Incubator suggestions and help please

[Ozarkhomesteader]

I've never incubated eggs on an incubator before, and was wondering what brands you recommend (that won't kill my budget, i'm not made of money sadly

). I would only need to hatch out like 20 or less at a time, so nothing huge.

Also, will i need a different incubator for hatching quail eggs, or can i use the same one? If i can't use the same one, what are some good brands for these? I would want to hatch out like 50 at a time of quail.

Thanks

 

[BonRae67]

I just bought this one. It was less than $60 at my local feed store. I also know that Tractor Supply carries these. I have 48 silkie, polish, easter egg mix in it now. Very easy to use. Professional Farm Grade still air incubator. It has a digital display that shows temp and humidity. I am on day 6 great veining in my eggs. You have to turn by hand or get a egg turner. I chose to turn by hand wanted to be more involved. It says you can do up to 120 quail eggs in it.

 

[ChickenLady2014]

I just bought this one. It was less than $60 at my local feed store. I also know that Tractor Supply carries these. I have 48 silkie, polish, easter egg mix in it now. Very easy to use. Professional Farm Grade still air incubator. It has a digital display that shows temp and humidity. I am on day 6 great veining in my eggs. You have to turn by hand or get a egg turner. I chose to turn by hand wanted to be more involved. It says you can do up to 120 quail eggs in it.

Hi I just returned one of these incubators today. I either ended up with a faulty one or they are just fussy. What I did find out, the digital readings were way off on mine. I have a seperate tempurature/hygrometer unit that I put inside. I made sure to calibrate the unit before I did. I was not able to get the temperature stable so I returned it. Others posted on this unit with similar problems. At the very least buy a cheap glass thermometer from Walmart, make sure to calibrate it by ice water method though. That way you can compare your readings. Hope this helps & the best of luck to you.

 

[BonRae67]

Thanks for the info. Mine is working great. Check out for 24 hours before I put anything in. Wow sorry the one you got didnt work right.

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

I just bought this one. It was less than $60 at my local feed store. I also know that Tractor Supply carries these. I have 48 silkie, polish, easter egg mix in it now. Very easy to use. Professional Farm Grade still air incubator. It has a digital display that shows temp and humidity. I am on day 6 great veining in my eggs. You have to turn by hand or get a egg turner. I chose to turn by hand wanted to be more involved. It says you can do up to 120 quail eggs in it.

cool! thanks!! $60 is a pretty good price... turning by hand would be a fun part for me, being involed would be good. 120 quail eggs would totally do me thanks again!

 

[ChickenLady2014]

Thanks for the info. Mine is working great. Check out for 24 hours before I put anything in. Wow sorry the one you got didnt work right.

So glad to hear that yours is working good. Good luck with your hatch

 

[AmyLynn2374]

TSC has the little giant still air bators for just under $50 and Farm Innovators Pro series with fan and turner for $130. These are cheaper bators and yes can be very touchy. I use a Little Giant with the fan kit and turner added, myself. One thing with these bators- do not trust the gages. Either calibrate or get a couple thermometers to add inside. I do not recommend using just one thermometer for any hatch. (I made that mistake.) If you have the bator in a room that the temps do not flunctuate greatly I think these can be good bators. Because they are cheaper bators you can't just put them anywhere and expect them to hold a steady temp. When you adjust, just a slight adjustment can cause a big change, so I wouldn't adjust it and take off as you might come back to find literally cooked eggs. I stay at home so I am able to keep a close eye on mine and it works well for me.
If you go to TSC website and search 'incubators' you can see them. If you go with a little giant still air incubator you can always add the fan kit and or egg turner at a later date if you choose to. (They are about $50 each.)

 

[Ozarkhomesteader]

TSC has the little giant still air bators for just under $50 and Farm Innovators Pro series with fan and turner for $130. These are cheaper bators and yes can be very touchy. I use a Little Giant with the fan kit and turner added, myself. One thing with these bators- do not trust the gages. Either calibrate or get a couple thermometers to add inside. I do not recommend using just one thermometer for any hatch. (I made that mistake.) If you have the bator in a room that the temps do not flunctuate greatly I think these can be good bators. Because they are cheaper bators you can't just put them anywhere and expect them to hold a steady temp. When you adjust, just a slight adjustment can cause a big change, so I wouldn't adjust it and take off as you might come back to find literally cooked eggs. I stay at home so I am able to keep a close eye on mine and it works well for me.
If you go to TSC website and search 'incubators' you can see them. If you go with a little giant still air incubator you can always add the fan kit and or egg turner at a later date if you choose to. (They are about $50 each.)

thanks for the tips!! What temp should the room be??

 

[BonRae67]

Thank you

 

[AmyLynn2374]

thanks for the tips!! What temp should the room be??

"They" say between 70-80, but the important thing is no matter what the temp, it needs to be a fairly steady temp. When you get the bator, set it up in the room you plan to use and run it. Get it at the right temp. (Between 101-102 if it's a still air-no matter what the directions say. 99.5 if it is forced (circulated air).) Monitor it for at least 24 hours to see if it's going to stay steady. If not you might want to try a different room. Rooms with the least amount of traffic and no outside doors (especially in cold areas of the world) are best as you won't have much draft to affect it. This is also a good time to monitor the humidity in the bator, you may want to consider dry incubation versus "normal" incubation. I've found I like it much better. Once you are confident it is holding a good temp and you are ready to put the eggs in, remember -do not adjust it for at least 12 hours. When you put the eggs in it's going to flunctuate for a while as it settles and the eggs warm up.

There's a great hatching article on here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/hatching-eggs-101 It is a wonderful read for anyone new to incubating. It has lots of links and even covers assisted hatching.