Incubator VS broody hen

[HenHouse4Life]

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.

Ok, for sure! This is helpful stuff, I'm excited to start an incubator adventure

 

[HenHouse4Life]

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.

Thank you so much!

 

[WVduckchick]

When you narrow it down to a few models, search back here for threads about them. I’m sure there are threads for about every incubator ever manufactured.

 

[Redhead Rae]

When you narrow it down to a few models, search back here for threads about them. I’m sure there are threads for about every incubator ever manufactured.

Even "franken-bators" and "getto-bators"

 

[wleigh1021]

I have the hovabator genesis with the egg turner and love it. Brinsea was a bit out of my price range, the hovabator with turner is about $185. If you buy through incubator warehouse they have an attachment for automatic humidity levels but its almost as much as the incubator itself. I believe it holds 40 chicken eggs in the turner. I've only used it twice as I just got it last year but had 100% hatch rate on my own eggs each time and 50% on shipped eggs. The 2nd time I used it was in late May so I didn't have heat or a/c running and only had to add water once at lockdown. In the winter with heat + wood stove running I had to add water about every 3-4 days.

I used this hygrometer with it as the digital humidity reader isn't super reliable. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H1R0K68/?tag=backy-20

 

[HenHouse4Life]

I have the hovabator genesis with the egg turner and love it. Brinsea was a bit out of my price range, the hovabator with turner is about $185. If you buy through incubator warehouse they have an attachment for automatic humidity levels but its almost as much as the incubator itself. I believe it holds 40 chicken eggs in the turner. I've only used it twice as I just got it last year but had 100% hatch rate on my own eggs each time and 50% on shipped eggs. The 2nd time I used it was in late May so I didn't have heat or a/c running and only had to add water once at lockdown. In the winter with heat + wood stove running I had to add water about every 3-4 days.

I used this hygrometer with it as the digital humidity reader isn't super reliable. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H1R0K68/?tag=backy-20

Thank you! And thanks for the link

 

[ChickenFox]

I think I've made my decision. Think I'm going to give the IncuView a try this year. I was hesitant but with a few good reviews from fellow hatchers on here and the benefits of it being a plastic bator instead of styrofoam plus the HUGE viewing area...

https://incubatorwarehouse.com/incuview-egg-incubator.html

If I was hatching as a business or for my own flocks I may have gotten the Hovabator Genesis because of it's increased hatching capacity but I honestly don't see myself hatching more than 2 dozen eggs at a time.

Good luck with your incubator hunt @HenHouse4Life !! Honestly they are right about there being threads on pretty much any bator known to man on here.

 

[HenHouse4Life]

I think I've made my decision. Think I'm going to give the IncuView a try this year. I was hesitant but with a few good reviews from fellow hatchers on here and the benefits of it being a plastic bator instead of styrofoam plus the HUGE viewing area...

https://incubatorwarehouse.com/incuview-egg-incubator.html

If I was hatching as a business or for my own flocks I may have gotten the Hovabator Genesis because of it's increased hatching capacity but I honestly don't see myself hatching more than 2 dozen eggs at a time.

Good luck with your incubator hunt @HenHouse4Life !! Honestly they are right about there being threads on pretty much any bator known to man on here.

Good luck to you also! Thanks for tagging along!

 

[Spartan22]

Brinsea also has scratch and dent sales sometimes too.

I should have checked that first, I got my mini II ex for $300, and bought the Ovation 28 EX for $499 split with a friend. But no regret on performance.

 

[WVduckchick]

I found my first Brinsea (Octagon 20 Adv EX) on Craigslist. It had been used once for a classroom duckling hatch. I think I paid less than half it’s price new.

The second Octagon 20 Eco I found on Facebook, had been used for years, but sanitizing them is so easy, that didn’t bother me. I did have to order a fan after the first set in it.

Then the Mini II Advance was on clearance at TSC. A friend here mentioned it on a thread, i said I would have bought it in a heartbeat for that price. $107 brand new. So he went back to the store, bought it, and shipped it to me. I’ve still not seen one that cheap anywhere, even with the cost of mailing. It’s wonderful as an ICU for weak chicks, or eggs left over from a broody, etc.

Point being, deals are out there if you look hard enough.