Incubator & Shipping egg Q's

[Birdcrazy]

Hi everyone,

Sorry if I'm asking repeated questions, I haven't visited the site in a long time and everything has changed!

I have the opportunity to incubate eggs! Yay!

So, friends of mine want to buy an incubator for me to use, and along with their fertilised eggs to hatch! They have a range of chickens, including bantams and silkies, so pretty excited, as I haven't had chickens in a while. I lost my last silkie pair a few years ago to someone's wandering dog, unfortunately. While I've had ducks and chickens for many years and raised many babies, I haven't ever incubated myself and hoping somebody can point me in the right direction!

Where do I even start incubator wise?

Are there any good comparison threads or sites around? From google, so far I've read that Brinsea are great and to avoid Little Giant. Any other good brands? I am in Australia, also, if any Aussies have some good recommendations locally. I have also read homemade is great, but studying full-time I just don't have the time or brain capacity to do that right now

Which is better, manual or automatic turner? Are there any particular differences? I think they may prefer a manual turner, but not 100% sure. Also around the 30/40 egg mark, but again, not too particular.

I don't know a lot about incubators at all, so I will need to do a lot of research to get going!

Also, shipping eggs. Is it worth it? I'd love to order some specific breeds, but I live rural and the post is pretty typically not trustworthy. Is there much of a success rate after that kind of trip?

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate any help!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Shipped eggs will be location dependant as to their hatch rate. It's a crap shoot until you figure it out. The deal is if there is a weak link in the shipping chain that's the problem and will be a specific facility that causes it. Has nothing to do with a facility being late in shipping it's more to do with how automated equipment shakes the eggs. So eggs may ship well from the south of you but not from the east or you could be unlucky like I was at last home where the weak link was near me. Horrible hatch rates no matter where they came from yet once moved an hour East of there the shipped eggs hatch well, 60% + hatch compared to old location where best hatch was 3 of 18.

Incubators with a fan are nice. A reliable styrofoam incubator is Hovabator with the gas filled wafer thermostat. Mechanical thermostats are built to last. Great little units that are reasonably priced. For more Hovabator also makes the Genesis model that has a reliable electrical thermostat that's preset to temp. Auto turners are not essential but you will see a better hatch rate using them and relieve the hassle of manually turning- you get lazy and don't turn as much as you should hence the lower hatch rate. First few hatches your usually excited enough to turn two or three times a day.

Building an incubator yourself is not that hard anymore. If you purchase a hova or little giant auto turner locally you can then build a box that it will fit in then purchase an all-in-one heating element/thermostat/fan unit for about $50 from Incubator Warehouse. The reviews on these units are skewed as people that tried to use them in larger boxes burnt them out. If the box is kept to table top size (fits an auto turner) they work great.

http://incubatorwarehouse.com/48-watt-incukit-dc.html

 

[Birdcrazy]

Thanks for that Egghead! I'm far enough away from the city etc. that express post will be at least 2 days still and down a direct route no matter where its ordered from. If there ends up being a weak link there won't be much luck there at all
Will have to give it a go, at least. But will probably have to just pick them up myself next time I'm in the city.

I like the Hovabator - looking between that and the Brinsea!