Incuview Incubator

[seminolewind]

Thunder, thanks for the update. I like the big window too.
Jbher, I have an RCOM eco 20 for sale in classifieds. It will give you another choice, LOL

 

[ThaiDye]

I am very much looking forward to your full review and would love any and all pics you can take! I am trying to decide between this incubator and the Brinsea 20 Eco. I have never hatched before and have eggs coming for the Easter Hatch a long so I really need to decide quick which one to buy. I am home during the day so I am able to [obsessively] monitor conditions. Oh, in your pictures can you include a picture of how you add water without opening? I thought I remembered you mentioning that. And 8 out of 9 is a great hatch!!! Especially since the 9th did try to hatch but what happened was not anyone's fault - just a fluke. Had you been home, how would you have reduced the humidity as that 9th was hatching? Maybe that's an obvious answer but since I've never hatched I'm just curious as to what you would have done to remedy it or help.

I have the Eco 20 & I LOVE it!! Just don't like hatching in it because the fluff gets up into the fan & is difficult to clean. I was considering this incubator for a long time, just couldn't find any reviews. The only review I did find was poor because they received the unit broken.

Thank you for all the information!

What!s stargazing?

Stargazing is a result of a vitamin deficiency. There is a link here wit some good info. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/468638/wry-neck-same-as-stargazing

Oh one more question - do the eggs stay laying down the whole time in this incubator and just roll side to side? If so - how does that possibly effect shipped eggs that may have air cell issues? I was planning to let my shipped eggs "sit" for 24hrs and then I've read some say to not turn them the first few days also... thoughts on how that may work with this bator?

I incubate shipped eggs all the time. I used to let them sit as recommended, but that doesn't always work as far as reattaching the air cells. What I do now is set right away after I candle for cracks & broken air cells. I'll mark the rolling air cell eggs & set them anyway because they can still hatch. I always stand my eggs upright (on pointy end) because I can fit more in that way. I just don't turn the incubator for a day or two. The way I see it is they are already compromised from the shipping process. Why let them sit on the counter and get older as well? Once I started setting right away, my hatch rate increased. I also wash & sanitize my eggs & that improved my hatch rate as well. Last hatch was 79% from shipped! I've had as high as 85% from shipped, but only from backyard mixes, not pure breeds.

 

[thunder83]

Overall i think the Incuview incubator works great. I really like the large viewing window. The egg turner does roll the eggs on their side instead of tilting the eggs. It holds the temp great but the readout display on the unit does fluctuate. Although the temp fluctuated on the digital readout on the unit, the temp on my hygrometer placed inside and my Egg-ometer stayed very steady. The units base has three water reservoirs/channels. The center reservoir is the smallest in size and the next two get progressively bigger with each one having two overflow slots. These overflow areas allow you to just keep adding water into the center reservoir and the water will flow over into the outer reservoirs according to how much water you add. Hope that made sense. The units top dome has a hole for ventilation that can be opened or closed with a plug. This hole is how I added water to the reservoirs using a squeeze bottle and a piece of fish tank tubing. Using the tubing allowed me to select which reservoir I wanted to fill. Filling the outer (largest) reservoir puts the humidity at 40%-50%. filling all three reservoirs puts the humidity at 60%-70%.

The unit holds the humidity great for about 48hrs before it starts dropping and needs more water. Overall I had 9 eggs go into lockdown and of those 8 healthy chicks hatched. I believe that the 9th would have hatched had it not been for the fluke accident of being covered by an already hatched shell. I would highly recommend this incubator for someone who wants to step up from the old Styrofoam models but cant afford the $600-$700 GQF models. This was my first test hatch in this incubator and i cant wait to fill it up with eggs and see how it preforms with a full load.The incubator is very easy to clean as I have mentioned in a previous post.

I wish someone would have reviewed it for me before spending the money to give me more of a piece of mind but someone has to be the first. I am glad I went with this model though and I think it would be great for someone interested in hatching for replenishing their own flock but it is definitely too small for someone wanting to do large scale hatches. This unit holds 27 large fowl eggs comfortably but will probably hold more if you have some smaller egg breeds or pullet eggs.

Thanks for everyone who followed and I hope this review helped someone who was considering this unit. If anyone has any questions that I might have missed please feel free to ask. I feel 100% positive that if I put fertile eggs in the Incuview they will hatch. Thanks again and hoped this helped.

 

[jbher]

I cannot thank you enough for the thorough review!! After hearing that I am going to choose the IncuView over the Brinsea 20 Eco. I don't remember and am on my phone now so I can't look back, did you have any issues with condensation in the lid? Does it operate pretty quietly? Okay going to move to my computer so I can think if I have any more questions thanks again!! ~ Jen

 

[jbher]

Just placed my order!! For anyone looking to do the same - the code facebook5 will give you $5 off

So thunder, how soon will you fill 'er back up? I will be getting my eggs around March 27th (for the Easter hatch-a-long).... I will be putting 27 in there!

 

[thunder83]

So thunder, how soon will you fill 'er back up? I will be getting my eggs around March 27th (for the Easter hatch-a-long).... I will be putting 27 in there!

As soon as I have enough to fill it!

 

[jbher]

I incubate shipped eggs all the time. I used to let them sit as recommended, but that doesn't always work as far as reattaching the air cells. What I do now is set right away after I candle for cracks & broken air cells. I'll mark the rolling air cell eggs & set them anyway because they can still hatch. I always stand my eggs upright (on pointy end) because I can fit more in that way. I just don't turn the incubator for a day or two. The way I see it is they are already compromised from the shipping process. Why let them sit on the counter and get older as well? Once I started setting right away, my hatch rate increased. I also wash & sanitize my eggs & that improved my hatch rate as well. Last hatch was 79% from shipped! I've had as high as 85% from shipped, but only from backyard mixes, not pure breeds.

That's definitely something I will have to think about. With this incubator and the fact that the eggs lay down I will probably let them sit upright for a day and then set them. I'm just worried about laying down the eggs in this incubator and having the air sells position on the side of the egg like a level.

As soon as I have enough to fill it!

Please keep us posted when you set eggs again!! I will definitely post pics once mine comes in the mail and will try to keep a photo diary once I set eggs. I think the more reviews we can get out about the incubator the better. As I know it's hard to make a decision on something when you don't have a lot of people using it yet.

 

[seminolewind]

I've not had a problem with eggs on their sides . When lockdown comes, I position the eggs the way I want them.

 

[ThaiDye]

...

That's definitely something I will have to think about. With this incubator and the fact that the eggs lay down I will probably let them sit upright for a day and then set them. I'm just worried about laying down the eggs in this incubator and having the air sells position on the side of the egg like a level.

you may be able to adapt the turner somehow. If it won't allow you to stand eggs upright, maybe set them in cartons in the turner. I realize the cartons will take up space too, but it may be worth a try.

 

[jbher]

Incubator came this morning!! I have LOTS of pictures... I uploaded them to Flickr - what is the easiest way to get them all to BYC? Should I put them in an album and then upload those pics to this thread? I also have video too.