Incubator Recommendations?

[arent87]

Hi all - I did a quick scan through the forum and didn't see this specific question addressed - if it has been, can you please provide the link?

My hens are coming up on 4 years old, and our guinea flock is slowly dwindling (they refuse to roost in a safe coop at night, and we have a fox den somewhere on the property). So with that being said, we're planning on hatching probably 4 or 5 more chickens, and maybe a dozen guineas next year.
I'd like to get a fully automatic incubator that will hold around a dozen or so eggs.

Any recommendations? I'm considering either a Mini Brinsea, which is supposed to hold 10 chicken eggs, or an RCOM 20 Pro Digital Incubator. How do you feel about these? Are there better options available? Maybe a HovaBator? I'm not overly worried about cost, as long as I get one that's worth the money.

Any help or recommendations you might provide will be greatly appreciated! thanks!

 

[AlleysChicks]

Always shoot for something that holds more than you’re planning. If you’re wanting a few pullets to add then I’d set at least 2x the eggs. You’re bound to get several cockerels from hatching.
I like hovabator myself but homemade incubators are great too if you have the time to build.

 

[Altfrizzle]

Incuview

 

[song of joy]

I have two of the Brinsea Mini Advance incubators. They work very well. While they will hold up to 10 eggs without the turner, this defeats the purpose of having a full automated unit, as you'll need to turn the eggs manually at least 3 times per day. When using the turner, this unit holds 7 eggs and is fully automated. (BTW - Why do I have two Mini Advance units? Because one didn't hold enough eggs!)

They've recently come out with the Maxi II Advance, which is like the Mini Advance but holds 14 eggs. This is probably a much better option. As @AlleysChicks noted, you'll want to set about twice as many eggs as the number of pullets you'd like to have. By the time infertile eggs or early-quitters are removed, a 14-egg incubator would give you about 6 pullets assuming a 50:50 sex ratio.

 

[junebuggena]

Incuview. No need to purchase additional turning trays. Has all the bells and whistles of the expensive Brinseas, at a fraction of the cost. And the customer service is unbeatable.