incubators

[bhazell123]

so i got a question if anyone has used the little incubator tahts rather cheap think its like 20 on one site used in some schools and was just wandering how well people did at hatching because i was interested in hatching some eggs but dont want to get an expesive one for fear of not getting the hang of it lol and my dh doesnt like using money unless its gonna work lol . so any info would be nice thanks

 

[humpbacks1962]

I've done perfect with a cheapo Hovabator I also use for my reptile eggs.
Chicken eggs need to be turned, reptile eggs should not be turned.

 

[Duramaxgirl]

My sister has had 100% hatch rates with her hova that she paid $20 off of craigslist! I've not had as good of results with my LGs and I had fans and turners. Sis is just darn good at it! So I bought the big GQFs and I'm doing better now. With those little styrofoam bators it takes a person who just has the touch I think. Kinda like a green thumb with gardening...

 

[LilyD]

I had one of the little plastic Chickbators and I didn't have any luck. I had huge temp spikes and because I work I wasn't home enough to monitor it so that I could make sure it hatched. That being said I have heard from a lot of people that they were able to get all their eggs to hatch using this bator. I think they probably were hovering incubator moms and dads and that's why it worked so well for them.

I am using a Little Giant which holds 43 eggs and have had no problems so far the temps stay pretty steady once they are set and vary about a degree to two degrees up or down. The humidity once you fill the wells halfway is steady at 45%. It will vary a bit more with opening it to turn the eggs but like I said no problems as far as I'm concerned. If you have problems with the temp you can put an old computer fan in it which most people have kicking around and it will turn it into a forced air for free with very little work. The egg turner for it is around 45 and is worth it if you can afford it but there is no reason to get it as long as you are available to turn the eggs frequently. Since I work 12+ hours a day I decided it was in my best interest to get one.

I am hoping once I practice a bit here I will be able to take it to the classroom and let the kids watch eggs hatch so we can do projects around farming and animal growth. It will be tons of fun and since I have my own little chicken heaven here I don't need to worry about having a place for them to go.

Good luck

 

[Mahonri]

I had some decent hatches with my 1588 Hovabator, then I bought a Brinsea Octogon 20 Advance ES... and had two spectacular hatches... now I can't get it up to temp and for what I paid for it, it's pretty much worthless. If I had it to do over again, I never would have bought the Brinsea (BAD, BAD, BATOR) and I would have paid slightly more for a GQF Sportsman.

And then I'd be TOTALLY overrun with chickens. Sold two more from my Easter Hatch today.

 

[bhazell123]

thank yall so i should spend a little more for it but not too much because theyll do it if i watch it pretty well ok one more favor could i ask one of ya to post a link on ebay maybe so i could see wat it looks for so when i look at teh feed store ill know wat im lookin at and should i put a fan or no?

 

[LilyD]

http://www.tractorsupply.com/livest.../little-giant-reg-still-air-incubator-2167379

this is the one that I bought. You can find it on ebay too and often they are lower prices. I would definitely recommend using an old computer fan in it or if you don't want to they do sell a fan for it through their company

http://compare.ebay.com/like/280505455293?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y
this is the incubator made by hovabator. Virtually the same as the little giant but many people think it's better than the Little Giant it has the same issues as far as temp regulation and needs to be watched if it doesn't have a fan because the temp will fluctuate

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-CHICKBATOR-...A%2BFICS%2BUFI&otn=21&pmod=280505455293&ps=54 this was the original one that I bought and I would say it's the highest maintenance one. There is no way to add a fan to this one and the temp is very affected by drafts and tends to fluctuate temperature a lot.

I hope this helps

 

[bhazell123]

yay thanks you tons