Need HELP Selecting a good affordable Incubator???

[JordanFamily]

Ok so I'm wanting to buy a incubator and was wanting some opinions... I have 15 hens and so do not need a huge cabinet incubator... I would like simplicity because I am horrible at remembering things like checking temps and water.... But I need it to work in a barn so can not go with something that can not handle fluxating temps... I do not want a styrofoam incubator but need one that is around $200 and will give a good hatch rate for my bantam eggs... I was thinking about going with the Brinsea Oct 20 with auto turner... It is the right price of $212 but it only holds 24 regular sized chicken eggs

... Please give me any ideas you guys might have... Or if anyone has a good used incubator for sale that would work for me... Thanks

 

[CoopCrazy]

Hopefully someone can help./.. I Love my LG but you dont want a styro.. I m sure someone has some good ideas

 

[Sweetfolly]

If you're any good at building things, you might want to try building your own incubator.

I have a Brinsea Octagon 20 ECO that I manually turn 3 times a day. I've had good luck with it - the temperature never fluctuates more than +/- .2 degree. But I have the same issue with it that you do - my hobby's expanding and now it's just too small. Really, I need two more for the egg capacity I'd like to be incubating.

So, I've been working on a homemade incubator the past two weeks. It's based on the Octagon 20's design - yes, I'm crazy enough to build an octagonal-box out of wood (it's extremely headache-inducing, trying to line the angles all up and pin and glue it together, especially because one of my boards was warped). So far, I'm estimating that it's going to cost $100 to build, and will hold 50+ eggs. I'm going to write up a detailed BYC page on it when I'm all finished - hopefully early next week.

 

[gumpsgirl]

The Brinsea's are nice, but pricey. If you are wanting simplicity and accuracy, along with affordable then you need to go with a Hova Bator Genesis 1588. I've had mine for 2 years now and LOVE it! All you have to do is plug it in and add water. The thermostat comes pre-set so you don't have to mess with anything there. I bought mine with the turner for a little under $160. The turner holds 42 eggs and I all I have monitor is the humidity levels. You can't get much easier than that for the price.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

I borrowed a Brinsea Octagon 20 EX advanced (with humidity pump) from a friend and I'm hooked. The temp has never varied more that 0.2 degrees and the humidity never more than 1%. It is fail proof. However it does come with a fairly hefty price tag...and it only holds 20 eggs. I did see one for $400 new with free shipping. It was on sale for over $40 off.

I cannot say enough good things about it. I do have a homemade chest incubator but the temps varied wildly and although I had some great hatches in it, it required an incredible amount of fiddling to keep everything "just so".

I had a genesis and hated it. Fairly stable but just couldn't hatch anything...and it was a brand new incubator. Sold it PDQ.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Quote:
Awesome!!!

I'll be waiting!!

 

[gumpsgirl]

Quote:
That's a shame about your Genesis. I absolutely love mine. MissPrissy and hinkjc will tell you the same. We've all had great luck with ours.

As far as a Brinsea goes, I have one on my wish list for someday. It's just not in the budget any time soon.

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Yeah...I can't spring for one right now either. BUT, I did start a savings jar and I'm putting egg $$ in it. When I hit $400, it's mine!!

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Sorry...double post.

 

[pascopol]

I would never buy overpriced styrobator (Genesis), they finally improved the styrobator miserable record of stability and hatchability, making it more reliable and stable, but it is still a styrobator not easy to clean and it will not last due to nature of styrofoam.

By the way how much warranty they give you on Genesis?


For the price of Genesis you can almost have 2 Brinsea 20 ECO bators ($99 on sale) with 2 years warranty if you are concerned about ECO 20 chicken egg capacity.

Brinsea has been making quality bators for decades, not for the past 1 or 2 years.

ECO 20 is foolproof, plug-and-play bator and it will hatch any egg meant to be hatched.

Comes with 2 years warranty, dishwasher friendly, try to beat it any styrobator.

ECO 20 comes up with stable hatching temperature within 10-30 min not a 2 or 3 days days like some styrobators require, so you can put your eggs in when you have them ready.

I could not care less who reccomends them (all kinds of styrobators).

Also I do not have agenda here unlike some people, my opinions come from my experience only, a few years of using a styrobator and about a year of using Brinsea 20 ECO.