Incubator VS broody hen

[HenHouse4Life]

In the house. You want the environment as stable as possible so your incubator doesn't have to fight to stay warm enough or have trouble staying cool enough.

If you don't have a climate controlled house and your day/night temps vary a lot with the weather, I HIGHLY recommend the Brinsea incubators. They keep up with temp swings VERY well. I live in an old farm house and the Brinsea Ovation temp was rock steady.

That's great information, thank you! Our home is an old (1913) farmhouse also so we do get fluctuations but mostly on the west side where it hasn't been restored yet.

 

[WVduckchick]

Brinsea fan here also!
If cost is a factor, also check out the Nurture Right 360, sold at tractor supply. I normally incubate in Brinsea Octagons (models prior to the Ovations), but I've been hatching in a Nurture Right because the view is fabulous!

 

[Redhead Rae]

That's great information, thank you! Our home is an old (1913) farmhouse also so we do get fluctuations but mostly on the west side where it hasn't been restored yet.

Than keep it on the restored side. Any incubator does better in steady temps.

 

[HenHouse4Life]

Brinsea fan here also!
If cost is a factor, also check out the Nurture Right 360, sold at tractor supply. I normally incubate in Brinsea Octagons (models prior to the Ovations), but I've been hatching in a Nurture Right because the view is fabulous!
View attachment 1673330

That's a very nice view! If I may ask, how many eggs does it hold?

 

[WVduckchick]

That's a very nice view! If I may ask, how many eggs does it hold?

Only 22 eggs if you use the turner tray. Probably quite a few more, if you hand turn instead

 

[WVduckchick]

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/harris-farms-nurture-right-360

 

[HenHouse4Life]

Thank you!

 

[HenHouse4Life]

Looks like I'll have a couple of really great options, you all are fantastic!

 

[WVduckchick]

Looks like I'll have a couple of really great options, you all are fantastic!

Buy the best you can afford. Avoid the Chinese knock-offs. And get an extra thermometer/hygrometer, and independently test them for accuracy. Never blindly trust the unit itself.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Buy the best you can afford. Avoid the Chinese knock-offs. And get an extra thermometer/hygrometer, and independently test them for accuracy. Never blindly trust the unit itself.

Seconded. I learned the Chinese knock-off thing the hard way. If you look at the "franken-bator" articles in my signature, you'll see what I had to go through to make them usable. I used the Incukit Mini (the same guts the Incuview uses) to convert them. Even so, in a house that isn't climate controlled, I had a hard time using these incubators to start eggs. I had to resort to using them as lock down incubators, when the chicks can handle wider temp swings. It worked well that way, but I was limited on how many eggs I could set because I could only start eggs in my Brinsea.