R-COM20 or Tophatch? Or maybe an Octagon?

[Cara]

I want to get my first incubator, but I have no idea which would be the best. I am home to turn them, but I think i'd rather the incubator remembered to and did it right. I have a smallish flock of my own and would like to incubate some of their eggs, and introduce some new birds/breeds/species every now and then.

 

[FluffyChickenMama]

I have an RCom20 and I love it.. just set it and go..turns the eggs and all.. ( I calibrate before each use just to make sure I get it all set right..).. i tried to use my cousins (I forget the kind) but getting all the settings right took the fun out of it for me.. lol... I really like the whole automatic/digital humidity and temp control with the RCom.. I have had great hatches with my own eggs.. I feel like IM 10 at Christmas when they start hatching... never gets old!!

Good Luck choosing..

 

[silkiechicken]

If you have the hundreds of dollars to spend on an incubator, I say get the octagon. The large version is what I've had a chance to use once and its great. I personally like this one (click) but I've had just as good hatches out of a cardboard box... literally. If you have the money I say go for the one I linked since it has a much larger capacity.

 

[FluffyChickenMama]

you can only hatch 20 chicken eggs at a time with the RCom but thats ok with me I wouldnt want to hatch more than that at a time and normally my bators not even full... I have broody hens and a muscovy duck if I want more.. lol.. If you want large hatches then the RCom probably wouldnt be right..

 

[Cara]

How about for turkey eggs? Which have you had the best luck with?

 

[CtlisencedArborist]

Yeah i like the rcom 20 also but my wife wont let me spend 800-1000$ on it,lol....make your own!

 

[jimnjay]

I have no experience with the R com but I know people who have bought them and they love them. I know of some that had problems and had to send them back. Brinsea replaced them with the Octagon.

I had a Top Hatch and I liked it alot. It was much better than the styrofoam units in my humble opinion. It worked great for the larger turkey eggs and would be fine for goose as well. I have just upgraded to a TX 6 and I find the stability in temperature and humidity is significant. If I was starting out and I had the money, I would go with a Tx-6or 7 or a Brinsea Octagon. I don't include the R-com only because of the issues involving the replacements they had to make.

 

[Poison Ivy]

I have the r-com 20 and it holds the temp beautiful I only had to calibrate the humidity after letting it run for 24 hours. it was off by 30% but I think that had alot to do with the room it was in. The humidity in the room is 46% and 82* at all times. So after adjusting the humidity it is holding great. I just set my eggs in it yesterday. Only thing I don't really care for is the turner makes a song/tune every hour when it turns the eggs. I slept in the guest room because I have the flu and it woke me up every hour!

 

[Cara]

I thought the R-COM was newer than the Octagon.

I found one for $285, so I think i'm going to go for it. I know it's not the first concern when buying an incubator, but I prefer the look of it to the others too.

 

[Cara]

Poison Ivy, have you tried calling them and seeing if you can turn the music off? Looking at the instructions, i'll be calling them a few times, the translation is terrible LOL