Incubator question for a newbie!

[kay628]

Hi all! I am very new here, and I am new to hatching on my own! I am wondering what is the best, but cheapest incubator on the market? Would it be cheaper to convert an old fridge into a cabinet style incubator? I'm just looking at all my options...any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Pyxis]

!

What kind of egg capacity are you needing, and what's your budget? There are some really cheap Styrofoam incubators, but they're not very reliable. Building your own can always save you some money. If you want to go that route and would like to turn a fridge you have into a cabinet incubator, Incubator Warehouse sells something called an Incukit that you can just install in the fridge and be good to go.

 

[Mosey2003]

Search Facebook marketplace, there are usually incubators available cheaper.

Personally, I far prefer the wafer. It takes a little learning, and a couple good dial thermometers, but I trust it much more than digital.

The Hovabators are styrofoam, and they work well. The styrofoam keeps the heat in.

If you decide to convert something to a cabinet incubator, check out the kits at http://www.incubatorwarehouse.com - people often use computer fans, but those really aren't ideally what you want, you want circulating fans, not cooling fans.

 

[kay628]

My budget is definitely on the smaller side. I am looking at 45-50 (maybe more?) eggs per hatch? I have the old fridge, I've heard I will need to circulate the air flow around the eggs? I just really want an incubator and buying a cheap one and then buying an egg turner and then a fan...that all adds up! Trying to decide which would be the best way for me to go?

 

[mill-j]

As mentioned above a Styrofoam incubator is likely the cheapest type you can buy with a 4dz capacity. Just make sure it's digital. Those wafers are a huge pain. While it makes it much nicer, you don't need to install a fan or automatic turner for it to work. A lot of people hand turn eggs.

Let us know what you decide

 

[Compost King]

I like the Hovabator, I bought a still air stripped down one and found that I should have bought one with a fan and egg turner from the get go. 42 egg capacity. I want to build a large incubator one day but first I need to learn how to hatch efficiently with the Hovabator. Maybe I can dream big and build a huge walk in incubator and sell thousands of chicks a month. Likely I will just use my Hovabator until I find a new hobby.