Incubators

[AMBene]

I have 7 chickens that I started from 2 day old chicks. Brooded them in a homemade brooder, and they did great! They are now about 5 1/2 months old and 3 of them have started laying. It has been awesome. I love my girls, they are for eggs only and fun to watch.

I am now getting my quail cages together. (I will post pics when they are complete.) So I am thinking incubators as I want to hatch my own and breed quail for eggs and then alot of them will go to Freezer Camp.

Which one do you good folks recommend? It needs to be reasonably priced and as automatic as possible. (I have 4 year old twins, one with alot of special needs, 7 chickens, 1 rabbit, 2 african leapord tortoises, a 2 1/2 lb yorkie and a pet Nutria...not to mention the 17 year old, 20 year old and an indulgent husband

). So you get the as automatic as possible part!

I'll take any help or advice I can get. I am an advid researcher and a good listener to those wise ones that have blazed the trails before me

.

 

[JJMR794]

BRINSEA OCTAGON LINE... EITHER THE 20 OR 40. WHICH EVER IS THE BEST SUITED TO YOUR SIZE NEEDS. THE 20 IS LIKE 99.00 RIGHT NOW... THE BASIC MODEL CAN BE HAND TURNED QUITE EASILY AS THEY ARE OCTAGON SHAPED ON THE OUTSIDE--- ONCE EGGS ARE SET YOU SIMPLY MOVE THE WHOLE BATOR TO A NEW ANGLE WHEN YOU TURN AND IF THIS ISNT EASY ENOUGH THEY MAKE AN AUTOTURN CRADLE THE UNIT SETS IN AND IT TURNS IT FOR YOU.

http://www.brinsea.com/

BEWARE OF "CHEAPER COOLER BATOR STYROFOAM MODELS AS THEIR PRICE USUALLY DOESNT INCLUDE TURNER OR QUAIL RACKS... IN THE END THEY END UP BEING MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE BRINSEA AND LESSER QUALITY WITH LESS PERFORMANCE WHERE IT REALLY COUNTS--- INCUBATING

 

[pascopol]

Yes, styrobators are junk.

B R I N S E A ROCKS !

 

[geebs]

Easy does it... I like my 1588 if one has to get a big hatch on!!.... but yep for the smaller needs... Brinsea... More eggies and bigger... uh emu etc... lizards.. 1588... Love it... it is a very reliable unit... (I hate styrofoam... but it is worth it for bigger hatches)

 

[Robo]

One of those cursed ice chests cost me almost the whole hatch. NEVER buy a styrafoam. I am making a cabinet so I don't have to put up with it.

 

[HEChicken]

Haha - when you ask a question like "which incubator should I get?", you'll get so many responses from people who love their incubator and swear nothing else works, that your head will spin. By the time you've read them all, you'll be more confused than ever as to which type to get (spoken from experience). In the end, what I did was spend a day (yes, it took that long!) reading this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=113681
I felt much better after reading this, that I understood more about incubating and hatching in general. Following this DH and I built an incubator and I'm picking up my first set of eggs this weekend. Turned the incubator on yesterday to stabilize temps and by this morning, temp/humidity were EXACTLY where I want them. Since you said you don't mind research, I would suggest reading this thread from start to finish and go from there.....

 

[Lifesong Farm]

It depends which one is the best one. What can you afford? I really want the Brinsea Oct 40 because the 20 won't do me any good since it only holds 24 eggs. I have a friend that wants me to hatch for them. I couldn't afford it this year so I was looking at getting the Hovabator 1602N with an aoutomatic turner and adding a fan. DH bought it for me for christmas. The total cost after buying from 2 different ebay stores (1 for the bator and 1 for the fan) he paid $114.
I have had eggs in it since the 28th of Dec and the only time I have had a Temp issue was when I added more eggs and didn't take into account that they would heat things up. That wasn't the bators fault that was my newbie mistake. My biggest concern is going to be sterilization of the unit after hatch.

Buy the best you can get.
Stay as far away from an LG (Little Giant) as you can. TSC sells them
If you buy a GQF Hova-Bator make sure you get one with a fan or add one. Adding the fan was easy.

ETA: or do your research and build one. I have a fridge in the barn that we are trying to decide if it is going to be an incubator or grain storage.

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
GOOD LORD I WOULD NEVER REFER ANYONE TO THIS MESS.....

THAT STRING IS ABSOLUTELY ALL OVER THE PLACE!

THERE ARE SO MANY MYTHS VS TRUTHS THERE IT ISNT EVEN FUNNY. ALSO THAT STRING WAS GEARED TOWARD CHICKEN HATCHING WHICH IS NEARLY BACKWARD FROM GAMEBIRDS. WE NEED TO CARE WHEN ANSWERING QUESTIONS LIKE THIS OR THE RESULT IS SOMETHING LIKE THAT STRING.... AS A PLACE FOR ADVICE THAT THING IS AN ABOMINATION

AND IF NOT CAREFUL I CAN SEE THIS HAPPENING HERE.... AS HECHICKEN POINTS OUT THE MORE ANSWERS THE WIDER THE SPREAD ON ANSWER RANGES... VERY GOOD POINT. AS FAR AS INCUBATING GOES IT IS AN INDIVIDUAL ARTFORM INFLUENCED BY AS MANY FACTORS AS THE WIND... GEOGRAPHY, EQUIPMENT, SPECES IN FOCUS, PERSONAL HABITS ETC... AS LIFESONG FARM POINTS OUT... BUY THE BEST YOU CAN AFFORD AND AFTER THAT YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO LEARN THE BEST WAY TO OPERATE WHAT YOU HAVE IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS.

I HAVE MANY INCUBATORS.... BRINSEA 20'S AND 40'S, HOVAS IN STILL AND FORCED AIR, LG'S IN STILL AND FORCED AIR, A DICKEY CABINET, AND SOON HOMEMADE CABINETS... EACH HAS THEIR STRONG AND WEAK POINTS, PROS AND CONS, AND ARE MORE APTLY SUITED FOR DIFFERENT SPECES/ PURPOSES.... MY INCUBATION HABITS VARY GREATLY AS WELL.... I ROUTINEY HATCH YEAR ROUND WELL IN EXCESS OF 10,000 BIRDS.... THEY RANGE FROM CHEAP COTURNIX QUAIL TO EXOTIC AND RARE GAMEBIRDS AND EXPENSIVE MIGRATORY WATERFOWL. I HAVE EVEN DONE WORK FOR STATE AGENCIES WITH SPECIAL PROJECTS...

LG'S ARE GREAT FOR CHICKEN/ TURKEY EGGS.... THEY START TO LOOSE GROUND FAST ON OTHER SPECES.... MOSTLY THE DESIGN FLAW OF NOT HAVING ENOUGH WATER SURFACE AREA IN THEM AS MANY OTHER SPECES REQUIRE MORE HUMIDITY RATHER THAN LESS

HOVAS ARE ROCK SOLID PERFORMERS... THE WAFER THERMOSTATS CAN BE ANNOYING TO GET REGULATED WHEN 1ST STARTING OUT WITH THEM AND WHEN THE THERMOSTAT CONTROL GOES THEY WILL BE ALL OVER THE PLACE TEMP-WISE

BRISNEAS ARE THE RON POPIEL INCUBATORS OF THE WORLD---- SET THE EGGS AND FORGET IT! BUT THE OCTAGON MODELS CAN BE SPACE LIMITING AS MENTIONED EARLIER... THEY MAKE TABLETOP MODELS THAT RESEMBLE COOLER-BATORS BUT ARE RATHER EXPENSIVE WHEN COMPARED TO COOLER-BATORS, THO DO SEEM TO OUTPERFORM THEM... THEIR C ABINETS ARE THE END ALL BOMB! BUT ONCE AGAIN HAVE AN END ALL PRICE TAG.... BRINSEAS ARE GEARED TOWARD PROFESSIONAL USE... THEY ARE INDUSTRY STANDARD EQUIPMENT FOR MORE ZOOS AND CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS WORLD WIDE THAN ALL OTHER MAKES/MODELS AVAILABLE COMBINED.

SPORTSMEN INCUBATORS (BY THE MAKERS OF HOVABATOR, GQF) ARE THE MOST WIDELY USED CABINET BY HOBBYIST HERE IN THE USA AND MANY A PROFESSIONAL GAMEFARM TOO. THE MODELS VARY GREATLY IN OPTIONS AND FUNCTION AS DO THE PRICE TAGS

DICKEY CABINETS ARE KNOCK-OFFS OF THE SPROTSMEN

LYONS MAKES SPECIALTY INCUBATORS WITH EXORBIDENT PRICES, THEY COMPARE IN FUNCTION TO BRINSEA, BUT SOME ARE NOT AS USER FRIENDLY AND YET OTHERS ARE... DEPENDS ON THE MODEL AND WHILE I LIKE THEM I REFUSE TO PAY THE PRICE FOR THEM

WHAT DID I MESS? (NOT COUNTING THE EBAY SHANGHAI WEIRD AND UNUSAL SPECIALS...)

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
GOOD LORD I WOULD NEVER REFER ANYONE TO THIS MESS.....

THAT STRING IS ABSOLUTELY ALL OVER THE PLACE!

THERE ARE SO MANY MYTHS VS TRUTHS THERE IT ISNT EVEN FUNNY.... WE NEED TO CARE WHEN ANSWERING QUESTIONS LIKE THIS OR THE RESULT IS SOMETHING LIKE THAT STRING.... AS A PLACE FOR ADVICE THAT THING IS AN ABOMINATION

Well, *I* found it very helpful and I'm clearly not the only one or it wouldn't have been made a sticky!

 

[JJMR794]

Maybe I Should Re-read It.... It Was All Over The Place! Plugs Out, Plugs In, High Humidity, Low Humidity, I Actually Felt Sorry For The Op When Reading It, But Obviuosly You And Others Have Found Good Use In It..... But Man, What A Source Of Varying Techniques And Confusing Contradictions... I Guess It Also Reinforces The Incubation Is An Artform Idea Too? Its A Graphic Demonstration Of Just How Varried Our Individual Practices Can Be

Reading It Certainly Proved Your Point That The More Answers You Get On This The Wider The Range Of Answers Will Be...


Ps- Hechicken, I Meant No Disrespect In The Previous Post To You Or Anyone Else... I Was Just Trying To State How Confusing All Those Contradictions Must Be To Someone Who Is Starting Out With Incubation. This Forum Tends To Be A Study In Contradictions With Many Areas Of Animal Husbandry... Anything From Speces Particularities To Feed Formula, Equipment, And Almost Anything Else Involved In Bird Care... Same Seem To Be True Of The Sister Site Backyard Herds... Just Demonstrates Our Individuality And Differing Approaches To These Activities