Is this a good incubator or did I made a mistake?

[happydog]

I found this on ebay and won it last night. Now in the glare of morning light I'm second guessing myself.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...witem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_500wt_1156

It has a fan, is that the same as "forced air?" And there's no turners or racks, but the seller said I can use LG or hovabator turners. I'm a little fuzzy about the difference between turners and racks. I was going to get some from Cutlers but I don't know what to get. I need to incubate quail, chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese.

I liked the hatching drawer in the bottom but now I'm wondering how you do a lock down on just the drawer, since it's open to the rest of the cabinet? Aaacccckkkk! Do you guys think this is a nice incubator or did I buy a dud?

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

I think it looks great. It certainly holds a lot of eggs!! It's really built just like a Sportsman or Dickie but smaller scaled. They are HUGE!

Edited to add:

The problem with cabinet incubators is that you must incubate and hatch in the same place with just about the same humidity. Mr. Dickey recommends (for the Dickie incubators), that you incubate and hatch at 55% humidity. To me that's scary, but I will say that the aircell was exactly where it should be on day 18. (I borrowed a Dickie to try)

The turners can be purchased at Tractor Supply. Brand doesn't matter...they are all the same size.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

It may take a month or so to get used to it but I think you will like it.

 

[sonjab314]

I was eyeballing that one myself. I really really really like the way its designed. Please keep me informed about its performance. I may get one myself.

 

[jenlynn4]

I saw that one too! I thought it looked like a wonderful size and if it works good then you got a good buy!

 

[jvls1942]

the listing was gone when I tried to view the cabinet on ebay

do you have a photo of it ?.. from the description it sounds like my 1202.. but mine has turner racks in it with a hatching tray below..

If yours is different, and you do have to use Hova or LG turning trays, make sure that you have enough width to fit them into your cabinet.. I think they are 12 3/8 inches wide.. I don't have one handy right now to measure it..

check on the left side near the top and way to the rear and see if there is a toggle switch.. that would be the switch for the turning racks.. It should be spring loaded in the up position..

.............jiminwisc..........

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
unless they changed, the Hova turner holds 42 eggs and the LG turner holds 48 eggs.. (chicken sized eggs)

the hova turner is a very tight fit going into a LG base.. It can be made to fit, however..

I cross hatch in 3 sportsmans all sorts of eggs and all sorts of time schedules.. I run about 40% during incubation, the for lock-down I raise the humidity up to 60% and stop the turner for 3 days.. after the eggs hatch I let the humidity go back down to 40% and start the turner again.. I hatch about 3000 eggs per year with this method with good results..

 

[sonjab314]

I just bought an LG turner and they only hold 41 eggs. They recommend not putting an egg in the space my the turner motor so it cuts it from 42 to 41.

 

[happydog]

Quote:
It says the listing is ended but you can click on "See full description" to see it. I can't copy the pics off the listing. I need to hatch chicken, quail and geese eggs so I'm going to get those size turners from Cutler.

The problem with cabinet incubators is that you must incubate and hatch in the same place with just about the same humidity. Mr. Dickey recommends (for the Dickie incubators), that you incubate and hatch at 55% humidity. To me that's scary, but I will say that the aircell was exactly where it should be on day 18. (I borrowed a Dickie to try)

I run about 40% during incubation, the for lock-down I raise the humidity up to 60% and stop the turner for 3 days.. after the eggs hatch I let the humidity go back down to 40% and start the turner again..

I wonder if I could somehow separate or close off the hatching drawer so I can raise the humidity in there. hmmm

Thanks for the opinions. I was starting to think I'd made an expensive booboo. My first choice was a Genesis until I saw this. The Genesis looked easy and foolproof.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

This will take a little more getting used to than the Genesis. You can't beat a quick set up and good hatch rate from them but they are great for beginners.
Now that you have a little experience under your belt you will have a bit more of a challenge with this one. I am sure it will be a great investment though and you will enjoy it for a long while.
Just be careful! You will have chicks out the ying yang very very soon!