Incubator for Shipped Eggs

[SilkieLoverFarm]

So I'm looking for another incubator that can do a couple dozen or more at one time. My budget is around $150. And these will all be shipped eggs. So I can pretty much bank on detached air cells.

So I'm not sure what to buy. Brinsea, I would like but just can't go there $$$$$ at this time.

I know shipped eggs with detached air cells have a better chance if standing upright vs laid down, so I've read. And I need stable temps/humidity that can handle fluxuations in both outside of the bator.

I like what I'm reading/seeing on the incuview and the nurture 360. Though the nurture 360 is only 22 eggs. And both are lay down bators.

I'm not sure if there's the possibility of putting stand up trays or egg cartons in either one. Anyone do this successfully?

I also looked at the ones with the long yellow egg tray inserts that stand the eggs up. Although not sure if it's stable enough or if silkie eggs do well in them. Haven't seen the greatest of reviews on them but most concerns I think can be fixed with minor alterations to the inside flooring. Anyone have luck with these, with shipped eggs? Are they stable in temps/humidity?

i currently have a small 12 eggs incubator that I have to babysit a lot. So stability is important to me but Im literally intimidated by hovabators and the likes, as I'm new to incubating...

Comments, feedback, suggestions are all welcome. Thank you in advance.

 

[SilkieLoverFarm]

So I'm adding farm innovator 4250 to this list of possibilities.

@BrinseaUS cut me a deal. I'll blog about you and be your bf. And you'll potentially be saving little baby silkie lives. Lol .. making the world a better place, by that alone.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I have a couple of the Brinsea Octagons and they're great. I also have several Hova-Bators (2 of the 1588, and a 2370 that I use as a hatcher)...no need to be intimidated. And you can clean and disinfect them well. If you go the Hova-Bator route, I strongly recommend an independent thermometer, in particular, and a hygrometer. I've found these units to be dependable and capacity is about 50 chicken eggs, so plenty of room. I use a Little Giant autoturner with the 1588 and it works like a charm - have hatched shipped eggs successfully in them, too. Best of luck!

 

[maeg]

I second the Incuview, I've had great hatches with it and the price is right. I do place it somewhere without drafts, and I do keep an eye on it, but I've been able to leave the house for long work days, no problem. I too have also put my shipped eggs fat side up in the incubator for the first couple of days before laying them down in the turner trays, with good results. Good luck hatching!

 

[BrinseaUS]

@BrinseaUS no bueno for this poor lady. Free incubators!! ...for everyone on this thread? Lol.. Seriously though, I'll prob own one of yours eventually too, like when I'm a thousandaire..

I would love to give everyone free incubators! But I don't think my boss would be very happy Amazon usually has good deals on our incubators, although you've probably already checked there.

 

[Rammy]

I have a couple of the Brinsea Octagons and they're great. I also have several Hova-Bators (2 of the 1588, and a 2370 that I use as a hatcher)...no need to be intimidated. And you can clean and disinfect them well. If you go the Hova-Bator route, I strongly recommend an independent thermometer, in particular, and a hygrometer. I've found these units to be dependable and capacity is about 50 chicken eggs, so plenty of room. I use a Little Giant autoturner with the 1588 and it works like a charm - have hatched shipped eggs successfully in them, too. Best of luck!

I have a 1588 also and use the LG egg turner in mine and love it. Dependable, easy to clean, and lots of headroom for the chicks. I like the fan and the large window too.

 

[LynnaePB]

I've got a nurture right 360 and a brinsea octagon eco 20. I've had one batch of 18 shipped silkie eggs I started out in the 360. I cut down egg cartons and let them sit fat end up without turning until the third day when I removed the cartons, put the turner back in, and laid them on their sides (they had decent air cells to begin with). I noticed the temperatures were a little uneven when I had the cartons in the incubator, I think they blocked some of the airflow. I still got a really good hatch for shipped eggs, a little over 65% (12 hatched out of 18, 16 made it to day 19).

I like using the brinsea until the air cells have stabilized because it does hold the eggs upright. I find the temperature fluctuates more in my brinsea than the nurture right 360 if the room temperature fluctuates (I definitely prefer the 360 for any non shipped eggs). I've also had 2 fans go out in the brinsea (not good when you are in the middle of incubating). Both incubators have given me very good hatch rates with eggs from my own flock. shipped eggs are tough, I've had excellent hatch rates and very low hatch rates with shipped eggs using both of these incubators (I've been very lucky to have not ever had less than 2 chicks hatching from shipped eggs though).

Another good thing about the nurture right and shipped eggs is that you can position the eggs with the air cell facing the window during lockdown/last 3 days and can candle through the window if you have a bright candler/flashlight. I find my shipped eggs often have a harder time hatching. Being able to see how they progress and when they internally pip really helps with knowing when intervention may be beneficial (this is only useful if you are comfortable being hands on though).

Good luck, I hope you find a good incubator that fits your needs well!

 

[CindyinSD]

I have the incuview and am happy with it. Mine does require some babysitting, but I feel that is my fault. I have it in the utility room and there’s a lot of coming and going to the garage, so the room temp is unstable. It’s a convenient spot for me, though. A little fluctuation is not a huge deal. Mama hen isn’t perfectly uniform either. You just want to avoid over-heating or cooling them for a long enough time to change the internal temp of the egg. I don’t know how long that would be, but my hatches have gone well so far. I have some of my own in there now. Ten days to go... So far, so good.

I was concerned about the lay-down egg position too, but in two hatches of shipped eggs, every egg (but one) that began to develop, hatched a healthy chick or duckling. The one that didn’t, failed early. None of the air cells were stable. What I did was set them (at temp) broad side up in a paper egg carton for the first couple of days. You can fit two of these in the incubator with the turner removed. After that I put in the turner and placed the eggs inside the rails.

Whether that helped I can’t say, but I don‘t think the non-developers were the incubator’s fault. IMO they got knocked around too much in shipping or weren’t fertile to begin with.

I don’t know whether you could rig this incubator to accept a conventional turner. People do all sorts of amazing things, but I’m not handy with machines. I think you’d probably be into it for more money than you wanted to spend though, however inventive a person you might be.

 

[Jedstar]

So I'm looking for another incubator that can do a couple dozen or more at one time. My budget is around $150. And these will all be shipped eggs. So I can pretty much bank on detached air cells.

So I'm not sure what to buy. Brinsea, I would like but just can't go there $$$$$ at this time.

I know shipped eggs with detached air cells have a better chance if standing upright vs laid down, so I've read. And I need stable temps/humidity that can handle fluxuations in both outside of the bator.

I like what I'm reading/seeing on the incuview and the nurture 360. Though the nurture 360 is only 22 eggs. And both are lay down bators.

I'm not sure if there's the possibility of putting stand up trays or egg cartons in either one. Anyone do this successfully?

I also looked at the ones with the long yellow egg tray inserts that stand the eggs up. Although not sure if it's stable enough or if silkie eggs do well in them. Haven't seen the greatest of reviews on them but most concerns I think can be fixed with minor alterations to the inside flooring. Anyone have luck with these, with shipped eggs? Are they stable in temps/humidity?

i currently have a small 12 eggs incubator that I have to babysit a lot. So stability is important to me but Im literally intimidated by hovabators and the likes, as I'm new to incubating...

Comments, feedback, suggestions are all welcome. Thank you in advance.

I bought a 48 egg janoel incubator. I was going to get a 24 egg janoel. Can't remember how much that one was though. They are on poultraustralia.com

 

[SilkieLoverFarm]

I have a couple of the Brinsea Octagons and they're great. I also have several Hova-Bators (2 of the 1588, and a 2370 that I use as a hatcher)...no need to be intimidated. And you can clean and disinfect them well. If you go the Hova-Bator route, I strongly recommend an independent thermometer, in particular, and a hygrometer. I've found these units to be dependable and capacity is about 50 chicken eggs, so plenty of room. I use a Little Giant autoturner with the 1588 and it works like a charm - have hatched shipped eggs successfully in them, too. Best of luck!

Thank you so much. You did calm my nerves a little bit about the hovabator. They seem like they would be very stable to me. Good to hear from a couple on this thread that use them and get good results. The FI 4250, looks like one to me. Similar.

I am the thermometer humidity gadget Queen.. seriously though, I have four different thermometers in my current incubator now. Lol. It is SO Overkill. But that's me as a first-time shipped egg incubator-er person. Lol. I think I need a little bit of confidence in this.. haha. Maybe that will come when I am a matured incubator-er. Haha.