Is this a good incubator??

[jazzchicken]

I was thinking about getting one for myself, and I want to choose the right one.

http://www.brinsea.com/products/oct10.html

 

[kstaven]

Small capacity. But you can't go wrong buying a Brinsea.

 

[jazzchicken]

Small capacity is what I'm looking for. I don't really plan on incubating more than 10 eggs at a time. So is it something I should consider?

I'm not planning on buying it right now, but I might in the future. I would go with the higher capacity, but geez, 300 dollars or more with a autoturn cradle!! Don't think the mom and dad will even consider that

 

[4-H chicken mom]

You can always build your own at a third of the cost. There are some great ones here on the BYC with great explantions on how to build it. Either way, it's fun.

 

[jazzchicken]

Building one would be fun too, but I have no experience with wiring and al that stuff. But I would like to try it. Do you know any links where to find explanations?

 

[4-H chicken mom]

I haven't built one yet, but I am going to. If you do a search and type in building an incubator, I know I have seen some great ones with excellent step by step instructions. Good luck!

 

[earthnut]

I was trying to decide between a Little Giant and a Brower Top Hatch. they both hold up to 40-50 eggs, more than I need, but from what I read it can be good to have them under filled for top air circulation, plus who knows - I may use the capacity in the future.... they're both cheaper than the 10-egg bators I could find at the time that had all the extras - they are both about $150 with turners and fans. The main drawback of the Little Giant is that the styrofoam body is hard to clean. The drawback of the Brower is that it's very sensitive to outside temp. fluctuations. I ended up buying a little giant, I found one local and I figured I could seal the interior to make it easier to clean. I also figured a stable temperature is more important than total cleanliness.

 

[jimnjay]

The temp changes in the Top Hatch can be easily corrected by adding a bubble wrap cozy. I had less temp change in my Top Hatch wit the cozy than I did with the Hova-Bator. It is a very nice and durable unit with fan and turner and electronic thremostat. If you have a place to put it where the light going off and on will not disturbe anyone, then I would consider that as a very good choice. I have upgraded to a TX-6 and after hatching two clutches of eggs, I have concluded that I was not adding enough water to the top hatch. I always had trouble getting the humidity up. My TX-6 used almost 3 quarts of water in the 21 days. The individual chambers are deeper than the tub of the Top Hatch but there is 1/3 the total space. I probably should have added 1 cup every 3-4 days and I was only adding 1/3 that much and using wet sponges to augment

 

[earthnut]

Hmm, I read that even with insulation, the top hatch was sensitive. Oh well. I did like the shape and I hate styrofoam. But I have what I have now. My little giant has been quite steady in temp, in a cold unheated room.