Noob to Incubation

[TalkBahk2Me]

So what's your options on dish washer safe plastic vs styrofoam incubators? Also what's a good bang for your buck that is pretty noob proof?

Sincerely,
Your Fellow Homesteader,
Glaseria

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Sorry we left you hanging
I prefer my styrofoam for easy starters. They aren't hard to clean hose out dawn soap and wala. Even vinegar is great to disinfect them with. And honestly they are rather well constructed.

Plastic ones are fine if you buy the right model which there aren't many good brands from what ive seen.
Brinsea Models are all pretty much fool proof! They have Both styrofoam n plastic!

One I'd pref if you do bigger hatches 24+ Is this:
GQF 1588 Genesis Hova-Bator

 

[Glaseria]

Sorry we left you hanging
I prefer my styrofoam for easy starters. They aren't hard to clean hose out dawn soap and wala. Even vinegar is great to disinfect them with. And honestly they are rather well constructed.

Plastic ones are fine if you buy the right model which there aren't many good brands from what ive seen.
Brinsea Models are all pretty much fool proof! They have Both styrofoam n plastic!

One I'd pref if you do bigger hatches 24+ Is this:
GQF 1588 Genesis Hova-Bator

Thank you for getting back to me. What are your thoughts on the incuview models? Also about humidity trackers and egg candlers?

Sincerely,
Your Fellow Homesteader,
Glaseria

...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I'm going to throw my opinion in.
Brinsea and r-com are two of the best set them and forget them incubators...but they are pricey and hold half the capacity.
The only styrofoam incubators I would recommend are from Hovabator line. The 1588 is the most popular model right now. Picture window, full digital.
I've heard some real good things about the Incuview, but I don't know a lot of people that have used them.

The Little Giant digital incubators and the cheap Chinese knock offs aren't worth the money, especially for a new hatcher.
Janoels have decent reps.
Farm Innovators have very mixed reviews, I've seen people say they liked theirs and I've had people say they were no better than the lgs.

For 2 1/2 years I used The Little Giant 9200 (non digital). It was already 3 years old when I "borrowed" it from my sister. Had great hatches with that thing, even a 100% hatch w/20 eggs....but it was a lot of work, a lot of monitoring and a lot fidgeting. I just replaced it with a Hovabator 1583 (I went with the non digital equivalent of the 1588 because one it's cheaper and two I don't need digital because I use my own therms and hygrometer and the 1588 is reported to be more sensitive to higher humidity.) I am loving the 1583. Holds a steady temp and humidity. I feel like I am not doing enough.

I prefer to hand turn. I started with a turner 2 1/2 years ago and switched to hand turning on my second hatch. I personally believe hand turning is better (especially with shipped eggs.)
Any hygrometer will work if it is checked for accuracy. And if you monitor the air cells for growth you'll know when and if you need to adjust humidity.

Candler...A nice bright flashlight and good technique is all you need for successful candling. (And I am a candling addict. lol)
I never use less than 2 thermometers (usually 3) and never trust any thermometer (even on the bators) unless you check it for accuracy. A thermometer that is not accurate can cost you the whole hatch. Many people swear by the Brinsea spot check thermometer to check their temps.

 

[authHeirlooms]

We have two Farm Innovators styrofoam units (w/ fan and auto turner) and an Incuview.

One of the FI incubators gets nearly 100% hatch rates, the other one does ok but is usually more like 50%. Not sure why this is, but we have them numbered and the first one we got is consistently better. We'll be using the less reliable one as a backup/ICU when we incubate this year.

The styrofoam models are not super hard to clean, especially if you use grippy drawer liner over the wire mesh. We spray them out and then use hydrogen peroxide and bright sunlight to disinfect. The Incuview is incredibly easy to clean!

Love everything about our Incuview, except for the fact that the power source can easily disconnect at the halfway point if the cord gets jostled. The company was really responsive when we wrote to them and sent a backup power source right away, but it has the exact same issue. So you just have to be cautious about placing the adaptor where it won't get bumped, keep pets out of the room, and check on it frequently -- and we got ours last winter, so maybe they're fixed the issue. Our Incuview is also quite a bit louder than the styrofoam incubators we have, which isn't an issue for us -- makes it easier to confirm it's still running. It's really nice to have the digital time display, but if the power cuts out for a second it resets and you lose your countdown!

And for candling -- we use a small LED mag lite. WAY better than the ones that ship with the FI styrofoam incubators!

Interested to hear what you end up getting and how you like it!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

We have two Farm Innovators styrofoam units (w/ fan and auto turner) and an Incuview.

One of the FI incubators gets nearly 100% hatch rates, the other one does ok but is usually more like 50%. Not sure why this is, but we have them numbered and the first one we got is consistently better. We'll be using the less reliable one as a backup/ICU when we incubate this year.

The styrofoam models are not super hard to clean, especially if you use grippy drawer liner over the wire mesh. We spray them out and then use hydrogen peroxide and bright sunlight to disinfect. The Incuview is incredibly easy to clean!

Love everything about our Incuview, except for the fact that the power source can easily disconnect at the halfway point if the cord gets jostled. The company was really responsive when we wrote to them and sent a backup power source right away, but it has the exact same issue. So you just have to be cautious about placing the adaptor where it won't get bumped, keep pets out of the room, and check on it frequently -- and we got ours last winter, so maybe they're fixed the issue. Our Incuview is also quite a bit louder than the styrofoam incubators we have, which isn't an issue for us -- makes it easier to confirm it's still running. It's really nice to have the digital time display, but if the power cuts out for a second it resets and you lose your countdown!

And for candling -- we use a small LED mag lite. WAY better than the ones that ship with the FI styrofoam incubators!

Interested to hear what you end up getting and how you like it!

Yes! I use the rubber drawer liner in mine. I won't hatch without it. So much easier to clean, a softer medium for the eggs to lay on and I believe much safer for newbiew chicks to be on to prevent spraddle leg. My 1583 is forced air and it is sooo quite compared to the old LG's fan. When I first plugged it in I couldn't hear it so I reached a finger up to check...yup it was running...ouch...lol

 

[Glaseria]

I'm going to throw my opinion in.
Brinsea and r-com are two of the best set them and forget them incubators...but they are pricey and hold half the capacity.
The only styrofoam incubators I would recommend are from Hovabator line. The 1588 is the most popular model right now. Picture window, full digital.
I've heard some real good things about the Incuview, but I don't know a lot of people that have used them.

The Little Giant digital incubators and the cheap Chinese knock offs aren't worth the money, especially for a new hatcher. 
Janoels have decent reps.
Farm Innovators have very mixed reviews, I've seen people say they liked theirs and I've had people say they were no better than the lgs.

For 2 1/2 years I used The Little Giant 9200 (non digital). It was already 3 years old when I "borrowed" it from my sister. Had great hatches with that thing, even a 100% hatch w/20 eggs....but it was a lot of work, a lot of monitoring and a lot fidgeting.  I just replaced it with a Hovabator 1583 (I went with the non digital equivalent of the 1588 because one it's cheaper and two I don't need digital because I use my own therms and hygrometer and the 1588 is reported to be more sensitive to higher humidity.) I am loving the 1583. Holds a steady temp and humidity. I feel like I am not doing enough.

I prefer to hand turn. I started with a turner 2 1/2 years ago and switched to hand turning on my second hatch. I personally believe hand turning is better (especially with shipped eggs.) 
Any hygrometer will work if it is checked for accuracy. And if you monitor the air cells for growth you'll know when and if you need to adjust humidity.

Candler...A nice bright flashlight and good technique is all you need for successful candling. (And I am a candling addict. lol)
I never use less than 2 thermometers (usually 3) and never trust any thermometer (even on the bators) unless you check it for accuracy. A thermometer that is not accurate can cost you the whole hatch. Many people swear by the Brinsea spot check thermometer to check their temps.

Thank you for your input I really appreciate it! You mentioned monitoring the air cels for growth and adujst the humidity, I think? What do you you mean by that? I've never heard of it before. Pictures also might help. I tend to be a visual learner.

Sincerely,
Your Fellow Homesteader,
Glaseria

...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Thank you for your input I really appreciate it! You mentioned monitoring the air cels for growth and adujst the humidity, I think? What do you you mean by that? I've never heard of it before. Pictures also might help. I tend to be a visual learner.

Sincerely,
Your Fellow Homesteader,
Glaseria

...

How about I give you a link.

It's got an egg pictorial right in the article. http://letsraisechickens.weebly.com...anuals-understanding-and-controlling-humidity

 

[Glaseria]

Thank You All for your help on this subject and helping us learn so much so fast! We have exciting news that we wanted to share with you all!

I'M SO EXCITED & I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT!!!

I've never done this before and after a lot of pondering over info on incubators and pros and cons of each model my Hubby allowed me to buy our first hatchery set up!!!
We bought a tub brooder with light (still looking into a different heat source for ducklings and quail chicks), we also bought an Incuview Deluxe Kit which included the IncuBright candler and also bought an additional IncuTherm like the reviews recommended. I've been SO EXCITED that I've called the wearhouse to see when it would leave after we ordered it and then checking its progress via mail tracking almost every 5mins!!!!

At least the first few days, now I'm down to once an hour or so.

Pathetic I know and yes I know it will not arrived sooner then it will regardless of how many times I scour for updates but I can't help it! LIFE IS BEING DELIVERED!!!

Supposedly it can hold Quail eggs up to Goose eggs and Every egg in between!

This Candler is reported to see even into the darkest and thickest of egg shells!

I'm SO Excited for this new adventure!

We shall have to wait and see how everything turns out!

We will be starting it up as soon as it arrives and doing a trial run with our quail eggs before we do our First and Official Hatch-A-Long run with our duck eggs!

Sincerely,
Your Fellow Homesteader,
Glaseria

...

 

[AmyLynn2374]

Good luck! Keep us posted!

 

[Glaseria]

Update: It arrived!!! We are having some difficulties though. Our house normally fluctuates between 70 and 50°F. We've set up the incubator in the spare room with a space heater that set to turn on when the room temperature is lower than 70° to try and keep it at 70°. However the temperature seems to Spike and my humidity which I don't believe I has been added water has been off the charts high! I move the space heater from underneath the incubator and that seemed to help a little but we're still within the 24 hour window to stabilize it before adding eggs. Am I missing something that I need to wash it before we plugged it in to use it? Or should I just turn off and take out our space heater? I don't want to constantly run my entire house at 70° if I can avoid it. I'll be honest I like the lower bills. Thoughts? Because this is my first time doing any of this and I don't really know what I'm doing other then hoping it magically stabilizes and the humidity sorts itself out so we can hopefully hatch some eggs!

Sincerely,
Your Fellow Homesteader,
Glaseria

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