Illinois...

[NotAFarm]

There are a lot of threads here on BYC about people using the LG and having success with it. They have experience with it and have suggested solutions to some to the problems users have had with it. I got one and have been trying some of the suggestions offered to tweak my ability to adjust things before I start putting eggs in it. I will be using mine as a hatcher and will incubate in my Farm Master cabinet.

 

[kfacres]

Are these any good? Do they actually work well with little "tweaking"?


I am actually thinking of getting something..... and that price is kinda enticing.

I have two, and they are about like having nothing. My hatch rates are about 50%.

Keep in mind, you'll need to buy a turner (about same price as the incubator), and I'm seriously thinking I need to buy a fan kit for mine (again, about the same price as the incubator).

Triple the price, and I'm thinking one could buy a different style of incubator, and have a much better success rate...

I think if I had a fan, or something to circulate air-- they would work really well. My biggest complaint, is they aren't sturdy enough to have good constant temps. It seems through the spring and fall when we have the windows open in the house, and the temp moves around quite a bit-- our hatches really suffer. And I mean, closed up, locked tight the room with the 'bator in it-- but the rest of the house open to fluctuate.

I'm not very pleased with mine-- which is why I'm investing more and more into silkies... I haven't been able to compare cost of feeding them per year to cost of electric used with a 'bator. Biggest thing keeping me going all out silkie-- is availabliilty of broody- those little buggers won't hatch all year, and when one goes- they all go!

 

[Gargoyle]

I have one of these, new, never used, and I don't need it. I'm not sure it's worth using. Probably give a low hatch rate unless you really baby sit it.




http://www.flemingoutdoors.com/chick-bator-egg-incubator.html

 

[adrehmel]

4stakes, THANK YOU! Please let us know. We are in Stillman Valley. Our eggs are arriving Tuesday and so we're getting down to the wire of figuring this out!!!!

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote: Check this page that Renee (ChooksChick) made......... https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/incubation-cheat-sheet

 

[adrehmel]

NotAFarm, THANK YOU!!!! The Dixon store isn't too far away from us...maybe 45 minutes so I think we may go that route if we can't find one to borrow by Sunday. That is a really good price from what I've seen out there.

 

[kfacres]

I have one of these, new, never used, and I don't need it. I'm not sure it's worth using. Probably give a low hatch rate unless you really baby sit it.




http://www.flemingoutdoors.com/chick-bator-egg-incubator.html

You could be on to something with constant checking...

But I have found with my styro deals- that once they are set- just leave them alone, I get better hatches.. With being still air- the temp swings are natural... Thus the huge disadvantage of still air.

 

[sheila3935]

If you have an old computer setting around you can use the fan from it in the still air incubator. I had a hovabator that had a computer fan hooked up in it and it worked fine. You really do need an egg turner unless you want to turn the eggs manually at least twice a day. I have an LG and for the most part have had great hatches with it. First time I used it and that was the first time I had ever hatched eggs I hatched 23 out of 24 eggs. One didnt develope at all. Just keep it away from a window or door where there could be drafts and it will do fine. Once I even hatched in a unheated garage with it in the winter and still had good hatch. Dont fiddle with the temps too much because you will get too many temp swings with it. Remember when a broody sits on eggs the temps are not the same and she leaves the nest to eat so there are times when the temp is not constant, just beacuse you have a little bit of a drop and then it comes back up does not mean they will not hatch.

 

[Life is Good!]

Hi, just wanted to introduce myself and ask for some IL advice.

However... we are thinking about moving. DH is about and hour and a half from work (though he does telecommute some days, which makes that bearable) and the high school here is not the best. We're looking along Rt 71 or I 88. Yorkville, Sandwich, Sugar Grove. And I'm kind of dismayed to read the rules. You need a full acre in Kane or Kendall counties? And they need to be X feet from the neighbor's house? If I would have to get a full acre, that really narrows down the field. And I don't really want/need that much land. Is that the rule? Does that apply to all communities or are some more lenient?

Each community/suburb has it's own laws on chicken ownership.

May I suggest looking at Warrenville? Warrenville allows up to 4 hens on 1/4 acre of property. Roosters are not allowed, but I hear them when I'm in the community.
Warrenville is just north of Naperville, just north of I-88 with 3 on/off ramps (Winfield Rd., Rt. 59, Eola Rd.) so it's very commutable. Prices are less than Wheaton or Naperville. School district is CUSD 200, a highly rated school system with Wheaton/Warrenville High School on Butterfield Rd and Herrick Rd. Taxes are DuPage Cnty, so high, although property is somehow rated lower than Wheaton - even though we share the same ammenities? Go figure.

Something to look into. No, I'm not a realtor, just a chicken-lover who can help! And yes, there's a bunch of nice properties around now for sale....!

 

[Soben]

Warrenville sounds like something to look at. The 'burbs are a big amorphous blob to me, so it's hard to know the differences between them all.

Proximity to 88 and good schools are tops of the list. Waaaayy down on the bottom is chicken-friendliness. But I would really like to bring them!!

I'll add some Warrenville properties to the list. Thanks!