Storybook Farm
Songster
I have been so blessed by this thread! After reading about halfway through, I decided to purchase an Incuview instead of a Brinsea advanced for a couple of reasons that might help others who are making a similar choice.
First of all, I am a hobbyist, not a professional. I want to raise chickens every year as food for our family and replacements for my small, 25 to 50 chicken winter laying flock. So, I was not looking for a high volume but I didn't want a whole bunch of little tiny clutches to raise separately either. The Brinsea comfortably sets 20 chicken eggs (and you can jam more in, i know) but wanted to be able to set like 25 or even 30 eggs per hatch.
Secondly, the Brinsea prices are too high for this hobbyist to justify. To buy the Brinsea advanced (which is really comprable to the Incuview in features, if not function) I would have had to spend at current prices somewhere around $350 to $400, and have no backup. I figure that if I order the Incuview instead, I can have one to use and even order one to spare in case something goes wrong mid-hatch with the first one, and (with a second Incuview) I can stagger hatches easily using one as a dedicated hatcher if I get to that volume.
The third, and probably the tipping point for me as a newbie, was the difference that I read about in customer service for the two companies. In reading the entire Brinsea ECO 20 thread it was clear that people found Brinsea customer service less than adequate, if not downright rude. By contrast, Incubator Warehouse staff seems to be both responsive and helpful. Since all machines fail over time, I want to buy one from a company that will help me when the inevitable occurs.
My order should come in about a week. From this thread I have learned that probably no incubator is perfect, and that life goes on even when you have a bad hatch. Because I am a newbie at incubating, and also hate having animals die generally speaking, it's good to get my head on straight now, before I start!
First of all, I am a hobbyist, not a professional. I want to raise chickens every year as food for our family and replacements for my small, 25 to 50 chicken winter laying flock. So, I was not looking for a high volume but I didn't want a whole bunch of little tiny clutches to raise separately either. The Brinsea comfortably sets 20 chicken eggs (and you can jam more in, i know) but wanted to be able to set like 25 or even 30 eggs per hatch.
Secondly, the Brinsea prices are too high for this hobbyist to justify. To buy the Brinsea advanced (which is really comprable to the Incuview in features, if not function) I would have had to spend at current prices somewhere around $350 to $400, and have no backup. I figure that if I order the Incuview instead, I can have one to use and even order one to spare in case something goes wrong mid-hatch with the first one, and (with a second Incuview) I can stagger hatches easily using one as a dedicated hatcher if I get to that volume.
The third, and probably the tipping point for me as a newbie, was the difference that I read about in customer service for the two companies. In reading the entire Brinsea ECO 20 thread it was clear that people found Brinsea customer service less than adequate, if not downright rude. By contrast, Incubator Warehouse staff seems to be both responsive and helpful. Since all machines fail over time, I want to buy one from a company that will help me when the inevitable occurs.
My order should come in about a week. From this thread I have learned that probably no incubator is perfect, and that life goes on even when you have a bad hatch. Because I am a newbie at incubating, and also hate having animals die generally speaking, it's good to get my head on straight now, before I start!
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