Eco Mini this year on Black Friday--normally its around $100 and I got it shipped for about $55 NIB with full warranty. So deals can be had, you just have to be patient!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I agree that a hen will sweat and keep eggs moist, but many folks have great success with dry incubation. I guess in a literal sense, its not actually "dry"... it just means not adding any extra water than what is already in the air. Trial and error will tell you what works in your neck of the woods.

Exactly. Dry doesn't actually mean completely dry. You still want humidity, just less of it and many times you can run "dry" and have a decent amount of humidity. My Oct-Nov incubation I ran comepletely dry and my bator held, on average, 40% humidity. This hatch I can not run completely dry because of the winter season and using wood pellet heat our ambient humidity is much lower and my hygrometer only shows 16% w/o water. So I have to add water to keep it around the 30% mark.