incubators

[Leo1]

Hi all! I know this has been asked and answered, but I need to do this quickly and don't have the capacity to think at the moment. My beloved Brahma rooster was just killed by an incompetent care giver that let him overheat and die. I wanted to have a hen hatch his chicks, but that is not an option at this point. So i need brand suggestions and to know if there's anything else I need to get with it to ensure a maximum hatch rate. Please help!
Thanks
Luanne

 

[Glenmar]

I have a Brinsea ECO 20 and have had many 100% hatches.

 

[Arielle]

LG is popular but not for someone looking for 100% hatch the first time using it.

 

[Barbedwirecat]

If you want something fast and have a farmers co-op near you, get a Hovabator. I started and STILL use mine, I'm going to be upgrading soon and will just be upgrading to a fancier Hovabator. I recommend the egg turner as well and 1-2 digital thermometers.I use one inside the incubator and one "probe" type outside the incubator (I put it in a water snake toy). They are not set and forget like Brinseas, but they are efficient for the money and I normally get a 70%-80% hatch out of shipped eggs and have had 95%-100% out of my own eggs with this incubator. I use a dry incubation method with mine, staying at around 25% humidity.

If you can wait a little and have the spare money, Brinsea's are wonderful.

As far as I am aware though generally hens can store sperm and produce fertile eggs from roosters for about 2 weeks. More may be pushing it. I don't like to hatch eggs over a week out of the hen if I can help it either because the viability drops each day.

Hope that helps!!!